Since making its debut on
Consulting magazine’s Best Firms to Work For list three years ago, PwC has settled in at No. 8 in back-to-back years. No small feat, for sure, for a firm with the global presence and overall sheer size of PwC. The firm has more than 160,000 employees worldwide.
“What sets us apart from other consulting firms is our ability to help our clients transform their business from strategy through execution,” says Dana Mcilwain, PwC Vice Chairman and U.S. Advisory Leader. “We have the right talent to help our clients address their business challenges anywhere in the world. Our deep industry experience, global reach and ability to deliver on a breadth of client issues, including tax and assurance issues, gives us the competitive advantage and differentiates us from our competitors.”
Following the recent acquisitions of Diamond Management and Technology Consultants and PRTM, PwC now has over 6,000 professionals in the U.S. Advisory practice.
“Ensuring they have the right training, methods, tools and resources they need to provide the highest quality service to our clients is one of my top priorities in the year ahead,” Mcilwain says. “What excites me most about the firm and opportunities immediately ahead of us is our increased ability to help our clients grow and innovate in today’s challenging business climate.”
Much of the work PwC does with its clients is transformational, he says, helping them look across their business to design and execute strategies for profitable and sustainable growth.
“As the Advisory practice continues to grow in 2012, I look forward to uncovering opportunities at new and existing clients and helping them find ways to be more agile and successful,” says Mcilwain. “Our partners and staff are excited about the opportunities that lay ahead. The continued growth of our business provides our people with tremendous career development and advancement opportunities.”
Those opportunities for its own people, of course, are a big part of what makes PwC such a great place to work. It’s also the reason the firm has been able to attract and retain top-notch talent in an ultra-competitive landscape.
“Our firm leadership, partners and staff are all very pleased and proud to be named a Best Firm to Work For, Mcilwain says. “Being a Best Firm to Work For is a reflection of our commitment to our clients, our people and our firm. As a leading professional services firm, we are focused on delivering service of the highest quality to our clients and on providing our people with compelling opportunities for growth and development.”
Q&AOn the Best Firms to Work For survey, PwC improved its career development scores from the results on the 2010 survey. Consulting asked Dana Mcilwain, PwC Vice Chairman and U.S. Advisory Leader, how the firm was able to achieve the performance improvement. His response is below. “We have some of the best and brightest minds in the business, and we're very interested in helping them achieve their career aspirations. We encourage ongoing coaching and mentoring so that our people receive the guidance they need to make good career choices.
“We encourage our people to take advantage of distinctive opportunities, such as global assignments—giving them greater exposure and access to the firm and the multinational clients we serve. We also encourage our people to invest in themselves and their future with the firm by contributing to thought leadership, developing and teaching courses and looking for new opportunities to get involved.
“There are many different paths to a rewarding career at PwC—we want to give our people every opportunity to be successful. At PwC, we are relentlessly focused on delivering a great people and client experience. We foster a culture of teaming, building relationships and delivering value. This translates into an exceptional people experience across PwC and an incomparable experience for our clients.”
—J.K.
