New Managers Program: Deloitte and HEC Paris Executive Education Collaborate on a Custom, High-Impact Training Initiative

When Deloitte, one of the world's leading audit and consulting firms, teams up with HEC Paris Executive Education to develop a bespoke training program for its new managers, the result is nothing short of exceptional. The 2024 cohort, consisting of 200 participants, experienced a unique four-week, out-of-office training, covering often unexplored topics and numerous practical exercises. This exceptional program was impactful not only for the participants but also for Deloitte and HEC Paris teams. Let's take a closer look at the New Managers program that has just been completed. 

Making a strong impression to mark a career milestone at Deloitte 

Charlotte Vandeputte, Talent Leader at Deloitte France, explains the motivation behind creating such a training program: "We wanted to make a significant impact in talent management at Deloitte. The promotion of these new managers marks a pivotal point in their careers, involving a substantial increase in responsibilities.” The program was accessible to all new Deloitte managers, regardless of their role or function. “We also included managers from support functions, such as Client & Industries and human resources teams, to promote cross-functional and diverse interactions," she adds.

By offering this high-quality program, Deloitte aimed to support these managers during their transition, highlight their promotion, and inspire teams aspiring to become managers.

Key Objectives of the New Managers Program 

The program aims to support new managers promoted within the past year in their new roles as team leaders by developing their leadership skills, team management capabilities, and understanding of Deloitte's strategic client challenges. 

Managing is not innate

"Being a manager is not innate," asserts Charlotte Vandeputte. "Even though our employees are already comfortable with team management due to their previous experience, stepping up to a managerial role involves greater responsibilities, managing larger projects and teams. This is why we incorporated specific skills related to team management into the program."

Leadership was also a key focus.To bring this concept to life, Xavier Boute, Associate Professor in Leadership at HEC Paris, led a course based on a flipped classroom model, ‘from field to leader.’ “It’s about experiencing first and theorizing afterward,” he explains. Participants, guided by rugby specialists like Antonie Claassen, performed field exercises, which were then debriefed with Xavier Boute. “We analyze the concepts practiced on the field and see how they translate into the business world.” Concentration, body awareness, decision-making, strategy, environmental awareness, communication, group positioning, and talent management—this highly experiential exercise covered a wide range of leadership concepts.

Embracing cross-functionality

Another fundamental aspect of the program was to provide new managers with a broad economic cultural perspective and a deep understanding of Deloitte’s strategic client issues. Charlotte Vandeputte states, “At Deloitte, we aspire to have leaders and future partners capable of establishing high-quality dialogue and building lasting trust with clients. We wanted to instill in them the openness, curiosity, and perspective necessary to enrich client interactions.”

To foster this mindset, managers were trained in major economic trends, including sustainability challenges, artificial intelligence, data, business development, client relations, innovation, and entrepreneurship. This was complemented by an in-depth understanding of the industries and sectors in which Deloitte's clients operate. Each participant chose a major corresponding to a specific sector, allowing them to train on key issues in that sector through a capstone project. “Encouraging our managers to discuss all aspects of their clients' challenges, even those outside their expertise, makes all the difference,” adds Charlotte Vandeputte.

These capstone projects had a dual impact at Deloitte: enhancing cross-functional teamwork to better serve clients and enabling participants to work in teams and discover different Deloitte professions. “This prepares them to tackle new and complex issues and collaborate effectively and complementarily,” highlights the Talent Leader.

For Célia Parraud-Apparu, IT M&A Manager in Financial Advisory, the program underscored the need to strengthen Deloitte's offerings by fostering the ‘One Deloitte’ spirit: “Deloitte's cross-functional and multi-sectoral expertise accelerates and enhances our service offerings to meet a constantly evolving market. Working together allows us to deliver unique value to our clients.”

A unique training for a transformational experience

One of the standout features of the revamped "New Managers 2024" program is its format: four intense weeks, each dedicated to a current theme, with leadership as a constant thread, balancing self-reflection, peer exchanges, and gaining perspective on their leadership stance. According to Andrea Masini, Dean of Faculty and Research at HEC Paris and academic director of the custom program co-created with Deloitte, the structure and content of the modules enable new managers to better understand the "forces reshaping our society" and "develop the behaviors and attitudes necessary to become better leaders." 

