Your development is inextricably linked to ours, so it’s fair to say that our heavy investment in this area is not entirely unselfish. That said, we pride ourselves on enabling our people to get the most out of their work and on the fact that they tend to want to stick around and build long-term careers with us. As well as the latest and best training & learning, we also offer career counselling and mentoring to help you decide where you want your skills to take you. Plus our performance management programmes will keep you up to speed on your progress, as will our range of communication & feedback initiatives. Training & learning Our annual investment of some $400 million in training adds up to around 80 hours of formal training per employee per year. Not surprisingly, the opportunities to learn are everywhere. A simple click of the mouse, for instance, gives you access to a huge range of online training programmes and learning tools that can be tailored to suit your needs. Informal lunch meetings, a feature of life at Accenture, are a chance to swap ideas and experiences with your colleagues from around the business. Add classroom training to the mix, and you really will learn something new every day. Career counselling Whether you’re a graduate or an experienced professional, regular career counselling will help you get the best out of your time at Accenture. Your dedicated career counsellor will sit down with you yearly to check on your progress, establish your goals and find out how best to achieve them. Together, you’ll draft your Personal Development Plan. The blueprint for your future, your Plan will help you decide which projects and skills suit you best and which direction you want to go in the long-term. Mentoring There’s nothing like being able to speak to someone at work who’s ‘been there and done that’. It’s a great way to turn your understanding from the theoretical into the practical and marketable. Outside of the traditional mentoring relationships, we have also launched an initiative that is specifically aimed at improving the retention of women at Accenture and the opportunities open to them. Performance management Performance management is a team effort between you, your Project Supervisors, Career Counsellors and Reward Assessors. We want you to be recognised for your contribution and development, and we use the same assessment tools and techniques around the world to make sure the considerable rewards are shared fairly. Communication & feedback In an organisation as big as ours, clear communication is vital. So if something happens at work, such as a change in personnel policy or in business direction, we make sure you know about it straightaway. As well as keeping you informed, we also go to great lengths to make sure you can have your say. Our Global People Survey is an annual chance for you to tell us how you feel about everything from training to rewards and general job satisfaction. Plus there’s the Accenture Portal, an internal information site that has an area dedicated to employee feedback and discussion.