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Mega-merger Post-merger PricewaterhouseCoopers has become a true giant. In a time when every company that has ever made an overseas call touts itself as having an international presence, PwC is truly a globalized firm with well over 800 offices in more than 150 countries worldwide. The leaders of PwC believe that the bigger a firm is, the faster it grows, and that the new bulk of PwC will create an inexorable "breakaway firm" that will far exceed the reach of any competitor. Big baby Though it's technically only two years old, PwC's consulting arm, Management Consulting Services, has made a very strong impression in the management consulting field. PwC MCS qualifies as one of the fastest-growing consulting firms, with a 1999 growth rate of 27 percent. More remarkably, PricewaterhouseCoopers's strategy consulting practice now qualifies as the third-largest strategic practice in the world. Expanding in Europe MCS has been pulling its weight in PwC's expansion effort, particularly in Europe. In June 1999, it added about 250 consultants to its French practice. The consultancy was also strengthened through acquisitions of firms in both Belgium and Italy. Tech-mighty PricewaterhouseCoopers has developed a new consulting arm, known as Emerging Company Services, to aid fledgling high-tech firms. PwC consultants help the startups from their early stages to create business models and to find investors. Once a startup becomes established, PwC already has the inside track to lucrative service contracts. Current tech clients include Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard. PricewaterhouseCoopers MCS is guided by a firm conviction that the Internet and e-business proves a significant strategic advantage as a method to build relationships between businesses and customers. "E-business is a very important growth area for PwC," says one consultant. "We're putting a lot of top talent, and a lot of money, toward making PwC a major player in e-business." In October 1999, PwC announced plans to launch an Internet-based business-to-business auction to launch sometime in 2000. Huge government consulting division One component of the merger was the creation of one of the largest government consulting firms in the nation. The PricewaterhouseCoopers Government Consulting Practice employs about 2,500 people in the Washington, DC area and gleans about 80 percent of its revenue directly from Uncle Sam. Projected revenue for 1999 is a notable $350 million. PricewaterhouseCoopers plans to establish a foundation that will permit career federal officials to take short leaves from their jobs to study how private-sector companies (like PwC) address issues. The program is, for the time being, unique. New training facility PricewaterhouseCoopers is intent on developing the top IT consultants in the business. Backing up those words, the firm built a 23-acre training facility in Tampa, Florida in 1999. As many as 750 of America's future consultants are sent down to the Sunshine State to spend 12 fun-filled weeks honing their technical acumen. They also become familiar with the firm and its operations through a series of lectures and group projects. The already well-trained IT consultants will then return to the Tampa site for more advanced instruction at set junctures during the course of their tenure with PwC. Actually... In October 1999 PWC announced that it would eliminate 1,000 administrative and support jobs. All but 250 of the job cuts are expected to come from layoffs across the country. The remaining cuts are to be achieved through a hiring freeze that is already in place. The cuts come as PWC makes a push to boost its e-commerce consulting business - the firm has plans to invest $3 billion over the next three years in this initiative. After the July 1998 merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand, company officials had indicated that no layoffs would follow. Busted! PricewaterhouseCoopers's good name was tarnished in January 2000, with the news that most partners had violated rules requiring that they not have investments in companies the firm audits. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which conducted the investigation, reported that 31 of the 43 partners in the firm's top leadership had committed at least one violation; five partners were dismissed immediately after the report came out. While neither admitting nor denying wrongdoing, Schiro and Moore wrote in a letter to the firm's partners that the S.E.C.'s report was "embarrassing to our firm and to all of us as partners."
The prospects look bright for qualified candidates applying to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Already enormous - PwC boasts that it is the 22nd largest employer in the United States and the 61st largest in the world - the firm is currently on a hiring binge for both experienced and entry-level hires. The recruiting process at PricewaterhouseCoopers has undergone a few changes since the merger. "They are trying to involve the professional staff a lot more," says one insider. "They have incentives every quarter from bringing in people who are hired as professional staff, from entry-level folks to very senior people." The firm also has very nice incentives for bringing them in, including stuff like cash bonuses and "a trip to France." This means that qualified, experienced hires, or anyone interested in the idea of working with PricewaterhouseCoopers, might do well to approach someone already working at the firm. Undergraduates might take a slightly different approach. PricewaterhouseCoopers is going with an approach that Coopers & Lybrand had used to good effect in the past. "First, we will do presentations on campus," confides one insider. "We will tell people who are interested to apply online. Then, we use the online applications to screen through the on-campus applicants and make up our recruitment schedules. So it's really not possible to sneak into the interviewing schedule. Candidates will be notified by phone (and also online, if they're enterprising enough to check)."
