At The Mom Project, we have the honor of working with incredible companies around the world who are committed to driving the future of work. This month, we're highlighting PwC, a powerhouse professional services firm employing 65,000 people in the US and Mexico across 60+ offices. As one of the Big 4 accounting firms, PwC is committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services.
PwC is not only a leader in the business world — they are also paving the way for a better employee experience, one that empowers people with work that integrates into their lives. Hear from Kim Jones, Talent Strategy and People Experience Leader at PwC, on how PwC's My+ People Strategy is transforming their employees' lives.
What effect has the past three years had on individuals, and how is this changing the workforce?
We all learned over the past few years that change is constant and our needs are ever-evolving. Employees’ expectations and mindsets about where, when and how they work were changing in the years leading up to the pandemic, but were vastly accelerated as a result of it and increasingly enabled by more robust technology.
As a working mother, I've experienced evolving changes first-hand and know the pressures exacerbated by the pandemic were especially tough on women and caregivers. Organizations have had to adapt to fluctuating market trends, cultural changes and economic cycles, all while keeping the evolving needs of their diverse workforce top of mind.
At PwC, we have taken bold action and applied our learnings to reimagine how we empower people to reach their full potential at every stage of their careers. What we know for sure is that the future is powered by flexibility, personalization and a willingness for organizations to continuously innovate and evolve.
What is My+?
My+ — our biggest and boldest reimagination of our people experience — is changing the way we work. We are focused on using technology to allow employees to personalize careers at PwC, while keeping our clients’ needs at the center of all we do. We’re working toward a future where there is increased emphasis on growth and development, rewards and benefits are customized, well-being is further stitched into our daily experiences, and there is flexibility to support our people as their lives and needs shift over time.
Why has PwC transformed their people strategy?
In my 24 years with PwC, the “why” behind creating a reimagined people strategy resonates now more than ever. My+ was born from the need to attract, retain and develop the talent we need to serve our clients and to grow our firm. We started thinking about My+ during the pandemic as we were looking at unprecedented market trends – 20 years of declining full-time workforce, persistent reduction in college enrollment, the “great resignation”, a surging gig economy – and accelerated employee expectations for more sustainable work-life blending.
When we introduced My+, we challenged ourselves to reimagine what it means to build a career at PwC. We asked ourselves: What does it take to recruit top talent? What moments matter during their time at the firm? What skills do our people want and need to be ready for the future? And what flexibility do they need to reach their full potential? In every answer, we encountered what became a core component of My+ and what we believe is one of the most important human capital priorities for any organization — personalization.
How has PwC invested in upskilling and rethinking value for it's people?
Our goal is to create a differentiated experience where our employees are given more agency in how, when and where they work, so they can meet their personal and professional goals. I’m especially excited by what this looks like for our people at different stages of their lives and careers – whether it’s parenthood or another big life event, moving into a new role at the firm, a leave of absence or anything in between. My+ is a cultural and digital transformation that helps our people, at all levels, navigate those changes.
We’re investing in tools that will help support their development every step of the way. For example, My Learning is a personalized learning platform that aggregates all required, recommended and elective learning into one place. It makes it easy to build a personalized learning plan that is customized to your role and includes skill development opportunities in today’s hottest business topics.
We also recently announced an exciting new, three-year investment in AI, which includes training to help our employees learn about Generative AI and its potential to guide both their career and client work. I love that we’re positioning employees as early adopters – just as we envisioned with My+, we’re putting growth and development at the center.
What does My+ aim to achieve for PwC's people?
We know our people are far too unique to apply a one-size-fits-all approach to benefits and employee programs. Gone are the days when the only direction people wanted to go was up and the only legitimate career paths were linear. To be an employee at PwC means you have access to personalized training on emerging topics so that your skillset is always relevant and marketable, and we’re bringing this to life through a series of My+ programs, tools and experiences.
People want more agency in their careers, and organizations need to cultivate environments that give employees more ownership over their professional paths while still driving impact for the business. The overarching vision of My+ is to do exactly that, and we’re making great progress so far! Our leadership speaker series events have garnered 106k views from virtual and in-person attendees. More than 24,000 people have built personalized learning plans in My Learning. We’ve also launched 12 exciting new My+ tools and programs to date, including tech-enabled development and feedback tools for all employee levels. We’re excited to see what’s next in the two years ahead!
What are the key elements of My+?
One key element of My+ is development. We’re providing more transparent opportunities at all levels for employees to grow, practice new skills, and work on different teams and assignments of interest. We are also customizing our benefits and rewards to meet the unique needs of each employee.
We recognize that organizations can’t compete on compensation and benefits alone, so My+ is also focused on building a future where well-being is front and center. We give our people two week-long firmwide shutdowns each year in the US to rest and recharge. I’m already counting down to our next week-long shutdown this July! As always, our people can use our tech-enabled vacation tools to make it easier to plan and take time off.
Lastly, we want our people to pursue professional paths that excite them, so the future of My+ will include the launch of an integrated, tech-enabled talent marketplace that connects the needs of our business with our people’s goals, interests and skills.
What challenges come with the scale of the changes being implemented, and how does PwC plan to address them?
The experience that organizations create for their people is what ultimately determines whether they stay or leave, so listening to employees is vital. It sounds simple, but it’s often overlooked and easier said than done – especially with a 65,000+ strong workforce. Embarking on this digital and cultural transformation requires being proactive and seeking out feedback from your people. That’s what has helped us identify what’s working well, what needs improvement and what is altogether missing.
How does PwC plan to continue investing in it's people going forward?
That’s a great question, and an important one, since this is a three-year journey and we still have two years to go. The next step in our strategy is designing and launching the integrated marketplace mentioned earlier, that connects skills, opportunities and learning with personal interests and business needs. Ultimately, we want our people to have the power to own their own careers in a tech-enabled way through ongoing robust training programs in emerging technologies.
