PwC’s $15m Signature Experience Program ‘The Outside’ on Wonnarua Country in Hunter Valley

Program over five weeks with 2,700 PwC people attending and gaining skills to be future leaders

PwC Australia launched its inaugural PwC Academy Signature Experience Program, ‘The Outside’ event, an immersive, highly experiential learning experience designed to future proof the firm’s Senior Associates and Managers with the insights, perspectives and unique skills they require to become the next generation of leaders. The program was held over five weeks in May with each event running over four days and three nights at an exclusive location on Wonnarua Country, in the Hunter Valley, NSW. Over 2,700 PwC people attended the program, alongside PwC partners.

The Signature Experience Program is a $15 million investment in PwC Australia’s people, to reward and celebrate them, recognising their hard work and value to the firm by creating a way to bring executive learning experiences to the firm’s people early in their career journey. The Outside is a self-curated journey of personal and professional discovery. Participants chose from diverse streams of content and engaged with local and global thought leaders.

The Outside featured local voices such as Kurt Fearnley and Stan Grant, Ben Crowe and Mundanarra Bayles, to broaden their perspectives on themselves, our country, the future, and their role in making a positive impact in the world - all hosted by Holly Ransom. Immersive experiences allowed participants to select topics to broaden their experience and learnings, with leaders in their fields on topics from biohacking and cold-water therapy, to the healing power of elders, to future trends on medicine, technology and communications.

PwC Australia CEO Tom Seymour said, “Our vision is to give our people an amazing and incredibly unique learning opportunity with world leading thought leaders and a variety of immersive experiences. We want our people to bring their whole self to work and focus on building lifelong skills and the relationships with their peers that will take them forward in their careers and their lives. After two years in the pandemic environment our people have been missing those opportunities for connection and this brings it back in spades.

“The Signature Experience Program is something we want to give back to our people, and it’s about more than just skills. The program is about creating communities, friendships, lifelong relationships and deep learning which will make our people better professionals no matter where they end up in the future. It’s a significant investment in our people and our thank you to them.”

The Outside weaves four main threads through the experience to spark conversations that develop greater insights and appreciation including Country, Self, Future and Community.

Collection of specifically curated content to spark curiosity

The Outside commenced on Sunday evenings starting with Our Country - a Welcome to Wonnarua Country smoking ceremony and dance experience, connecting with heritage and country and learning from 60,000 years of culture.

Mondays included a peek into self and how to harness instinctive skills to drive higher performance from both body and mind. Through immersive experiences with psychologists, performance trainers, artists and Indiginous elders, participants experienced topics likely not experienced before such as biohacking, cold water therapy, healing power of elders, technology for wellbeing, psychological flexibility, mindfulness and nutrition.

Tuesday focused on looking into the future, helping participants define the pathways for their future and see what tomorrow could really look like. Exploring what it will take to create a more ambitious and innovative Australia, with topics around future thinking, medicine, energy, technology as well as future focused skills around resilience, creativity and presence.

The final day on Wednesday is about community and utilising the collective wisdom of over 600 people at each event, gaining from the diverse perspectives of those around them. It is a day where attendees will be active participants, doing the speaking and setting the agenda, rather than presenters and curated content. It is the opportunity for participants to grow with their peers, as they are all challenged to share who they are and learn from each other.

Wrapped around the content is the ability to disconnect, unwind, and experience in a truly unique setting and environment. Additional activities around wellness sessions and evening entertainment are designed and planned alongside - all encouraging an intentful, inclusive and connected experience; on a purpose built festival-style campus.

Lawrence Goldstone, PwC Australia Partner and lead curator of the Signature Experience Program, said, “The Outside is a unique experience for our people, to help them develop new perspectives and connections by discovering new habits through doing. We stretch their thinking by pushing personal and professional boundaries all in the comfort and security of an inclusive environment. We hope it will be a career-defining experience which will help shape and inform them to be the best version of themselves for many years to come. It will be challenging, thought-provoking and create new relationships that will endure.