Rising pay "It is no secret," says one insider, "that as recently as two years ago neither Coopers & Lybrand or Price Waterhouse were known for the lavishness of their pay." Still, now that the job market has tightened up, "pay is competitive to better-than-competitive." Insiders say that while Price Waterhouse didn't have overtime and Coopers did, "the studies have found the salaries were basically comparable." A principal consultant advises: "We have an interesting program that's been carried over from Price Waterhouse. We extend profit sharing to consultants. In a partnership like PWC, the partners do profit sharing and then settle up at the end of the year. Consultants also get shares that appreciate over three years. " Global emphasis You'd expect a firm with 155,000 employees to have an international feel. "In fact, I'd say we're the size of a small country!" acknowledges one consultant. Another insider comments: "[PricewaterhouseCoopers is] a global firm and the leadership of the firm has a global concentration. When I need a knowledge request, all the members of the mailing list are global, and I'll get responses from South Africa and Paris, everywhere. It is very easy to do overseas assignments, and in fact the firm encourages it. They'll fly your husband or wife over to visit and PWC is very good about support systems." Experienced hire training has a global spin at PricewaterhouseCoopers as well. The five-day training program, dubbed the Global Induction Course is for experienced consulting hires, and, say past participants, "it could be almost anywhere - France, Spain, Tokyo, Cyprus, Sydney. Some get stuck in Atlanta or St. Louis." One recent hire says "The courses at Global are designed to introduce you to the firm, and they tell you what month one, year one, will be like, and who to contact if you need something. There are teamwork exercises, which are especially good for foreign folks who may be a little less used to working in teams. We ate like kings - steak, lobster, unlimited shrimp." On the merger What do insiders say about the massive merger? Most are pleased. One points out that "since the merger our benefits have increased. We now get three weeks vacation, healthcare and a 401(k). PwC employees have 10 paid holidays, plus 15 vacation days to start (and 22 vacation days after two years)." "The merger has had other benefits as well," points out a consultant. "We definitely have a stronger consulting and audit/tax presence and we cover every major company in America to some extent - either through audit/tax or through consulting. Before the merger, we had complementary strengths. Price Waterhouse was strong in consulting in the United States and in audit/tax in Europe, and Coopers & Lybrand was the reverse. Now we're strong everywhere." Long hours on offer Like most consulting firms, PwC offers its employees long hours. For most, "work hours are what you make them. If you become a workaholic, like many do, then you can work all the time. If you're disciplined enough, you can work 8 to 5, Monday to Friday." However, says that contact: "No one gets overtime ? you just work until the job gets done." Another business consultant complains: "The hours suck. I won't lie. You will have to work an average of 50 to 60 hours a week." Much of this long workweek involves travel ? though consultants say that the "traveling policies are nice." When traveling, you "have a very nice laptop," and "stay at nice hotels and have enough money to eat well. Most people are on the road during the week, leaving on Monday and returning Thursday evening." The issue of retention The question of how to retain top personnel is a concern to all consulting firms, not just PwC, say our consulting contacts. However, insiders say that PricewaterhouseCoopers has made an excellent effort to address consultant concerns. "Some people just can't take going on a plane every week and flying cross-country, which is key in consulting," admits one insider. "That's why PWC is evolving our business model so we deploy people regionally - so even if you do travel, it's an hour or two at most." Another thing PWC does is "pay hot skills bonuses, to let people who have developed of-the-moment skills know that they are valued. Hot skills include e-commerce, both business to business and business to consumer, and sales force automation."
Recruiting 11 Madison Avenue1 New York NY 10010
Strategic change; Process improvement; Technology solutions
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