The 2021 Best Firms to Work For: KPMG

Client Industries Served: Commercial (Consumer Markets, Energy/Natural Resources/Chemicals, Healthcare, Industrial Manufacturing, Life Sciences, Technology Media & Telecommunications) Financial Services (Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Insurance, etc.), Government (State, Local & Federal)

Consulting Service Lines: all of the above

CMAG: How would you say you've managed to stay among the industry's Best Firms to Work For amid these unprecedented times?

At KPMG, for more than 120 years, our partners and employees have supported one another, proudly served our clients, and have given back to the communities where we live and work. Amid these unprecedented times, I'm proud of the way our people have leaned into our values of Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together and For Better. Our professionals across the country have become a cohesive remote community, supporting and relying on each other, while still serving our clients. It has truly been remarkable.

Our firm leadership has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic keeping in mind our values and our people's well-being. A Pandemic Response Committee has continually monitored the situation and consulted regularly with our local operations leaders and health experts from the Mayo Clinic to inform our response activities. To provide essential information in one location, KPMG established a Coronavirus Resource Center with updated travel advisories, FAQs, health and well-being resources and a dedicated mailbox monitored continuously for employees to share questions and concerns.

KPMG provides our partners and employees, and their loved ones, with a broad range of generous health benefits and well-being programs, which continue to evolve with the needs of our people during this ongoing pandemic, including expanding the firm's paid leave policy to support employees impacted by the virus. To help alleviate some of the stress caused by the uncertainty surrounding the school year and the availability of dependent care, the firm implemented several new resources including learning pods for KPMG children; learning resources for parents who were also homeschooling, in addition to numerous well-being resources.

CMAG: Were there any specific programs or initiatives (internal or external) that contributed to you being a Best Firm to Work For?

Earlier this year, we launched Thriving Together @KPMG Advisory, an initiative to support a holistic approach to tackling resiliency, show appreciation and improve employee retention and morale. Our efforts have been focused on four pillars: Care, Connect, Cultivate, Celebrate. Each month, we highlighted a different theme. We've engaged with employees and partners in numerous ways including sending gift cards, books, gift boxes and even an option to donate to charity; holding photo and story challenges with prizes and hosting a speaker series that included Olympian Abby Wambach, Paralympian Steve Serio, and other inspirational speakers. This program has proven to be so popular within Advisory that the firm is now launching it nationally to our Audit and Tax practices as well.

The culture at KPMG also drives our people and our business. We ask all Partners and employees to make a Culture Commitment. This is a statement of meaningful change to show visible, tangible commitment to culture change. Technology has been critical to our success in this pandemic year. However, after receiving feedback that our people felt it challenging to disconnect from work, we announced some time and energy management enhancements like "heads-down Wednesdays" to allow for meeting-free time for focused work; "camera-free Fridays" to provide a break from our people being constantly "on" and shorter meeting times, instead of defaulting to 30 to 60 minutes, KPMG meetings are now 25 or 50 minutes. In addition, during the pandemic Advisory launched an Employee Engagement Concierge Service to help partners and managing directors maintain and build connectivity and camaraderie with their team members working virtually. The Concierge Service team provides ideas, support and implementation assistance. This helps leaders make a difference in their teams' work environment, creating a sense of community and allowing people to feel appreciated for their efforts.

CMAG: What is unique about your firm? What sets it apart?

As a professional services firm, our people are our greatest asset. We hear from newcomers and tenured professionals alike that our culture is what sets us apart from our competitors. Despite the firm's 35,000-person headcount, our large organization is incredibly close-knit and often described as a "KPMG Family." KPMG is widely recognized for being a great place to work and build a career. Our people share a sense of purpose in the work we do, and a strong commitment to community service, diversity, equity and inclusion, and eradicating childhood literacy.

In June 2020, KPMG Chair and CEO Paul Knopp announced the launch of Accelerate 2025 to ensure that more individuals from underrepresented groups choose KPMG as their employer of choice, build careers at KPMG, and advance to leadership positions within our firm and profession by 2025. Since then, more than 600 partners and employees have been working together to better understand how our people are experiencing the firm and to ensure their voices could be heard. As Advisory Vice Chair, I am among the task force leaders focusing on areas including Recruitment, Development & Advancement, Experience & Retention, and Transparency & Accountability. In addition to Advisory, the firm's entire leadership team is committed to Accelerate 2025.

Our Community Impact program is rooted in our values and continues to serve as a critical connection to our local communities. Over the past year, the firm invited employees to nominate deserving organizations in their local communities for KPMG Community Impact grants with hundreds of local organizations receiving grants. In 2020, KPMG people volunteered nearly 200,000 hours, and supported over 300,000 students via our lifelong learning programs. Additionally, the firm gave more than $2 million to support COVID relief and racial equity. For the sixth year in a row, KPMG was named by the Civic 50 as one of the most community-minded companies in the U.S.

CMAG: What's the top priority over the next 6 to 12 months?

Our priorities are always supporting our people and our clients. We strive every day to provide our people with the best work experience possible – interesting engagements, a supportive and collegial atmosphere and competitive pay and benefits. Throughout the pandemic, we've worked closely with our clients as they navigate the new normal and what it means for their businesses. We continue to leverage technology and other tools every day to help improve our clients' business performance, turn risk and compliance into opportunities and develop strategies to improve efficiencies and enhance value. We continue to leverage our learnings from working remotely to provide more flexibility to our teams. Over the next 6 to 12 months, it will be important to continue to evaluate and balance our people's safety and flexibility with our client needs. When you look at the remainder of this year and 2022, what excites you?

CMAG: What opportunities do you see in your markets?

At KPMG, we see challenges as opportunities for transformation. In the coming months, we will continue to utilize data-driven insights to help our clients navigate the ongoing market disruptions of the pandemic and changing customer expectations. Of course, the impacts vary across industries. We continue to see a strong deal market and opportunity to help our clients with digital and financial transformation. Cyber continues to be hot – as IP protection is more important than ever with hybrid work models and global business operations. Of course, with the change in the political landscape, we continue to see client needs expanding in the areas of managing risk and adhering to new and changed regulations.

CMAG: What impact do you think being a Best Firm to Work For has on the firm? Employees? Clients?

Being recognized as a "Best Firm to Work For" is a wonderful recognition by our people for the interesting work, supportive environment, and great benefits we provide our partners and employees. It validates our efforts to help our people thrive personally and professionally despite this uncertain time. For our clients – it shows them that our people are committed to our workplace, an outstanding client experience and that our teams are solid and ready to help them achieve their goals. In addition, it helps elevate KPMG as an employer for potential candidates.