Teaming with PepsiCo to achieve high performance with an innovative learning model for Finance professionals

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1 Teaming with PepsiCo to achieve high performance with an innovative learning model for Finance professionals

2 Micro-profile PepsiCo Inc. is a FORTUNE 100 company and one of the leading food and beverage companies in the world, with nearly $60 billion in annual revenues. It has 19 brands each with $1 billion or more in annual sales, including Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker Foods. The company employs 285,000 associates in more than 200 countries. Business challenge To continue on the path to high performance, food and beverage industry giant PepsiCo has been pursuing an aggressive strategy of expansion in geographies such as Russia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. As a result of this expansion, PepsiCo now has offices in more than 200 countries around the world. Yet, as PepsiCo's former Chief Financial Officer Richard Goodman, now Executive Vice President of Global Operations, looked across PepsiCo's finance organization, he saw a need to provide advanced training both to meet increasing functional demands globally and also to respond to the accelerated business growth in developing markets in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Goodman and his senior finance leadership team developed a transformational roadmap to address this need by reinventing the way its finance talent around the world was trained which would in turn enhance capabilities, improve retention and increase Finance's impact on business results. PepsiCo s leadership team knew that the Finance function would be critical to the success of the company s expansion initiative. This is in accord with research from the Accenture High Performance Business initiative, which found that corporate executives view Finance as one of the three most important workforces in a business, along with strategic planning and customer service/sales. The research also found that Finance executives believe that the skills and capabilities of their workforce are more important to achieving high-performance than efficient processes, appropriate tools and technology, or an effective strategy. PepsiCo also sought to develop a different learning model, helping the company build a broader breadth of skills in its Finance workforce and to distribute those skills globally. Historically, PepsiCo s Finance function employed a learning approach that involved on-the-job experience and individualized coaching. About 10 percent of learning occurred as part of a formal curriculum and this approach presented several key challenges: The Finance organization needed to get consistent training and information to all Finance associates, something that informal coaching generally cannot accomplish. The lack of a defined Finance curriculum made it difficult for the Finance organization to develop key business skills and act as a strategic business partner to other teams. Existing training tended to be division-specific and difficult to leverage across the entire Finance organization. In 2008, PepsiCo set out to transform the capabilities of the Finance function by establishing a new Finance University that would reinvent the way the company developed, engaged and retained its Finance talent. The goals of the Finance University were to: Introduce a new, innovative and structured learning approach that would build a broader and deeper set of core financial skills across PepsiCo s 3,000+ mid-level Finance associates. Reshape the learning paradigm at PepsiCo toward a scalable, online learning approach, a common curriculum and the use of innovative, emerging technologies. Enable the sharing of best practices and expert knowledge consistently across the geographically dispersed team, building consistent capabilities and fostering an enhanced finance community at PepsiCo. Develop a cost-effective, reusable learning model, which after successful implementation, could be replicated for other functions throughout the company.

3 Toward scalable, re-usable online learning programs To achieve these objectives, PepsiCo reached out to Accenture Management Consulting. They did so for three reasons. First, they knew they could rely on the strength of Accenture s longstanding relationship with PepsiCo, and on the close links between their people and Accenture s consultants. Over the years, Accenture has helped PepsiCo deliver a number of strategic programs. In each of these projects, Accenture had demonstrated its commitment to helping PepsiCo achieve high performance through innovative solutions. Second, PepsiCo also turned to Accenture because they knew that Accenture could deliver value by exploring issues facing the company and working toward outcomes prioritized by top Finance leadership. The third reason for selecting Accenture was rooted in its recognized position as a leading provider of innovative learning solutions and services. In addition to its deep technology, finance and general business skills, Accenture brought extensive experience in developing scalable, effective and re-usable online learning programs. To date, Accenture has delivered learning BPO services to more than one million users in over 143 countries, which could be leveraged in PepsiCo s Finance University vision. Realizing the vision of a worldwide capability together This project was truly collaborative. PepsiCo and Accenture combined the best of their strengths, capabilities and complementary skill sets to create Finance University. First, Goodman tapped into PepsiCo s thought leadership for intellectually rigorous finance course content and subject matter expertise. Next, Accenture contributed its functional learning, instructional design experience and project management. Bringing together a global team of senior executives, advisors, subject matter advisors, designers, program managers and consultants, PepsiCo and Accenture created Finance University, which is now offering innovative learning and practice experiences based on a common curriculum to a global workforce. To help realize PepsiCo s vision of a worldwide Finance University, it was crucial for Accenture to leverage its expertise and experience throughout the project. Marrying industry expertise with functional technology skills in learning, collaboration and knowledge management, Accenture professionals teamed with PepsiCo to develop a university model that could transform performance by delivering deep PepsiCo-specific situational learning to its Finance workforce. Leveraging the support and sponsorship of PepsiCo s top leadership, the PepsiCo-Accenture development team collaborated to create a new curriculum and roadmap for the University. The program is organized into ten colleges, each representing a specific finance function: Sales Finance, Supply Chain Finance, Strategy and M&A, IT Finance, Control, Business Planning, Treasury, External Reporting, Audit and Tax. In delivering this innovative solution, Accenture: Provided guidance on curriculum planning, global communications and leadership engagement, as well as customized course design and course deployment. Within each college, the team designed courses to deliver core knowledge, upon which could then be built a catalog of other courses, tailored to the ongoing needs of the Finance workforce and the business at large. Applied its proven methodology, which consisted of a structured approach for the development of each course. This approach enabled the team to move quickly through distinct phases of development: preliminary design, course development, acceptance and deployment. Helped PepsiCo leapfrog generations of learning delivery by leveraging the Accenture Global Delivery Network, which provided a scalable, offshore/ onshore delivery model supported by proven, industrialized processes and tools. Specifically, resources from the Accenture Global Talent & Innovation Network (GTIN) in Gurgaon, India worked with onshore teams to design and develop PepsiCo-custom e-learning content. Worked with PepsiCo to create a more collaborative learning culture, enabled by a Finance University portal that offered current news and access to experts who could provide advice and share knowledge and resources.

