Deloitte chair: Workplace is changing
Deloitte chair Sharon Allen with President Joseph
Aoun at Thursday’s CEO Breakfast.
Photo by HERATCH EKMEKJIAN
Think of a career track more like a lattice in a garden rather than a vertical assembly of rungs on a ladder, said Sharon Allen, chairman of the board of Deloitte LLP.
Today’s employees may take different paths, opting to grow along a “sideways” route, thus creating for themselves a habitat of increased flexibility and increased work-life balance, she said, while others may opt to “dial up” and flourish along traditional routes.
Allen, speaking at Northeastern’s May 8 CEO Breakfast forum, said that one offshoot of changing demographics, marked by shrinkages in the talent pool and in anticipated numbers of graduating high school students, is the creation of a different environment in today’s workplace.
At Deloitte, a major audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory corporation, the motivation to attract and retain talented workers has fostered an environment of greater flexibility for employees of all levels, Allen said.
She asked attendees to picture a garden as she described a successful program at her company that fosters employee creation of their career plan. Not all routes adhere to the traditional route.
“In the past, we’ve always thought about a vertical corporate ladder” leading to employment success, she said. “That ladder is no longer right for today’s workforce. Instead, think of it more like a lattice in a garden. The plants don’t necessarily grow straight up and down, and instead grow sideways.”
Responsible for the governance of a $10 billion company, and twice named to Forbes’ list of “the 100 most powerful women in the world,” Allen described the importance of stability in the workplace as a key to corporate success.
Citing surveys that indicate employees are put off by supervisors who appear to “work 24/7,” Allen noted that some workers are much more appreciative of a supervisor who is honest about taking time off for personal or family reasons, and who shows “transparency” in his or her leadership style.
“When I started in this business 35 years ago, it was part of the norm for bosses to work Saturdays. Many of them were just reading the newspaper,” she said. “But today, that (example of) a boss who works too hard sends a wrong message. We’ve found that many employees think, ‘I don’t want to live like that.’ ”
By contrast, a boss who takes time off to attend a child’s soccer game, for example, shows him- or herself to be a trustworthy person, capable of working side-by-side with the employees, she said.
As part of the corporation’s effort to retain high-caliber personnel, Deloitte has offered an opportunity for individuals to come along at their own rate, some choosing to “dial up,” and others opting to “dial down.”
Given the chance to better map their own futures, most employees felt grateful for the opportunity, she said, noting that although a segment of the population opted to dial down, many also opted to step up their roles with the company.
Noting that Massachusetts was recently ranked 49th in job growth, falling behind Michigan, Allen suggested that even in less-than-ideal economic times, the willingness of a talented employee to work for a company is critical.
“There are more people in the talent pool who are coming up on retirement than are expected to begin working,” she said.
Allen spoke to a capacity crowd at Sixty State Street, reflecting on the role of a corporation in attracting and retaining a strong workforce. She has more than 30 years of audit and consulting experience, and was elected chairman of the board in 2003. She was re-elected in 2007.
She also serves on the President's Export Council and is a member of the Women's Leadership Board at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
— Susan Salk