Deloitte Digital’s RISE for Growth

In today’s evolving business landscape, achieving profitable growth is challenging, especially under increasing ESG pressures. Deloitte’s RISE for Growth framework tackles this by promoting inclusivity and sustainability as growth drivers, offering responsible solutions that align with societal and legislative expectations.

The framework equips Deloitte teams with tools to support clients in delivering value ethically, resonating with customers, and meeting regulatory demands. A key component, Responsible Intelligence (RI), uses AI to coach practitioners, embedding RISE principles for sustainable, ethical client growth.

These answers have come from Julia Challicom, Design & Innovation Director Financial Services. Julia has over 20 years’ experience in enabling organisational growth and transformation through successful execution of customer experience innovation initiatives. Julia brings a wealth of cross industry expertise from Financial Services to Health Care and CSR where she helps clients drive their experience strategies. Julia thrives on creating seamless human experiences and products for brands while orchestrating large scale design and innovation programmes of work, formulating digital roadmaps and leading digital transformations.

What inspired the development of the RISE for Growth framework, and how did you identify the need for a tool like Responsible Intelligence (RI) to support your clients’ ESG growth strategies?

The RISE for Growth framework stemmed from the increasing challenge for businesses to achieve profitable growth while navigating societal and legislative pressures to address ESG concerns. It is the brainchild of Abbie Walsh and Patti Alderman, two of our Deloitte Digital Partners who recognised the need for a solution that reframed ESG not as a constraint but as a source of growth, creating value now, next and for all. This realisation led to the development of Responsible Intelligence (RI), our Gen AI tool, which empowers Deloitte practitioners to guide clients in embedding inclusivity, sustainability, and ethics into their core operations, driving both profitability and positive societal impact.

How does the RISE for Growth initiative integrate inclusivity, sustainability, and ethics into business practices, and why is this intersection crucial for driving growth in today’s market?

RISE for Growth seamlessly blends inclusivity, sustainability, and ethics into business practices. This interconnected approach is not just a matter of corporate social responsibility; it’s a business imperative in today’s market. Consumers, investors, and employees are increasingly drawn to businesses that authentically embody these values. By embracing this intersection, businesses can unlock new avenues for growth, bolster brand reputation, and ensure resilience against evolving regulations and societal expectations.

What specific challenges faced by clients does RI address, and how does it help them navigate societal and legislative pressures surrounding ESG while maintaining profitability?

RI directly addresses critical challenges faced by clients in today’s rapidly changing landscape:

Breaking Down Silos: Many businesses address ESG aspects in isolation. RI provides a holistic framework, integrating inclusivity, sustainability, and ethics to avoid siloed approaches.
Overcoming “X-Washing”: RI helps businesses move beyond superficial attempts at responsibility, ensuring genuine integration of RISE principles to avoid accusations of greenwashing or purpose-washing.
Escaping Innovation Wasteland: RI helps businesses avoid innovation pitfalls by incorporating inclusivity considerations from the outset, ensuring new products and services resonate with diverse audiences and achieve desired market impact.

By providing AI-driven guidance and practical tools, RI empowers our practitioners and clients to navigate these complexities, confidently meeting ESG requirements while driving profitability and meaningful innovation.

How has the RISE for Growth initiative been embedded into Deloitte’s broader business strategy, and how are RISE principles integrated into policies, performance development, and leadership objectives?

RISE for Growth is not a standalone initiative; it’s deeply woven into Deloitte’s own business strategy and operations:

Policies and Guidance: RISE principles are embedded into our Purpose framework, which has been issued to all our practitioners as a blueprint for how we conduct our business with our clients and each other.

Performance Development & Leadership Objectives: Aligning with RISE principles and using the frameworks on our projects has been assigned to all our Product and Design practitioners as a key objective, reinforcing the importance of these values in daily operations and career progression.

What were the main challenges or obstacles you faced in developing and implementing the Responsible Intelligence (RI) suite of AI agents, and how did you overcome them?

Developing and implementing RI presented unique challenges that required innovative solutions. As one of the first initiatives of its kind, developing AI agents within Deloitte required establishing new paradigms, governance frameworks, and risk management strategies. Integrating RI agents with Deloitte’s existing AI function, PairD, required a new UI to be designed to navigate the new agents, meticulous planning and coordination to ensure roadmaps were aligned. Clear communication and comprehensive training for staff were essential to ensure widespread understanding and effective utilisation of the new AI tools.

These challenges were successfully overcome through iterative development processes, rigorous testing, and a strategic communication plan designed to ensure smooth adoption and maximise the value of RI.

How did you ensure that the RISE for Growth framework and Responsible Intelligence tools were adaptable across different industries and client needs, and what advice would you give to other organisations looking to implement similar DE&I-driven frameworks to ensure broad applicability and impact?

The RISE framework and RI tools are designed with adaptability in mind, ensuring relevance and effectiveness across diverse industries and client needs. Grounded in the universally applicable principles of inclusivity, sustainability, and ethics, the framework transcends industry boundaries. Care was taken to adapt the insights and framing for each industry to ensure that it remained relevant, for example the RISE Cards has a section on industry trends and regulations which are specific to Financial Services. RI’s suite of AI agents offers flexibility, allowing for tailoring and combination to address specific client challenges and industry contexts. Often one industry can learn a lot from how issues are handled in another so it’s often a useful exercise to look more broadly.

Our advice for other organisations would be to look for all opportunities to embed the frameworks. We looked internally to see how we can upskill our practitioners and externally to work with clients on their challenges. Exploring and embracing new technologies like AI to scale your DE&I efforts allows them to seamlessly integrate into daily workflows and take advantage of people’s interest in new technologies to further our DE&I cause.