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Thought Leader Jill Smart
Jill Smart, chief human resources officer at professional services consultancy Accenture, knows all too well how tough the life of an Accenture road warrior can be. Calling between meetings in Helsinki, Finland, on a Monday afternoon, Ms. Smart described how over the next three days she would be meeting with clients there, going to Munich, Germany, the following day and then stopping in Milan, Italy, for an executive meeting before returning home to Chicago.
That's a fairly typical schedule for many of Accenture's 178,000 employees. That's also why Ms. Smart believes flexible work arrangements-like part-time work and job sharing-are key to keeping Accenture's people productive and engaged.
Crain's Benefits Outlook: What are some of the more unique flexible work programs that Accenture offers?
Jill Smart: We have our Future Leave program, which is an unpaid, self-funded sabbatical program where an employee can take up to three months off work and continue to...