Deloitte Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary of Business Chemistry

Since its inception, Business Chemistry has been shared with more than 90,000 Deloitte and client professionals in 150 countries

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Deloitte

Apr 06, 2015, 03:30 ET

NEW YORK, April 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, Deloitte is celebrating its five-year anniversary of Business Chemistry, a groundbreaking system that can facilitate stronger relationships and better teamwork in the workplace.

Using Science to Improve the Art of Relationships: Business Chemistry has come a long way in five short years. From seemingly humble beginnings as a means to differentiate Deloitte by building better relationships, it is now a customized Lab that helps individuals and teams explore their overall Business Chemistry composition and strategize how to accommodate and capitalize on their diversity.

Working with scientists in genetics and neuro-anthropology, Deloitte has identified four stable patterns of business behaviors and preferences – four Business Chemistry types – that highlight important differences and similarities among colleagues at work. Understanding these differences and similarities provides insight into how individuals and teams can work together more effectively.

Each Business Chemistry type brings unique strengths to any team or organization, but working within diverse teams can be challenging. Business Chemistry Labs are experiential sessions in which participants learn about the different personality types and then practice flexing their own style to improve their working relationships with others. Teams also explore their overall Business Chemistry composition and strategize how to accommodate and capitalize on their diversity.

Deloitte's clients increasingly understand the importance of relationships in the workplace and how it impacts team dynamics. Since the inception of Business Chemistry, Deloitte has facilitated Business Chemistry Labs and sessions for nearly 40 percent of the Fortune 500 companies seeking ways to collaborate more effectively to overcome business challenges.

Deloitte data insights reveal that some prominent working types are more common in certain countries, which means that global companies may benefit from their employees better understanding the similarities and differences of team members in various regions. For example, in the United States, Guardians and Integrators are the most common type of working style. Guardians prefer what is tried and true and often guard organizational process; Integrators like to build consensus and personal connections. Data from Latin American countries reveals more Drivers, people who like systems and focus on goals. Knowing the similarities and differences of personality types on your team can help you engage more effectively.

"Companies are increasingly aware that success can hinge on how well employees interact with one another, with their business stakeholders, and with their customers," said Kim Christfort, national director of Deloitte's Leadership Center for Clients. "We're pleased with the positive impact our insights and facilitated experiences have yielded for our Business Chemistry users – as individuals and teams. Since its inception, Business Chemistry has been shared with more than 90,000 professionals in 150 countries."

Beyond experiential labs, Deloitte offers several tools to help teams and organizations learn about Business Chemistry, including Biz Chem 20 Questions, a tool that helps one create a hunch about someone else's type. Another tool, Business Chemistry Blog, authored by the Business Chemistry team, showcases how teams and relationships fuel our work.

Business Chemistry is a system developed by Deloitte's Leadership Center for Clients, a group that architects immersive experiences to help professionals achieve breakthrough – as individuals, within their organizations – and in the marketplace. The Leadership Center for Clients offers customized Labs that help clients dig into complex issues at one of Deloitte's five U.S. Greenhouse locations or through its mobile team, upon request. These facilitated Labs are one-to-two day interactive sessions tailored to disrupt ordinary thinking, reveal new possibilities, and incite action.

About Deloitte Leadership Center for Clients
Deloitte's Leadership Center for Clients specializes in experiential problem solving, and continues to advance this focus through tailored research, tools, and designed experiences. Its physical spaces, the U.S. Greenhouses, are part of a growing global network of flexible environments designed to help clients and Deloitte professionals cultivate and nurture new ideas and solutions. In addition to the U.S., Deloitte Greenhouse facilities are located in Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited member firms in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, Southeast Asia (Singapore) and the U.K., as well as at Deloitte University Europe, the Middle East and Africa (DU EMEA). Several additional Greenhouses are set to open in the coming months.

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

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SOURCE Deloitte