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"A day in the life of an auditor may differ from that of a tax professional, but our commitment to our people remains consistent," Chua Chin San, Human Capital Partner, affirms.
PwC has a network of more than 364,000 people in 151 markets, with more than 3,500 partners and staff in Singapore.
Starting as an organisation that focuses on audit and assurance over a century ago, PwC has branched out to develop specialised capabilities in tax, advisory and consulting to help its clients address challenges focusing on areas like ESG, sustainability & climate change, digital transformation, cyber security and privacy, data, mergers and acquisitions, and more.
Reflecting its efforts internally, PwC walked away with a gold award for 'Excellence in Graduate Recruitment and Development' at the HR Excellence Awards 2023, Singapore.
Following the win, Chua Chin San, Human Capital Partner, PwC Singapore, chats with HRO to share how the organisation's 'PwC+ Me' initiative brought them to their victory and overall success.
Q Congratulations on your top performance at the HR Excellence Awards! How has your HR and people strategy contributed to your success this year?
At PwC, our people strategy is anchored on our network strategy of ‘The new equation’. We focus on building trust through a human-led and tech-enabled approach in delivering sustained outcomes. We build a diverse community of solvers who work together in creating a meaningful experience for our people.
Translating this experience to our graduate recruitment programmes, we are focused on exciting our campus communities in the growth and learning opportunities as well as coaching culture that are foundational to PwC. Working at PwC is to embark on a career journey that prepares and nurtures you to thrive in a vibrant, dynamic and ever-evolving marketplace. Our graduates and interns are extended opportunities to build their expertise and craft their own journey based on their interests and work responsibilities to grow into competent and confident professionals.
We are pleased to be awarded gold in this space as we continue to be top of mind as an employer of choice for young and upcoming talents into the workforce.
Q Looking back at your achievements, what aspect of your HR initiatives are you most proud of and why?
Our team understands the importance of a seamless candidate experience. The process begins with our close partnership with the education institutions, understanding the expectations of the next generation of talents. We then craft programmes, as exemplified by our work study internships, and create a community of leaders within PwC who are ready to help drive the success of these programmes. Only then, do we reach out to and engage the campus community, addressing these expectations and bridging these gaps.
Prior to applying to PwC, candidates may join us for tea parties to understand our approach and value proposition, continually engage with our talent acquisition team, participate in offeree events and multiple other touchpoints and platforms.
Thus, even before graduating, they already learn about us, our opportunities and have established a relationship with PwC. Upon joining, they are familiar with what PwC offers and stand for, with a clear understanding of what they can expect out of a career with PwC.
Q During your HR journey, what were some significant obstacles you faced, and how did you overcome them to achieve excellence?
As a professional services firm offering a diverse suite of services, it’s easy to get overwhelmed navigating through different lines of service. A day in the life of an auditor may differ from that of a tax professional, but our commitment to our people remains consistent. We communicate this by reinforcing our people value proposition, PwC + Me.
Irrespective of lines of service, our young talent can look forward to MEaningful work, MEmorable experiences and MEntorship in their journey with us - a journey that is consistent across all touchpoints throughout their candidate journey.
Q How does your organisation measure the success and impact of your HR initiatives?
Over the years, our recruitment and employee development efforts have earned us repeated recognition from independent organisations, such as gradsingapore’s S100 Leading Graduate Employers and Universum’s Most Attractive Employers ranking. Above all, our numbers speak for themselves with nearly 90% of our employees who joined PwC as graduate hires affirming that PwC provides opportunities for them to work on challenging assignments that contribute to their development.
Q In what direction do you see the HR/people function evolving in the future, considering the emerging trends?
The key emerging buzz is artificial intelligence, and we are already seeing the impact of 'talent intelligence' on talent acquisition decision making, skills matching and predictions. As a leading global professional services firm, PwC remains at the forefront of technology, but remains anchored on our strategy of being human-led and tech-enabled. This focuses our approach through disruptive times - both in how we as a firm have emerged successful through the pandemic, to how we will continue to engage future young talent as they embark on their careers with us.
Our commitment in being human-led will see us continue to invest in our candidate journey, staying close to the evolving needs and aspirations of our next generation of talent, even as we grow and develop them — in the space of artificial intelligence, as they emerge ready to deliver outcomes for our clients.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets' section!
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