Learning expeditions into innovation ecosystems 

The fourth and final week of the program focused on innovation. "After a creativity workshop emphasizing the origin of ideas and teamwork, participants were divided into groups and had the opportunity to visit and interact with different innovation actors," explains Sihem Jouini, Director of the MS X-HEC Entrepreneurs, Major Projects in Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship & Innovation of the Executive MBA, and coordinator of the Innovation & Learning Expeditions module.

The agenda included visits to French innovation hubs like Hectar, Paris-Saclay, and Station F, offering field experiences that reveal new entrepreneurial opportunities and explore other companies' practices.

"S" as in... Sustainability. Or as in "Hectar" 

Monday focused on regenerative agriculture and training 3.0 farmers with a visit to HECTAR, a pilot farm spanning over 300 hectares near Paris. "This visit complemented the week dedicated to environmental transformation challenges by focusing on agriculture. But beyond these examples, the goal was to understand the difficulties of innovations challenging established economic models," continues Sihem Jouini. It was also an opportunity to learn valuable lessons about balancing productivity and sustainability. 

Denis Kalantari, M&A Manager, recalls, "By adopting an approach that prioritizes taking the necessary time to do things well while respecting our environment, we can create true symbiosis with nature and even achieve results beyond our initial expectations. Patience is key!"

This inspiration from new agricultural models and work organizations also provided new avenues for improving behavioral agility:

"To incorporate this approach at Deloitte, I plan to better integrate my long-term professional and personal goals into my daily routine," Denis Kalantari adds.

"I am convinced that this mindset and approach will increase my resilience and productivity over time". 

Exploring Paris-Saclay's scientific and technological hub

Tuesday's immersion took place in the Paris-Saclay cluster (Essonne), a vast innovation hub combining academic institutions, research centers, industrial entities, and cutting-edge technologies like deep tech. The agenda included visits to private R&D centers and campuses, such as the Renault Technocentre, featuring the Renault "Refactory" as a case study.

Luana Siquiera, a participating manager, was particularly inspired by this economic repositioning model. "I was impressed by the social impact, especially in creating new job roles through successful training programs," she shares.

"This visit made me think about how Deloitte can become a pioneer in our daily missions to address market innovations and inspire other companies. On the social front, I hope to help Deloitte retain employees by investing in training for multi-skilled and versatile staff."

Station F : Exploring synergies

Wednesday concluded the French innovation exploration with a visit to the iconic Station F. With over 7,000 companies supported in seven years and several major groups running acceleration programs or incubators there—Thalès, L'Oréal, BNP Paribas, among others—Station F is the world's largest startup campus, attracting talent from 65 nationalities and counting.

"This diversity enriches Station F's ecosystem and demonstrates its global impact by attracting international talent,"

notes Luana Siquiera, impressed by this "dynamic community where innovation is palpable at every corner."

This visit provided an opportunity to reflect on the virtues of communication and exchange in all its dimensions.

Denis Kalantari shares his enthusiasm: "To integrate this approach at Deloitte, I plan to strengthen my efforts to understand my clients' needs and issues through direct interactions and downtime. This concept, learned at HEC, emphasizes non-verbal communication." Denis is convinced that this method will ensure that Deloitte's missions and innovations remain aligned with market demands.

Courage. This is the watchword that applies to the new approaches Denis wishes to integrate into his managerial activity.

Applying HEC Paris Expertise to Deloitte's challenges

Designing a program of this magnitude required close collaboration between Deloitte's training experts and HEC Paris Executive Education teams, led by Andrea Masini, Associate Professor at HEC Paris. Reactivity, commitment, and trust were the guiding principles throughout the preparation. “I appreciated that we benefitted from HEC Paris’s high-quality faculty, tailored to our specific needs and culture.” The next step involves gathering feedback from the respective teams and participants after the certificate ceremony to continue improving and adapting the program for future iterations.

Mathilde Aubinaud, Coordinator of the Trust & Governance think tank at Deloitte, is filled with enthusiasm. “This training was a fantastic opportunity to grasp leadership challenges. Hervé Coyco's intervention was particularly impactful as he shared the courageous choices he made.”

Upon their return to the office, Charlotte Vandeputte expects to see enthusiasm, smiles, and happiness. “This is what I saw on campus, but also talents eager to apply what they've learned.” Some managers have even expressed a desire to explore new topics like HR, parity, or develop new service offerings with colleagues from other Deloitte services. “This goes beyond our expectations. I feel that managers have risen in terms of openness, ambition, and desire. We will continue to work with them to help them envision their future at Deloitte in the coming years,” concludes Charlotte Vandeputte.

For more information on our custom programs for organizations, visit our website.