One on One with Ernst & Young's Carl Smith

How would a consultant look at talent management? That was the question Carl Smith was faced with a few years back when his role at Ernst & Young shifted from serving clients to serving consultants as Americas Advisory People Leader. Since that time, Smith has completely transformed talent management at Ernst & Young—everything from recruiting and onboarding to the development and retention of more than 7,000 professionals. One major new initiative includes how the firm has revitalized its resource management by rolling it under its people function as "experience management." Smith will expand on the programs he's put in place and how they've moved the needle at E&Y in his "Transforming Talent: Engaging, Retaining, and Developing People at Ernst & Young" presentation at the Consulting Summit on Nov. 9 at the Union League Club in New York. Smith sat down with Consulting One-on-One to discuss the progress he's made in his current role. Consulting: What were some of the biggest changes you implemented when you became Americas Advisory People Leader at Ernst & Young?

Smith: There were a few areas we really focused on initially. I was a consultant by trade so there was, of course, a big focus on program management. Everything we did around strategic initiative was managed like a project with all the deliverables, milestones and rigor that we would put into serving out clients. From the beginning, we had a very strategic focus; we doubled down on focus. We were very deliberate in how we approached the people function and I think that was certainly a change from the past. Also, I was adamant with my team that whatever you touch had to be sustainable. I want to be constantly building the house, layering on top of layering. This creates a mindset of continuous improvement. You're never done.

Consulting: Were there any other new initiatives?