Offer development options
When Scherer attended school, she often sat in a classroom, listened to lectures and viewed slides on an overhead projector. But that’s not everyone’s preferred learning style.
Deloitte spent several years re-evaluating how adults learn.
“What we found was that, especially with our people coming in today, the old-style lecture format … the traditional classroom-style learning, that isn’t necessarily the best way or the only way for people to learn,” she says.
After employees set developmental goals, offer plenty of options for them to achieve those goals. Deloitte mixes live and virtual training with indirect growth opportunities.
Technology has morphed the traditional classroom. Deloitte uses an online platform loaded with interactive tools.
“You definitely have a risk when you’re doing something that’s more Web-based that people will lose interest,” Scherer says. “It’s hard to gauge whether or not they’re learning because you’re not sitting there right in front of them. … There’s a bunch of different tricks that we teach people in a virtual classroom, where you can call people out and you can have them write on the board to show that they are actually getting a concept.”
Those tools include chat boxes for asking private questions and whiteboards for public sharing. Employees can also request the microphone to speak, raise their hands to be called on or applaud to show interest.
The physical classroom is also becoming more interactive through case studies, simulations and hands-on practice. At milestones, such as promotions to manager or partner, Deloitte employees receive actual client proposals and work in teams to prepare mock oral presentations. Then, they receive feedback from superiors.
“When we do those types of simulations, we get the leadership at the highest levels of our firm to participate in those — which not only is a great experience for the participants going through it, but it also helps reinforce this culture that learning’s important because they see our top leaders in the classrooms with them,” Scherer says.
Employees will echo executive commitment, so get involved. Don’t just attend; be attentive.
“We really encourage people to be there and be fully present,” Scherer says. “So turn your BlackBerrys off. Don’t bring your computer to class. We really try, if we’re there facilitating, to do the same. We’re not cutting out on an early flight, but we’re staying there until the end of the training. When people see the leaders doing that, they know that it’s more than just us saying that development’s important — that we’re actually living it too.”
Other informal opportunities can drive development into your culture. Deloitte offers Global Development Programs where employees can take assignments across the organization to get experience in diverse cultural environments — similar to studying abroad.
The CEO also holds quarterly diversity think tanks with senior managers.
“You gain a bunch of skills there, not only just the awareness of the issue but the ability to present something to the CEO of our company,” Scherer says. “That helps them to learn executive presence. A lot of times, too, they may take on projects that require them to work in a team, not only within their function but cross-functionally.”
Community involvement also contributes to development. Deloitte employees participate in an annual Impact Day to serve local organizations. It may be painting a school, but Scherer often seeks opportunities that hone business-related skills: preparing tax returns, conducting mock job interviews or presenting tax updates to small business owners.
“Getting involved in aspects of the business outside of just pure client service delivery [is important],” she says, comparing it to the balance of educational experience with extracurricular activities on your first resume. “Client service is the most important thing that we do, but we think that people actually are better client service professionals if they are doing some of these other things.”