“This is truly learning reimagined. A unique investment, directly into our future leaders, giving them the skills to be the leaders of tomorrow. The aim is for people to return home inspired and motivated and to create a foundation shift in their thinking that they continue to use for years and years to come.”

After two years, working from home, living largely digital lives, the Signature Experience Program and The Outside is designed to fully disconnect participants from their everyday lives. It brings together a diverse community who are future-focused and ready to learn with purpose. Representing new beginnings, the event is more destination rather than big city; more theatre than theatre style; and less talk, more do - it is unplugged and interactive.

Designed to stretch professional and personal thinking, participants are given the time and space to collaborate, challenge ideas, build empathy amongst colleagues and flex creative muscles. It also provides visibility, exposure, and genuine opportunity for connection to leadership through a shared experience including Partner participation.

The firm has run a Signature Conversations series for participants ahead of the Signature Experience Program which has featured global voices and perspectives from the likes of Psychologist Adam Grant, renowned futurist Amy Webb and Historian Rutger Bregman. This complemented the launch of a book club, with over 3,000 books in circulation covering 21 topics and seven themes - including each of the signature speakers.

Additional quotes:

Catherine Walsh, Head of People and Culture at PwC Australia

“We are so excited to see The Outside come to life as a unique and exciting opportunity for our people. This event has been carefully designed to be a once in a lifetime experience. An opportunity to learn, connect with others, learn about yourself, your community and ultimately expand your thinking and how we connect with innovative ideas, solve the big problems and bring to life new ideas. And after two years of Covid, this is a chance to have some fun and get away from devices and connect in person. This is the future of learning and connecting with new ideas and ways of thinking.”

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Holly Ransom, Host and Advisor

“The Outside is a truly unique event that will bring together 30+ best-in-class suppliers, practitioners and thought leaders to create a dynamic and rewarding development experience for PwC's 'explorers'. Two aspects of 'The Outside' particularly stand out for me: the diverse themes and contributors and the intentional disruption of the idea of a 'conference'. From the event design, through to the smorgasbord of learning and enrichment options (from ice baths and debates about the future to improv and unconference sessions), this event's content and design reflect the dynamism of the world in 2022 and the way we need to be thinking about preparing our people for it.”

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Andrew May, CEO and Founder of Strive Stronger & Mental Skills Coach at Parramatta Eels

"We are so excited to be involved in this ground-breaking event.

“Having worked in the human performance, elite sport, and corporate wellbeing space for over 20 years - I can honestly say I have never seen anything like this.

“Bold. Brassy. And totally out of the box. This is going to be an amazing experience for all PwC Explorers!"

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Jason Glanville, First Nations Adviser

“The Outside is an extraordinary undertaking and powerful contribution to the development of a generation of brave change-makers committed to digging into what makes them the best version of themselves to ensure that they can have the greatest positive impact on the people around them and the fragile planet we all share. The attention that has been paid to the importance of deep and respectful engagement with the Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation to ensure the centering of Wonnarua country, language and culture in the experience of The Outside will ensure that explorers are immersed in First Nations excellence in all its forms. There is an exciting red thread of culture woven through the program from the welcome to the farewell with lots of immersion and provocation along the way and we are all excited to deepen that connection and experience as the way we imagine The Outside grows over time.”

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Rebecca Maklad, Director at Future Crunch

“Future Crunch are thrilled to be part of The Outside. As the world opens up, it feels like there's a window of opportunity. People are more amenable to change, and the way we work feels far more flexible than at any time in living memory. We think this is a really good time for everyone to be asking themselves: what sort of talents we now need to nurture, both within ourselves and the people we work with, and how do we prepare for what's coming next? We're really excited to be having those kinds of conversations at this amazing event, and cannot wait to experience the magic of being together with everyone in person.”