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A SmartPros Series Part One: How Deloitte Battles for Talent Nov. 27, 2000 (SmartPros) At Deloitte & Touche, attracting and keeping the best people is critical to our success. We're a professional services firm that employs more than 90,000 people in 130 countries around the world. We provide assurance, advisory, tax, and management consulting services for some of the most recognizable names in business and industry. Companies such as Microsoft, General Motors, Daimler Chrysler, Boeing, Merrill Lynch, and UPS, to name but a few.
I'm mentioning these companies not to impress you, but to impress upon you the challenge we face. We must attract and keep the best people in the world so we can attract and keep the best clients in the world.
Throughout history, wars have been fought over precious resources - land, water, coal, oil. Today, the battlefield has shifted, and companies everywhere are fighting for what has already become the most precious resource of the New Millennium - talent.
The battles are being waged on many different fronts. Even the U.S. Department of Defense has sought help to address the most severe recruitment and retention challenges in the volunteer military's 25-year history.
The intense competition for talent is a story that's appearing with great frequency in the media. Here are some headlines from the past few weeks:
A few years ago, some of the amenities mentioned in Fortune's article probably wouldn't have even been imagined. If you haven't read the article, let me give you two examples - personal concierge services and take-home dinners.
And it isn't just one or two companies offering them. Twenty-six of Fortune's 100 best offer personal concierge services; 46 of its 100 best provide take-home dinners for their employees.
Other companies offer places to sleep - onsite - during the day or night. One company provides a quiet room with soothing music if you're suffering from a migraine. Others offer food and drink - and plenty of it, continually, throughout the day - and exercise rooms, presumably to work off any extra pounds gained.
Recently, I read in New York magazine where a software company in New York's "Silicon Alley" provides a special high-tech, ultra-comfortable chair for almost every one of its 200 employees. Each chair costs $750.
And I read just last week where trucking companies are attempting to recruit drivers - sometimes from their competitors - with such perks as newer, more comfortable trucks, free Internet access, and subsidized telephone calling cards.
These are just some of the things companies are doing to become "Employers of Choice" - a term we've coined at Deloitte & Touche.
Employers of Choice are those organizations that outperform their competition to attract, develop, and retain people with business-required talent. They achieve this recognition through innovative and compelling human resource programs that benefit both employees and their organizations alike.
Many Employers of Choice attract and retain the best people by providing opportunities for continuous learning. At Deloitte & Touche, for example, our professionals average 60 hours of training every year. We do this to help ensure that the talent we've attracted continues to be the best in our profession.
To attract and keep the best people, Employers of Choice provide a great place to work. The stakes are too high to do anything else - simply because the link between talent and performance is undeniable.
As a businessman, what I find particularly compelling about Fortune's list is the strong correlation between human resource performance and financial performance.
Here are some interesting statistics based on Fortune's 1999 rankings:
We're especially proud that Deloitte & Touche was ranked once again on Fortune's list - making us the only professional services firm to appear on the list for three consecutive years.
It's no coincidence that as we have become recognized as the best professional services firm to work for, our U.S. revenues have more than doubled since 1995.
A Premium on Talent
What is it about our current environment that places such a premium on attracting and keeping the best people?
Many forces have converged as we begin the 21st Century:
Editor's Note: Jim Copeland is CEO of Deloitte & Touche. This article is adapted from remarks delivered at the University Club in New York.
2000, Smartpros Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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