Consulting Magazine - September 2015

BEST
FIRMS
THE2015

Each year, it seems, the Best Firms to Work For survey is highlighted by a firm that’s making its debut. More times than not, that firm sneaks on the list in the teens, but not this year’s most-notable newcomer. In 2015, that honor goes to KPMG, which not only bursts on the Best Firms scene for the first time, but does so in dramatic fashion among the top half of the survey at No. 7.

“Being a “Best Firm to Work For” helps KPMG attract and retain the best talent and deliver great results for our clients,” says Carl Carande, Vice Chair of Advisory, KPMG.

“We believe that our employees’
deep sense of purpose, extraordi-
nary talents and hard work, as well
as our culture of high performance,
innovation and inclusion are at the
heart of what makes KPMG a great
place to build a career,” he says.
“Additionally, this type of recogni-
tion is based directly on feedback
from our professionals so it makes
it especially satisfying.”
Carande also credits KPMG’s pur-
pose-driven culture, which it high-
lighted recently through its “Higher
Purpose” campaign, asking people to
share their stories about the greater
good, or “higher purpose” of their
work. “We had people describe re-
vitalizing villages in Africa, advanc-
ing scientific research in the Antarc-
tic, ensuring excavated minerals are
‘conflict free’ and mined without the
use of child labor, and helping to en-
sure that families have access to af-
fordable healthcare,” Carande says.
“People feel that the work they are
doing makes a difference—a fully
engaged and motivated team creates
an environment where our people
want to stay with the firm.”
And it’s those professionals,
Carande says, that truly differentiate
KPMG from its competitors. “Our
priority is our people, and I think
our professionals feel that. We have
the best teams in the marketplace
who understand and can proactive-
ly respond to our clients’ increased
demand for multi-dimensional so-
lutions to solve today’s unique and
complex business challenges,” he
says. “Our people and our clients
The firm is committed to con-
tinuing to focus on being the “Em-
ployer of Choice” by attracting and
retaining top talent, Carande says.
“We continuously look for ways to
improve upon our work environ-
ment where people feel that they
are a priority, and where they want
to come, stay, and build a career,’ he
says. “We are extremely optimistic
about the future, and we know that
there are going to be greater chal-
lenges and bigger opportunities
ahead in the marketplace.”

KPMG EXCELLED IN
COMPENSATION &
BENEFITS AND CAREER
DEVELOPMENT. WHY?

Carl Carande, Vice Chair of Advisory for KPMG, says: “We understand that there is a ‘war for talent’ in the marketplace. Services are becoming more specialized and are in greater demand, so are the people who can execute those jobs. In order to attract and retain these employees, we know that we need to have a competitive compensation package, but it’s more than that. We think we do a good job of understanding our employees’ goals and aspirations—in fact, we recently made some adjustments and improvements in our benefits offerings because we make it a priority to ensure that our people are well taken care of at work and in their lives outside of work. Added to our continual focus of professional growth we are confident that the positive trends noted in this year’s survey will continue.”