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The Training and Development Dilemma at Whitney and Company Case 5 Company Background Whitney and Company is a global management consulting firm that has been grow- ing rapidly, particularly in the United States and western Europe. The firm provides comprehensive business planning and analysis as well as consulting in operational and technical areas such as finance, operations, and information technology. Its client list includes medium-sized firms but its growth tends to focus on Fortune 1000 compa- nies. Whitney contracts include manufacturing and service organizations as well as government, health care, and religious organizations. The firm has offices in twenty- four U.S. cities and offices in sixteen other countries. With its world headquarters in Chicago, Whitney employs nearly 27,000 people, the vast majority of whom are young, aggressive professionals. In light of the tremendous growth of the consulting industry, Whitney has ambi- tious plans for expanding the firm. It is estimated that in the next five years alone they will need 1,200 new managers and about 200 new partners. Because Whitney main- tains a policy of promotion from within these people will come mainly from the ranks of entry-level employees. There is plenty of incentive for these young professionals to CASES do well; starting salaries for partners average $250,000 (although normally individuals do not reach partner status until they have been with the firm for ten years). Training and Development Given the critical importance of professional talent, Whitney has devoted millions of dollars over the years to create in-house educational and training facilities that are the envy of the industry. The most observable indicator of this dedication is the very plush Corporate Education and Development Center (CEDC) in St. Charles, Illinois, thirty minutes west of Chicago. The 100-acre center provides living and meeting accommodations for approximately 500 persons and includes an impressive facility of classrooms, conference rooms, libraries, and even a television studio. The center also employs a staff of nearly 50 instructors, mostly field managers who rotate on a two- year basis into the CEDC. Every new Whitney employee spends two weeks at CEDC before receiving a total of three additional months of training at one of nine other regional facilities in Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York. All told, Whitney spends almost $3,500 per employee for training and education each year. The majority of this investment is on technical and systems training for entry- level consultants. Additionally, employees receive extensive training in the specific industries where they will predominantly work (e.g., oil and gas, telecommunications, banking, health care). The senior staff is particularly aware that Whitney's public image is largely a function of the actions and work quality of their first-level associ- ates. Executives clearly recognize the importance of an expert workforce and spare no expense in this regard. Employee Performance While Whitney affords many opportunities to its employees and spends a great deal of money on professional development, it expects a great deal from its employees in return. Especially in the first two years, it is not at all uncommon for a beginning asso- ciate to work seventy-hour weeks. The schedules and traveling are often grueling, and the rewards in the first few years are typically not commensurate. For example, salaries are generally in the mid-$40,000s and the benefit package is only average for a firm of Whitney's size and reputation. The greater payoffs, as indicated before, come when one achieves partner status, but not much earlier. Nevertheless, Whitney has little trouble attracting very aggressive, energetic stu- dents generally right out of college who are eager to pay their dues" for success in a major firm. Occasionally, however, this aggressiveness has come across as being boor- ish and callous with clients, especially in the health care industry. There are even situ- ations where clients have discontinued business with Whitney, not because of concerns about expertise, but because of the "fast-in, fast-out style of big-time consulting." While in most cases, Whitney employees gradually learn to interpret the subtleties of client needs, occasionally and increasingly), employees have been let go because of their lack of personal acumen. In view of the importance of interpersonal competence at Whitney, some of the training staff has suggested that more attention should be placed on that part of the development of entering employees. But others on staff point out that only two years ago a series of lectures was put into the training program dealing with clients and cus- tomer relations. The consensus has been that the program addition has not been well 743 received. They simply do not feel the added expense would be justified. In fact, there is a growing group of senior partners who believe too much is already being spent on education and training, since so many of those trained employees subsequently leave to take jobs with other companies. The facts in this regard are clear. Only about 50 percent of new hires stay with Whitney beyond their first five years. Approximately 90 percent leave the firm within ten years of employment. Most of these people either start their own firms or go to work for one of Whitney's clients. Comparatively few are fired. Many people think this turnover rate is terribly detrimental to the success of Whitney, especially given the immense expense for training and development. Many others, however, feel the depar- tures are inevitable, given the promotion-from-within policies. Some feel the turnover actually helps business since those who go to work for other companies often convince them to become clients of Whitneythe logic being that former employees are famil- iar with Whitney's procedures and generally will have respect for the quality of the firm's work. The Training and Development Dilemma Not surprisingly, there is increasing debate regarding the role and importance of edu- cation and training at Whitney and Company. It is very difficult to know which parts of the current programs are good and which are not. Likewise, there is the problem of determining if additional training is needed. As Anthony Blaine, one of the training directors, summarized it: "For years we've been throwing tons of training at these peo- ple, but we aren't sure if its the right kind, if it's too much, or even if they're catching what we're throwing. We've got to start coming up with some good questions, and then figure out some pretty intelligent answers." help training First, read the case, "The Training and Development Dilemma at coach advising skill Whitney and Company," which you can find on e-reserves. You can access e-reserves on the course menu (located on the left of knowledge experience goal workshop your screen) After reading the case, click on "Click to Launch" and answer the learning development mellity following questions. teaching mentor courses Questions: job motivation 1. Comment on Whitney and Company's new employee orientation program. Considering the objectives of a typical new employee orientation program, and based on the information provided in the case, do you think it is an effective orientation program? Why or why not? 2. What is one thing that Whitney and Company should do to evaluate the effectiveness of the orientation training program? Be sure to make direct reference to one or more) of Kirkpatrick's Levels of Training Evaluation and explain why you think that level of evaluation is appropriate