KPMG thinks Gen Z cares more about company values than a higher salary. Here's how the firm is competing with rivals like PwC and Deloitte to attract them

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KPMG thinks Gen Z cares more about company values than a higher salary. Here's how the firm is competing with rivals like PwC and Deloitte to attract them
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Joe Williams

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KPMG's $450 million Lakehouse is just one perk for its employees.

  • Younger generations are placing greater emphasis on the values of an organization, in some cases even over higher salaries.
  • The trend has led some to shun once highly-coveted, high-paying positions at Silicon Valley giants like Google, a firm cloaked in controversy over debates on consumer privacy and other public policy issues.
  • At KPMG, prospective and current employees care "way more about the community that they're in" than pay, according to chief financial officer David Turner.
  • That's one reason why the professional services giant built its new $450 million training facility dubbed Lakehouse.
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Job seekers appear to be getting pickier about where they work and, in some cases, placing a higher premium on company values over more money.

The shift in priorities has even led some to shun once-coveted, well-paid positions at tech titans like Facebook, Google, and other Silicon Valley stalwarts at the center of the ongoing debates over consumer privacy and other public policy issues.

It's also underscoring a push by firms across corporate America to promote their values and infuse them throughout the enterprise - like co-locating various teams together to promote collaboration. The trend is one reason why KPMG green-lit its new $450 million training facility known as Lakehouse.

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"How much you pay people, obviously that's relevant. But it's much less about that [now]," chief financial officer David Turner told Business Insider. "There's a whole generation that's emerged now that really cares way more about the community that they're in and whether they want to be there."

The Orlando, Florida-based facility is equal parts hotel and training hub, with key aspects of the professional services giant's culture scattered throughout. The idea is to train employees on the latest technology, while exposing them to KPMG's heritage and its values.

Rivals in the industry like Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers are also investing billions of dollars in training programs to educate employees on AI and automation, part of an effort to create tech evangelists within various departments that can help spur adoption among rank-and-file employees.

And critical to those efforts are the company's values. It's now an imperative for the C-suite to spend just as much time on developing the culture as they do managing tech investments.

But the corporate emphasis on values and perks over salary increases has elicited backlash. Some workers complain that the added perks aren't enough to compensate for smaller wage growth.

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At KPMG, leadership views the investment in Lakehouse as a testament to the future of the firm - one that goes well beyond the current workforce and instead aims to ensure employees in the coming decade remain connected to its history and values.

That mindset plays a major role in recruitment too, according to CEO Lynne Doughtie. "Having this extra edge, with a space that engenders creativity [and] allows you to work with the latest technology tools" - all while still connecting it back to the company's culture - helps attract and retain talent, she told Business Insider.

"Bringing that together will make for a workforce that is constantly growing and constantly learning. And doing it within our value system," Doughtie added.

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