'The Next Generation of Partners'

Jane Bleach, Former Regional Managing Partner and Head of Diversity & Partner Development at Baker Tilly (now RSM) shares her views on what firms need to be doing to secure the next generation of partners. 

Succession planning, and the need to recruit, retain and develop talent, is a perennial issue for professional service firms but in today's world it presents a greater challenge than ever before. 

The next generation of partners may be similar in some respects to previous generations but they will be very different in many other respects.  Firms need to be asking themselves "what do we need in our partners of the future for them to successfully lead our business in the long term?"
 

Skills - technical and technological

Professional service firms will always need their partners to have the requisite technical skills for their area of expertise and the sectors in which they will operate.  But it is not enough just to have the relevant qualifications and be able to deal with the technical challenges faced by businesses today.  Firms need to think about what additional or new technical skills will be required - how will business be done in the future and what implications will this have for the skills future partners will need?  If new and different  technical skills are required now compared to 20 years ago, then it is just as likely that new and different technical skills will be required 20 years hence.  Whilst we may be able to predict some of the likely changes, we don't have crystal balls.  It is crucial, therefore, that the partners of the future are adaptable, quick to learn and able to anticipate change, so that they can develop the necessary skills as they are required.

What is certain is that the next generation of partners will have to be, and probably already are, technology-savvy.  Current partners in professional service firms have varying levels of IT skills, often, although not always, with a high degree of correlation between ability and age.  Whilst (older) current partners who are tech-savvy may pride themselves on their high degree of IT literacy, younger, new and future partners have grown up with technology; they have been shaped by it; it is second nature to them and it is clear that the next era of computing is likely to be dominated by one or more quantum leaps in the delivery of artificial intelligence and ‘augmented reality’.

And then there is social media.  Generation Y, and Generation Z even more so, have grown up in a social media world.  They already embrace it, and firms will need to do so.  Social media is no longer a new or peripheral thing, it is an essential part of the world of today, and tomorrow.  Baby boomers and Generation X may argue that business is not done that way, that clients do not use social media.  But the clients of the future are not the same as the clients of today.  They are Generation Y and Z too and they will do business differently from the clients of today.  The future generation of partners need to cater to them. 

International

Business is becoming increasingly global and so, therefore, are clients’ needs.  Professional service firms need to be able to service their clients’ international needs, whether through a global network of firms or some other structure.

The partners of the future will need to be comfortable operating in an increasingly international environment, dealing in different jurisdictions and working with different cultures and attitudes. 

They will need to be increasingly flexible.  It may not be necessary to be on call 24 hours a day but they will need to be mindful of the flexibility required to work across different time zones.

Language skills will become increasingly important.  Whilst it may not be necessary for people other than those working exclusively in international markets to be multi-lingual, it will certainly be a distinct advantage if partners can speak several languages.
 

Work-life balance

Generation Y put much more stall in having a sensible work-life balance than previous generations.  They grew up seeing their Baby-boomer and early Generation X parent’s working day and night in stressful jobs and they want something different for themselves.  This does not mean that they do not work hard: they do, but they recognise the need to balance it.  And that is good, not bad, for business.  Stress causes huge cost to business, the direct cost of stress-related absenteeism only being part of it. 

The next generation of partners will expect their firms to provide the right type of working environment, for people at all levels in the organisation, and firms that do not do this will struggle to attract and retain talent in the future.  For too long, stress and a long-hours culture have been a badge of honour amongst some professional service firms but future generations will not tolerate this.  And the argument that clients demand long hours is outdated too.   The clients of the future are also Generation Y so they too will want a work-life balance and will expect the firms and partners who look after them to do the right thing.

Diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion will be hugely important to the partners and clients of the future.  Generations Y and Z are more racially and ethnically diverse populations than their predecessors and are more openly accepting of diverse backgrounds and beliefs.

They will expect firms to be more diverse and inclusive.  Firms that do not reflect society more fully and meaningfully will not attract and retain the partners and clients of the future.  Simply having diversity and inclusion policies will not be enough: the policies will need to actually produce measurable results and ultimately be reflected in diverse looking firms and partner groups. 

Behaviours and values

Some things never change.  The next generation of partners will still need to have the values and exhibit the behaviours that firms have always wanted in their partners: integrity, honesty, good judgement, selflessness, passion, determination, leadership, moral courage, professionalism.

But the next generation will also expect to see behaviours that reflect their attitudes and outlooks so any lists of the values required of future partners will also need to include tolerance, fairness and openness.

And firms will need to be true to their stated values, reward people accordingly and not behave in ways that are inconsistent with them.  Future partners will not put up with perceived contradiction and insincerity.

In Summary

In many ways, the next generation of partners will not be very different to previous generations.  They will still need the relevant technical skills and expertise required of professionals through the ages.  But as the world and society change, so do some of the technical skills required and the ways in which people will do business and engage with each other will be different.  The next generation of partners will reflect this.  And whilst they will continue to exhibit the essential core values that firms and clients expect, the suite of values will expand to embody the attitudes and outlook of the millennials and beyond.