Michael Stone
Head of Human Resources, Grant Thornton
Engaging with people at an earlier stage of their careers is proving to be a successful way to build a talented, diverse, inclusive workforce.
Over the past 12 months, 800 people have joined Grant Thornton, with many having engaged with the firm at an early stage of their career at school or college. Working in collaboration with Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI), the firm has introduced a Transition Year programme ‘Boot Camp’ that gives students a clear view of what they can expect from a career in accountancy, learn the fundamentals and gain essential insights into strategy, risk and leadership. One of the strongest sources of early stage talent has come from the firms innovative Summer Internship Programme which allows students from a wide variety of academic backgrounds the opportunity to work in varied roles over a period of five weeks.
The traditional route of sourcing talent from colleges has been blended with this new approach that seeks to broaden the diversity of the workforce to reflect the firm’s client base and the environment in which it operates.
Empowering employees
The firm’s wide strategy, Empower 2023, empowers employees and clients to achieve ambitions and develop their ideas. This strategy operates inside a competency framework which defines what is required for outstanding performance at each career level.
This framework supports career transformation by helping employees develop new skills and capabilities. This is all embedded by an award winning Learning and Development programme, ensuring people reach their potential at every level. This culture of excellence supports and underpins the firm’s five strategic pillars under Empower 2023.
Encouraging work-life balance
The firm supports the work-life balance of its people through many different initiatives. A wellness initiative, Supporting Mental Health, was launched last October offering all employees an hour’s ‘chargeable’ or ‘non-chargeable’ time each week for the month. It encouraged employees to take the hour to do something for themselves, go for a walk, meditate, or spend time with family.
Diversity and Inclusion is also a very important initiative for the firm, we have an active D&I committee that drives the pillars of gender equality, ability, LGBTQ+, family and ethnicity, all which are marketed under ‘Embrace’. The broad mission here is to ensure that employees feel welcome and safe in their working environment and amongst their colleagues.
Building resilience
Business resilience is a critical factor in today’s marketplace and our employees are encouraged to develop their skills in this area. This focus on resilience is valued and helps drive the retention of employees.
Grant Thornton Ireland now features in the global network as one of the firms most likely to be recommended by its employees as a good place to work. This success has been achieved by listening to the results of employee engagement surveys and focusing on what needs to be done to make Grant Thornton an even more attractive place for employees.