Aw, better luck next time, GTers. Maybe some good news on Dec. 17? Anyway, here’s what Grant Thornton sent out on Dec. 1:
Grant Thornton has further embraced the changing nature of benefits by taking its traditional benefits package — which includes items such as retirement plans and medical insurance — and layering on a host of newer offerings, including:
- Flexible work arrangements such as reduced-work schedules, compressed work weeks and flexible days — regardless of level;
- Flexible time off that allows employees to disconnect from work as needed instead of tapping into a predetermined set of paid days off;
- Expanded family-care benefits, including enhanced parental leave and access to childcare, eldercare, pet care, meal planning, housekeeping and other resources to support quality of life;
- Subsidized meal-delivery services;
- 40 hours of chargeable time annually to engage in volunteer activities;
- Flexible career-development and learning opportunities that work with people’s real-world schedules;
- Quiet hours and other measures to reduce the fatigue of video conferences and remote work;
- Lifestyle accounts that offer reimbursement for wellbeing expenses, such as fitness equipment purchases.
Further, Grant Thornton believes that offering ample and forward-thinking benefits also means doing so affordably. For this reason, the firm is absorbing employee premium increases for its medical benefits for the 2022 calendar year.
GT did an OK job of spreading the wealth around last summer, and now we have these enhanced benefits which Mike Monahan, national managing principal of people and community, said creates “total wellbeing across multiple dimensions: emotional, physical, career, social and financial.”
Will last summer’s raises and these new souped-up benefits keep GTers from leaving for the Big 4 or industry? Who knows. But if employees are planning on handing back their purple roses next year, giving them a mid-year salary adjustment before Jan. 1 would at least give them a third reason to stick around.
Related articles:
Compensation Watch ’21: Grant Thornton Is Dragging Its Feet On Announcing Mid-Year Raises
Compensation Watch ’21: Did Grant Thornton Give Employees Briefcases Full Of Money This Year?
A new survey of more than 300 chief audit executives (CAEs) by Grant Thornton LLP finds that while nearly half believe that the shifting regulatory landscape poses the greatest threat to their company, a vast majority (88%) do not believe that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) should be repealed. Of those that believe SOX should be repealed, the cost of compliance is the main reason for doing so. “Since the passage of SOX, organizations have had to dedicate significant resources to comply with a host of new laws and regulations,” noted Warren Stippich, a Chicago-based partner and Grant Thornton’s national Governance, Risk and Compliance solution leader. “Based on discussions with various CAEs during the survey process, many believe that SOX brings a continued focus by management on financial and governance-related controls. However, CAEs believe that compliance audit processes are now well-defined and are currently exploring ways to contribute value creation to the organization well beyond compliance monitoring and reporting.” [
Less hours + More pay.
Either that or the industry will continue to bleed people.