‘The Great Attrition’ is ebbing, there’s stability in people movement now: KPMG India

Sunit Sinha, Partner and Head - People, Performance and Culture at KPMG in India

Professional services major KPMG India switched from the traditional model of attract, engage and hire to engage, attract and hire.

In this dynamic talent landscape, the TA team members are told to focus on the core of the individual while making a hiring decision, Sunit Sinha, Partner and Head - People, Performance and Culture at KPMG in India, told Moneycontrol.

Further, Sinha feels that the story of “The Great Attrition” is ebbing as KPMG in India experiences more stability in businesses and people’s movements. Over the next 2-3 years’ horizon, KPMG India plans to hire 20,000 people across various domains and skill sets including Taxation, Business Consulting, Risk Advisory, Deal Advisory etc.

What are your key takeaways from recent HR trends such as ‘The Great Reshuffle’, ‘Offer Shopping’, etc? How do you see it changing in the next two years? 

The talent market hasn’t ever been as volatile as it is now. It’s the market forces at play and for sure we have seen employees/candidates making the most of it. Ironically, who would have imagined that a few quarters later, tables would turn and layoffs would again take centre stage?

While we have observed this oscillation in the last two years, there is bound to be a correction of sorts in the coming years. The stabilisation will be pivotal to the sustenance of the talent market and those with myriad skills will continue to command a premium.

How has KPMG reacted to these trends? What are some of the interesting and innovative HR practices adopted in light of recent changes in talent’s outlook towards their professional lives? 

The market forces at play in the talent segment haven’t been easy for corporates. We as an organisation have been equally hit like the others. In more ways than one, we have made attempts to insulate ourselves from the crests and throughs to a reasonable extent.

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Our robust HR practices have ensured that we maintain a fine balance between engagement with our target pools of talent, attraction for potential roles, upskilling to help people achieve their full potential, flexibility to leverage our hybrid work arrangements and most importantly creating a sense of belongingness to improve the stickiness factor for our colleagues.

We are cognizant of the mental health pressures prevailing around and hence, we keep employees at the core of what we do. This has really benefited us in our endeavour to be the #ClearChoice for our people.

What is the hiring plan for the next year? What is the strategy for attracting the best talent?

KPMG is the youngest Big Four in the country and our growth plans are extremely aggressive. Over the next 2-3 years’ horizon, we endeavour to bring in 20,000 colleagues across various domains and skill sets. With the changing talent market landscape, it was only imperative for us to align our strategy for attraction as soon as possible.

By being a very agile Talent Acquisition (TA) function, we switched from the traditional model of attract, engage and hire to engage, attract and hire. This got us to spend significant time and resources on building deep engagements with talent communities.

In our outreaches, we focused on career maps across our diverse business spectrums, through a segmented approach basis service lines and skill sets enabling our go-to talent market strategy to create an impact.

What are the roles you are hiring for?

Given the diverse businesses at our firm, we have been hiring for roles across, Taxation, Business Consulting, Risk Advisory, Deal Advisory, Forensics, Digital, Cloud and many more. Our ESG practice has been hiring colleagues across domains and skill sets as we continue to be the frontrunners to advise our clients on this agenda.

How do hiring managers at KPMG India look into candidates?

In this dynamic talent landscape, our TA team members must focus on the core of the individual while making a hiring decision. Our colleagues are coached on how to go about understanding an individual’s purpose and career aspirations and their alignment with our core values.

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Clarity of thought and fitment to the role are key elements as part of our evaluation metrics that broadly focus on three key aspects, delivering impact, seeking growth and inspiring trust. These are the bedrock of what we look at in our potential hires.

What special requirements does KPMG require from managers?

In a fast-paced, dynamic environment where the world is in a BANI mode (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear and Incomprehensible) managers continue to remain the lighthouse for all talent that ventures into stormy seas.

Empathy and agility coupled with resilience and digital dexterity are key traits that hold people managers a league ahead of others. People management skills will remain core to our high-performing teams that drive collaboration and help our managers to 'Dream Big, Think Big and Act Big'.

How has been the attrition side of KPMG in the last two years? How do you predict the future in this regard? 

We have seen a marked decline in attrition this year as compared to the last two. Our business requirements can be challenging sometimes and we aspire to be a step ahead of the market to be a clear choice.

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We think that the story of the great attrition is ebbing as we experience more stability in businesses and people movement.

How is KPMG enabling flexibility for its employees? What percentage of employees are currently working from offices? What does the future look like?

Hybrid for us is the way we consider the interdependencies of our business models, client needs and people's aspirations to arrive at a sweet spot of work arrangements that works for all and is super-efficient.

Our people have the flexibility to plan their workday to meet both their client and individual needs. We have seen encouraging feedback on how the majority of our people believe that they have the flexibility to choose a location where client service is maximised.

It’s tough for us to put a number but broadly speaking anywhere between 30 percent and 40 percent of our people are in the office each day. In the future, we will continue to see our professionals working remotely when they prioritise efficiency and at our world-class offices when they need to create, dialogue and develop.

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[This interview has been edited for length and clarity]