The Big 4 aren’t waiting for the ‘second wave’; content to create their own waves instead.
"Building trust in society and solving problems is at the heart of everything we do." - PWC
"At Deloitte our purpose is to make an impact that matters. We are driven by our desire to create positive outcomes for our clients, communities and people. Everything we do is with intent - the intent to make a meaningful difference." Deloitte
"We lead by example and act how we expect of each other and of our clients." KPMG
"Building a better working world" EY
These organisations are quick to tell everyone about the future of work, how to drive social impact, advise on people and culture, tout the virtues of developing and retaining great people and the all have lofty purpose and mission statements.
They are also among the first large organisations to cut staff numbers in the post-COVID economy.
My concern is that these cost cutting, performance managing measures indicate a lack of creativity, a lack of understanding about what really matters with human capital, and an absolute lack of understanding of social impact.
Releasing hundreds of consultants into a stagnant job market, in an environment when we are all aware that paying bills, paying rent, servicing mortgages and job seeking are major challenges facing the vast majority of Australians; is tone deaf and poor practice on behalf of companies whose job it is, is to advise companies on how to navigate this crisis.
Consider the number of organisations looking for talent with 'big 4' experience, or 'top tier firm' experience, and the advice that they will get from people who cut their teeth in these environments. Consider the impact on the Big 4 clients, the banks, the supermarkets, the mining companies, the insurers, the non-profits, when the first port of call is to ask staff to take pay cuts, only to then cut their numbers after they agree to do so.
I was under the impression that these organisations were supposed to be creative, they were supposed to be innovative, they were supposed to be understanding and they were supposed to have the answers. It turns out, they have the same tired old, Jack Welch-esque slash and burn policies.
Too much under-utilisation? Be smarter, get your people off the bench and pro-actively solve problems.
The big clients aren't paying us as much at the moment? They are struggling too, find ways to help them keep moving the needle forward while developing your people.
Why are these supposed hotbeds of talent and brains so poor at getting out and getting things done proactively?
700 extra people without jobs from Deloitte is a disaster, 400 people from PWC is a nightmare, 200 from KPMG just adds more under-utilised talent to an already flooded market of disappointed big 4 castaways. EY haven't announced redundancy cuts at this stage, and have just cut hours and pay for staff, if they don't announce any, then they should be held up as a shining example of navigating a crisis. 'Building a better working world' has surely never included being among the first large corporations making people redundant in the initial moments of a downturn? We need long memories in times like this.
Jettisoning people is not the answer, making them better is. Waiting for other companies to ask you to solve their problems isn't the answer, solve your own, anticipate theirs and solve theirs too. Keeping a few thousand people employed off the back of work like that is worth infinitely more than spending a performative 'volunteer day' working in a soup kitchen.
I cannot in conscience watch these companies who have enormous influence continue to say one thing and deliver another. PWC's own top 10 organisational capabilities for the future is topped by "Trusted by Society" and "Human Skills" such as "leadership, creativity, empathy and curiosity". Where is the leadership in a good old fashioned re-structure and firing to get costs down? Where is the creativity in a crisis there? What creative ideas will you give your clients who are also experiencing slowdowns? Where is the empathy in jettisoning staff?
I understand that these are large employers, and people may say "we are employing lots of Australians, which is a great benefit to the country", but it's easy to be nice when things are going well. It's easy to employ people when there is plenty of work floating around, it's easy to do well when there are plenty of consulting contracts and restructures to administer. It's harder to look after people when times get tough, it takes care, commitment and real leadership. If you are going to claim that these are the things you care about while recording profits, you better step up when it looks like you're going to have a slow quarter and really look after them, or else all that talk is for nothing.
We can do better, but more importantly we have to demand better. If we are to take advice on how to navigate these crises, better to take advice from small firms that are committed in action to looking after and developing their people and clients, than to big firms who lack the creativity, empathy and curiosity to do so.
If you are looking for creativity, if you have skills that are 'benched' or 'underutilised', by all means reach out to myself and the team at the Just Be Nice Project. We need skills, resources, assistance, engagement and commitment now, as much as we've ever needed it. There are a million things to be done, if you can't see them yet, let us show you.
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/people-organisation/pdf/pwc-preparing-for-tomorrows-workforce-today.pdf
https://home.kpmg/au/en/home/about/values-culture.html
https://www.ey.com/en_au/who-we-are
Re-thinking everything!
4 年Wished I'd written this Josh ! :--)
Leadership Coach | Speaker | Well-Being Educator | Helping people cultivate a life well-loved. Be Clear, Be Kind, Be Human.
4 年So right, and exactly why I chose the independent consultant life - people come first. Lead by example, especially when your job is to guide others in change and transformation. Imagine if they pooled all of their brilliant talent (not just a representation) to determine next steps in preventing job loss? I’d be curious as to the decision-making process and if it included much collective solutioning or appreciative inquiry.
Helping mission-led changemakers accelerate + elevate their impact + contribution through inner transformation | Author | Speaker | Personal Transformation Strategist | Negotiation Specialist | Non Exec Director - GAICD
4 年Josh Jones - as always I value your perspective and ability to call out the lack of integrity demonstrated by many large global corporates that are often sitting on huge cash reserves and protecting their ‘shareholder value’ over doing the right thing. Having left my corporate career to join the Australian Small Business world I see more innovative solutions and empathy from those that have very little themselves than global businesses - I often find it fascinating that the big 4 still have an archaic way of measuring value through 6min increment time sheets that capture billable hours - with this in mind how is there is any focus on value creation and sustainable long term relationships. When staff have to justify their billable hours it doesn’t really set the culture for innovation and deep empathy internally forget externally.