Talent Development – Planning for the future, now.
“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”
Richard Branson
Finding, keeping, and developing the right talent is crucial to any company’s success. Talent development, the practice of aligning employee career aspirations with a firm’s organisational processes, becomes its own publicity machine, attracting well-qualified, ambitious employees and building an efficient firm.
For those companies who invest in developing staff, statistics show a lower staff turnover and teams who actively promote the benefits of joining the company. In this article, we’ll be looking at a few excellent examples from Praxity Alliance member firms.
Pride in their talent development really shines through for UK accounting firm Shorts. From those starting their first role through to senior members of staff, the opportunity for career progression, learning and building career experience is front and centre in their commitment to employees. A number of apprenticeships and postgraduate placements are available at Shorts, offering routes into the profession. The firm are an ICAEW and ACCA approved training employer and also provide training for careers in the payroll, administration, IT, Tax, and Private Client areas.
The Shorts website has a great section on working for the firm, which has interviews with new graduates, apprentices and staff undertaking further studies. They tell in their own words how well they have been supported, with Shorts being very understanding and flexible around study commitments. There is also a management development programme which provides the opportunity for those wanting to plan and navigate their routes to promotion with structured courses, mentoring and training.
Tax Partner David Robinson says, “Shorts is a true meritocracy and individuals are given responsibility and encouraged to flourish regardless of their age or experience. I can attest to this, as I joined Shorts in 2015 and have since progressed through the ranks, joining the Partnership in 2022. During my time at the firm, I’ve progressed from being a Senior Manager advising a portfolio of clients, to a Director in control of an entire Department, and now leading a part of the business as Tax Partner.”
PM+M in the UK is one of the North West's leading firms of accountants, business advisers and financial planners. Having been established for over 100 years, their team of over 140 specialists provide advice to both businesses and individuals covering all areas of audit, accounting and advisory, cloud accounting, corporate finance, financial planning, tax and payroll.
People are at the heart of PM+M’s success, so they know how important it is to reward individuals and teams and to make them feel consistently valued. Their talent development programme has evolved over a number of years. This programme has been considerably strengthened through investment in a Talent Manager over the last twelve months, focused on embedding a culture of learning with personal responsibility. All of this has led to a number of recent awards including the recognition of achieving Gold accreditation again in 2022. The accreditation is designed to increase engagement and retention, drive innovation and inspire ambition.
Mark Sharples, assistant manager, Cloud Accounting says: “My experience since joining PM+M has reinvigorated my passion for accountancy. The trust and support provided by the firm has created a great working environment in which every single person is encouraged to achieve their goals.”
Mazars is an internationally integrated partnership, specialising in audit, accountancy, advisory, tax and legal services, operating in 95+ countries and territories around the world. The firm promotes international mobility for Mazarians to develop their careers and contribute to Mazars’ global business.
With their large number of employees - 30,000 professionals in Mazars' integrated partnership - and presence in so many countries, Mazars have used this to their advantage in the talent development stakes. As part of their innovation, Mazars developed their own CLIP-accredited ‘Mazars University’ in 2008 to sustain their culture and leadership. “Why stop learning once you graduate?” was the question they asked themselves; “In a talent-intensive industry, we very much rely on the quality of our people. Education at all stages of the professional journey is what increasingly makes the difference.”
Mazars University offers 20+ world-class leadership and business development programmes, including their flagship 'The Next MBA'. The Next MBA builds a community of top executives from leading companies around the world, who embark on a transformative learning experience together. Pioneered by Mazars, in partnership with an exclusive group of hand-picked, leading academics from around the world, this 6-week programme was first rolled out to the top 70 executives of the Mazars leadership community over a period of 2 years.
“Education should be the backbone of any modern talent acquisition, management and development strategy. This is why we have chosen to focus our entire HR policy around education. The core activating principle being: ‘no career progression without education, and no education without career progression’.”
Laurent Choain, Chief Leadership, Education & Culture Officer, Mazars Group
“Business tomorrow will be increasingly international, and very much dominated by virtual teamwork. The need to lead will be even more important. A real leader encourages people, helping them to work productively and even have fun.”
Carsten Schläwe, Partner, Mazars in Germany
If you want more productive teams, improved staff retention and an always-on positive publicity for your firm, talent development should certainly be on your list of programmes. Maximising your present position and preparing for the future of your firm inevitably puts focus on your people. Training your employees effectively and upskilling them as they move through the company could ensure that the talent you need is already in place.