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Ernst & Young Rolls Out Bonuses For Human Skills
People skills // Image by Kait Cunniff with DALL-E
Professional services and accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) is rolling out a new bonus program for employees who demonstrate strong human skills.
Why It Hits: AI has quickly and radically transformed business, especially at firms like EY. That shift has seemingly led to a deficit of uniquely human attributes that are still integral to business. EY hopes the bonuses will swing the pendulum in the opposite direction and help develop more balanced employees.
Behind The Bonuses: Critical thinking could lead to a surprise check at EY, according to WSJ.
EY has created a $100 million fund to reward employees who “show skills like adaptability, innovation, and judgment, as well as experimentation with AI.”
Employees can earn “spot” rewards of $500, while individuals and teams can be awarded up to $25,000 if they “make a material difference to the firm.”
People can nominate co-workers at any level for the rewards, and there’s no cap on how much any employee can earn from the bonuses.
Closing Thoughts: EY said the program is meant to help “attract talent in a rapidly changing market.” The bonuses are part of several initiatives the firm has been rolling out, including a 12-month “career residency” that builds on the typical 8-week internship it provides. It’s a move to make mentorship a bigger part of the company culture after it decreased immensely during COVID. Again, a very human thing that has been lost.
EY isn’t the only major firm extolling human virtue. Rival KPMG “revamped its audit internship training this summer to focus more on teaching critical thinking and judgment.” At the same time, PwC debuted “a curriculum meant to emphasize both AI skills and human traits like empathy and creativity.”
It pays to be well-rounded.
The Future: The employees of the future may need AI expertise, but the managers of the future may need to master the soft human skills required for networking and problem-solving.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.