Thursday, June 19, 2008

From Ladder to "Lattice"

Structuring work in a way that helps employees own their career paths has long been a tool through which the Big Four cope with the profession's chronic talent shortage.

In a fresh variation on the long-running theme, an article from WebCPA explains how Deloitte aims to replace the old-fashioned "corporate ladder" with a new-fangled concept it calls the "corporate lattice."

Instead of the “corporate ladder,” the career metaphor at Deloitte is the “corporate lattice,” with its horizontal and vertical dimensions, said [vice chair and chief talent officer Cathy] Benko: “We want people to be where they want to be, instead of the only place they can be.”

Retention Strategies: Please don't go! [WebCPA]

1 comment:

Francine McKenna said...

Sorry, but this is just more "Mass Customization" non-speak. http://www.retheauditors.com/2007/07/deloitte-where-is-your-talent.html

I'm sure all the Deloitte folks that have been laid off this year would have rather just had a corporate rope to hang on to or at least more "corporate lettuce" to help them survive until they get a new job.