4 Snapshot of business value Three months after course completion, 60 percent of participants reported some change in cash flow management behavior, and 51 percent of their managers reported seeing this change in behavior, as well. Nearly half of the participants reported improving cash flow accuracy. A focus on action learning Today, PepsiCo s Finance University offers a unique approach to business training. Its design mirrors a typical university model rather than a typical corporate training model. For example, each course consists of, on average, 15 hours of content. Each course has a set of online and offline components that need to be completed to receive credit. The courses are enriched with PepsiCo business content, which is drawn from subject matter advisors and thought leaders throughout the organization. And the program leverages a blended learning model, employing innovative e-learning, self-paced and virtual learning experiences that allow the audience members to alternate between self-study materials, interactive activities and case studies. One of the most distinguishing features of the University is its focus on applying course learning to real business issues. Groups come together, in person or virtually, to talk about problems facing the business and work to solve local business challenges. Hands-on practice and virtual learning labs augment e-learning in order to drive lasting change. Effective governance principles were key to the successful development of Finance University. Strong commitment and support from sponsoring executives is a hallmark of this effort. In the words of Brad Haime, Senior Manager of Finance University, The unwavering commitment of Richard Goodman and his direct reports on the advisory council has been phenomenal. The leadership team has also been very successful in modeling the learning behaviors we expect from the associates. This has resulted in a cascaded positive effect on associates engagement. High performance delivered The work of the PepsiCo and Accenture teams on Finance University resulted in a new and innovative learning model for PepsiCo s global Finance organization, as well as the broader business. In 2009, the Accenture-PepsiCo team delivered seven courses consisting of more than 56 hours of e-learning content. Forty hours of this content were heavily customized to meet the specific needs of PepsiCo s Finance workforce. Learning utilization is already high, with 80 percent of the in-scope population completing at least one course within just five months of launch. The strategically-focused curriculum is building a broader and deeper set of core financial skills, and more consistent knowledge and behaviors enabling PepsiCo s 3,000+ mid-level Finance associates to better support PepsiCo s growth and drive high performance. The model has resulted in more consistent development of the finance and business skills and capabilities required by the Finance workforce. By focusing on value as PepsiCo defines it a targeted set of skills that are critical to overall business performance the model has delivered both quantitative and qualitative benefits to PepsiCo s Finance organization and the business as a whole. For example, in 2009 a critical value lever was cash flow across the company. In response, Finance University developed a cash flow management course to drive best practices. Three months after course completion, 60 percent of participants reported some change in cash flow management behavior, and 51 percent of their managers reported seeing this change in behavior, as well. Nearly 50 percent of participants reported improving cash flow accuracy.

5 Finance University is very popular with participants. According to one participant, I am currently pursuing my MBA degree and this quarter I am taking the class International Financial Policy (foreign exchange rate is a main topic). The [foreign exchange] class from PepsiCo Finance University is as good as or even better than the MBA class from a top-tier business school. This sort of feedback is common. Since launching the program, PepsiCo has seen these tangible results: Overall satisfaction scores have reached 95 percent across the entire curriculum. 98 percent of all learners agree that the Finance University course they completed is valuable. 95 percent of all learners would recommend a Finance University course to others. 97 percent of learners agree that courses are clear and logically structured. Now expanding the idea further PepsiCo is now working with Accenture to build on this early success. The joint team is creating 30 additional hours of custom e-learning content. This effort includes the development of case studies, postcourse work and synchronous learning sessions in which learners present their solutions to business leaders in virtual webinar sessions following course completion. The benefits of this innovative program will extend far beyond the Finance organization. In accord with Accenture s intent to leave clients with the capabilities to deliver high performance far into the future, PepsiCo Finance University has provided a blueprint that will help the food and beverage company to transform its talent across all functions and to drive a more collaborative culture enterprise-wide. The success of the initiative has led to plans for additional function-specific universities to be launched in the future, in the same spirit and direction as PepsiCo Finance University. Gaining well-deserved recognition The program has earned both internal and external recognition. The Finance University program is the recipient of PepsiCo s 2010 Performance with Purpose award, which was presented to Richard Goodman by PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. The program also received a Gold Medal in the 2010 Best Learning Team category from the Brandon Hall Research Excellence in Learning Awards program. PepsiCo says At PepsiCo, our people drive our success as a company. So, the biggest legacy one can have in the Finance function is ensuring that the right people are in place in every single country in which we do business not just today, but in the years ahead as well. That means continually developing our Finance associates by providing them with the technical, experiential and leadership training that will enable them both to progress in their careers and also to add increasing value to the corporation." - Richard Goodman, EVP Global Operations, PepsiCo Accenture has had considerable experience in recent years creating dedicated academies to increase the skills of strategic workforces. So rather quickly, this model and supplier rose to the top of our thinking. - Brad Haime, Senior Manager, PepsiCo Finance University

6 About Accenture Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 211,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$21.6 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, Its home page is Copyright 2011 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.