CaseStudy /

KPMG in the UK is a leading provider of professional services including audit, tax and advisory. As part of KMG Europe LLP it is part of the largest integrated accounting firm in Europe.

KPMG in the UK has over 10,000 partners and staff working in 22 offices and is part of a strong global network of member firms. Its vision is to turn knowledge into value for the benefit of its clients, people and capital markets.

Personal Branding to Equip Managers for Promotion

100% of programme participants achieved promotion to director or partner after improving the impact of their personal brand”

01/ The ChallangeThe company was struggling to get its people through the director and partner track and gain promotion in one area of the business. Although they were technically very good and capable of engaging with clients, some of these candidates lacked some of the gravitas and personal impact that would be expected from directors or partners. KPMG was looking for a personal brand programme that would not only help this population through their promotion panels, but also further equip them for success as a director or partner once they were successful.

“Sometimes when they got to the promotion panel these people would freeze or become very nervous or inarticulate when delivering their message”, says Gill Hardy, Programme Manager for Business and Leadership Skills at KPMG. “When we asked them why this was, a common theme was it was their career on the line, when they were put in the limelight. We needed to build their confidence in their personal brand.”

The quality of its people is a key differentiator for KPMG in the professional services sector and the company recognised that it was vital to address this skills gap in order to maintain a competitive edge. “We have to get our people into the marketplace, build a rapport quicker and build strong personal relationships,” explains Hardy. “Their personal brand has got to be a trusted brand. We have always said as a company we are the trusted advisers, so we need them to get a personal brand behind them that delivers the message.”

02/ The SolutionKPMG had previously engaged with rogenSi to run their Impact 3 programme and were pleased with the results. However, for this population the company needed a more tailored approach, combining some of the tools from that training, but allowing more time for participants to build on what they learned by practising, being filmed and getting constructive feedback.

The KPMG team worked with rogenSi consultants to design a two day programme, called Brand U, focused on gravitas and personal impact. The training was designed for groups of six people in order to maximise the time participants could spend working with their colleagues and the consultant to practice ways to improve their personal brand. Using smaller groups also ensured that people could not hide, and were encouraged to interact and participate to gain maximum benefit from the exercises.

“It was less about the content and more about what they were doing, how it was coming across, rather than the technical detail”, explains Hardy. “We concentrated on things like how could they use their pitch and tone better. We homed in on the tiniest details, to make it really powerful, because if you change something little it can have a huge impact.”

KPMG ensured that the participants on the programme were the people on the director track for that year, and due to attend their promotion panel in three months’ time. The fact that they would soon have to articulate their business and personal cases made the training more meaningful to the participants. Consequently they worked hard to hone their presentation skills and create concise messages they could deliver with impact.

The content of the training was carefully adapted to the audience in order to maximise the benefits to the target population of senior managers. Some sessions were extended to cover certain topics in more detail as a result of feedback from the participants in the room. The team from KPMG and the consultants from rogenSi pooled their resources very effectively and the flexibility of their approach was a key factor in the programme’s success. “We were very much working as a team, it was very collaborative,” says Hardy. “I felt like we were a complete family, we were there to help and support each other.”

03/ AchievementsThe main objective of this programme was to enable the candidates on the director and partner tracks to get through their promotion panels. This was achieved, with remarkable results. In the Advisory area of the business, 16 candidates attended the Brand U programme and all of them got through the promotional panel: a 100% success rate. Another 23 people from the Tax area of the business went through the programme and the majority of them also attained promotion.

Hardy comments, “The Tax area of the business has never had that many people getting through, so there must be something in their behaviour that’s coming over. There was a gap in our areas, and then a marked improvement after we’d run the programme.”

The participants also gained considerable individual benefits from the programme: they emerged with greater confidence to articulate a concise and clear message using stronger body language. This increased confidence in their personal

What I like about rogenSi is that they listen. They are collaborative and pragmatic in their approach, and flexible in the way they work with clients.”

“The Tax area of the business has never had that many people getting through, so there must be something in their behaviour that’s coming over. There was a gap in our areas, and then a marked improvement after we’d run the programme.”

brand and the tools they gained through the training sessions has enabled them to make a significant impact every time they interact with their clients and their peers. Hardy comments, “They are utilising the tools beyond the panel and in their daily life, whether it’s doing a big proposal or setting up an important meeting with a client or a partner. Being able to use the tools further has proved a key benefit.”

04/ The LegacyThe success of the pilot programme, after which the majority of participants achieved promotion, has ensured that eight further Brand U training sessions will be run again this year.

Feedback from the original participants was very positive, with people citing the fact that they had time out to really consider their personal impact, and the way the tools used in the programme helped to build their confidence as key benefits.

In addition KPMG engaged with rogenSi to run an additional set of Brand U modules, bite-sized sessions of an hour to an hour and a half at a summer school held at Reading University. The feedback from these sessions was so good and they proved so popular that there were too many people trying to get into the classrooms. The company hopes to be able to offer a similar summer school at some point in the future in order to satisfy demand.

“An increase to 98.5% in engagement and enthusiasm levels about working for client team, as shown by the Vision to Results survey conducted by the team and rogenSi.”

05/ The Verdict“What I like about rogenSi is that they listen. They are collaborative and pragmatic in their approach, and flexible in the way they work with clients.”

“I really appreciated the way that rogenSi adapted the programme to my needs, and that they were always available. I could always get hold of somebody if I needed to talk something through. I felt there were completely there for me, and that’s really different from my experience with other providers.”

“The other element for me is that rogenSi’s consultants are fun. I felt they matched my personality well.”

Gill Hardy, Programme Manager for Business and Leadership Skills at KPMG

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