Inside corporate Coachella

PwC wants to win the war on talent.

PwC wants to win the war on talent.

The employees call it Corporate Coachella.

It's 8.30am on a Monday and there is a pop concert on the main stage. Corporate cover band Song Division blast a rendition of Harry Styles’ Watermelon Sugar, the lead singer is dancing on tables, the crowd is heaving, and a smoke machine blankets the employees.

No drinking yet though, that only happens after dark.

This is day two of a four-day outdoor festival for mostly 20-something PwC consultants.

If actual Coachella had Billie Eilish on the main stage and Big Sean in the Sahara tent, then Corpchella is headlined by Parramatta Eels mental skills coach Andrew May and human behaviour PhD Jemma King hosting a biohacking workshop somewhere in the lineup. 

Song Division performer.

Women in activewear and bare-calved men weave between teepees in the sprawling green hills of the Hunter Valley to experience tear-filled workshops about unlocking your 'inner child' or to learn the ancient art of weaving.

Night event at the outside.

If you want to get into the hottest immersion in town, you need to wait in line for about an hour. Bondi lifeguard Deano Gladstone guides a breath-work session before you jump in an ice bath with your colleagues.

Intentions set for the trip are sincere. Those keen to share say they want to look after themselves, find their inner strength and form friendships.

Consultants for big firms like PwC are taught to do things with uncompromising efficiency. They advise all levels of government and business about how to do more things with fewer people and smaller costs. One workshop host said many employees feel like 'robots', and a participant discussed 'compartmentalising' his 'personalities' at work.

So, PwC have sent 600 senior associates and managers each week, for five weeks, to learn how to get out of the 'corporate box', 'manage emotions' and find themselves with fireside chats and sound baths. 

Base camp in Pokolbin.

Glowing recaps about #theoutside are posted to LinkedIn and Instagram, reflecting on personal and professional growth.

Welcome to PwC's "The Outside".

The new $15m annual event is about "future-proofing" their 3000 senior associates and managers who choose to join in. 

Employees participate in the ice bath.

Consultancy is ultra competitive. The Big Four consultancy firms - PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and EY - have long fought it out for the best young talent. In 2022's candidate-short market, this one-of-a-kind corporate festival might be the thing to help win the war on talent.

“(The war on talent) is a huge motivator for why we should do it - because we need to. Number one, we need to invest in people. Number two, we need to invest in people in a way that’s different but also shows who we are and is really about our growth and development as a firm. And three, if we create amazing experiences like this, of course people are going to want to come here. And they’ll want to stay,” the event's lead curator and PwC’s Future of Work Lead Partner Lawrence Goldstone said.

“This will be an annual calendar event that we will invest in for our senior associates and managers. What a great reason to join PwC, but if you’re a graduate or a consultant coming through your career (at PwC), how great that you know you get to do this at that point in your career."

Lawrence Goldstone, PwC Australia Partner and lead curator of The Outside.

The company forks out about $5000 per employee, but it's free for any staff member to attend. 

“There’s no PwC content. This isn’t a PwC training course. This is kind of curating a global experience of providers and thought leaders, like the best conference you could ever go to … and you’ve been given the free ticket to go,” lead curator and PwC’s Future of Work Lead Partner Lawrence Goldstone said.

“I’ve had the ability to go to many different experiences around the world, whether that be South by Southwest, Coachella, TED (Talks) or learning conferences, and we said what if we curated and built something that brought the best of that, and created something that doesn’t exist in the southern hemisphere.”

Each day has a different theme. Sunday is about connection to country, Monday is about self-discovery, Tuesday touches on the future of technology, trends and skills, and Thursday involves building connections to colleagues via an "un-conference" - the opposite of a conference. 

Four colleagues, who had started as grads together in 2019, emerged from a raw, emotional immersion about “finding your inner five year-old” and all agreed they wanted to be more authentic in the office.

“It was very intense. There was definitely a lot of vulnerability and a lot of people opening up about their life and their experiences. But ultimately, it was super positive,” Financial Advisory Senior Associate Aleksa Ozegovic, 26, said.

Senior Associate in Consulting Tershan Fernando, 28, said lots of people in that tent shared his feelings that they had to "compartmentalise our personalities" at work. 

“One of the points that came up was about the vulnerabilities we face … Particularly in a corporate setting, I find it very difficult to be my true self,” Consulting Senior Associate Tershan Fernando, 28, said.

Consultants Hilary Fong, Kevin Sie, Treshan Fernando, Aleksa Ozegovic and Hailey Pendergrass.

Workshop host Alishia Francis, of the REACH Foundation, said those who had attended the workshop over the last few week "feel like they're robots or they feel like they're just trying to fit into a box". She said they show them "the other side and what it could be like if they didn't just have to fit in and conform".

Some left an immersion about "activating the social needs of the human brain" to improve performance, feeling energised. 

“There's lots to bring into my team in terms of providing a sense of belonging and interconnectedness in the team that are more long lasting than just transactional," senior consultant in risk assurance, Sanaa Ali, 29, said. 

“I'm learning how to manage my emotions. How to balance work and life, which is what I need at this stage. PwC work can get a bit hectic,” senior associate in digital transformation Carol Huang said.

Carol Huang

Many employees said the festival made them feel valued by the company. For others, it was about making connections with peers.

“I’m surprisingly impressed … Kind of like school camp vibes, just to reconnect with everyone."

"I haven’t seen half of my team for a long time ... And I think that’s really similar to everyone else,” consulting senior associate Hilary Fong, 26, said. 

“I think they show they really want to care for their employees after the past few years where it’s been a bit rough working from home and we all have to shift away from each other … and also making it sort of like a party, so it’s fun and encouraging," consulting senior associate Kevin Sie said.

Goldstone wants "The Outside" event to be a big deal in the corporate world.

"Forget the $15m, that's locked in for next year I believe, what's the next $15m. This is for the senior associates and managers. Let's do it for the senior managers and directors, let's do it for the partners, let's do it for our clients," he said.