From personal best to what’s next
Athletes push possibility to the limit. Let’s help them apply that to careers beyond the field of play.
Elite athletes know what it takes to achieve. To bring grit and grace under pressure. To overcome physical setbacks, emotional hurdles and mental blocks. To win against the odds.
When the time comes to retire from elite sport, they find out what that takes too. For some, a clear career path may follow, but others may find themselves lost or unsure what to do.
“I've seen people that win gold medals. And then they sit down on the couch for a year after because they don't know what to do next. As an Olympian myself, I know how hard that is.”
Greg Douglas, Manager, Sport Business Advisory, Deloitte Canada
The talent pool of Olympians, Paralympians and elite athletes is a trove of winning skills and mindsets for organizations looking to succeed. They bring unique ways of planning, pushing the boundaries of possibility, and making an impact. As Deloitte research has shown, when athletes are supported to make the transition out of sport and into their next career, everybody wins—from talented individuals, to ambitious employers, to society at large.
As part of a ten-year partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Deloitte is supporting the IOC to accelerate athlete employment and mentoring opportunities to unlock human potential around the world. By helping the IOC to further develop Athlete365—the IOC’s program that supports athlete employability—Deloitte is helping to facilitate athlete hirings across varied levels and types of employment.
Employers need to realize that there will be an upfront investment, but an athlete will be a top employee throughout their career.
- Olympian, Rowing, Germany, Deloitte research, Athlete Employability Project
Athletes don’t know how to use their visibility to find work. They have some transferrable skills, but don’t know how to manage it.
- Athlete, Badminton, Ecuador, Deloitte research, Athlete Employability Project
"We have employed an athlete-centric approach to this work, speaking with hundreds of athletes to listen to their individual journeys and to understand barriers that they have found with regards to employability."
Jeff Harris, Partner and National Leader, Sport Business Advisory, Deloitte Canada
Following an analysis of the existing Athlete365 Career+ program and conversations with hundreds of athletes from different countries, Deloitte has helped the IOC to identify the specific strengths, gaps, and opportunities in relation to existing support, the athletes’ needs and the challenges they face.
From here, Deloitte has supported the IOC to identify opportunities to grow and build the Athlete365 program, including recommendations of key services, programs, tools, and formats that will better serve different athlete segments and potential employers. Deloitte has also developed an Athlete Employability Framework and Handbook to guide the Olympic Movement on athlete employability, scaling the possibilities for empowering retired athletes and the employer community that surrounds them.
Over the course of this partnership, Deloitte aims to identify further opportunities for the IOC and the Olympic and Paralympic Movements to empower current and retired athletes to transition from performing in sport, to making an impact within organizations that value and benefit from their talent and potential. Beyond this, Deloitte hopes to inspire future generations of athletes to believe in and pursue sport as a career possibility, and the first of many possible careers.
"When these types of individuals have the opportunity to thrive, our organizations benefit, our communities benefit, our countries benefit, we all benefit."
Jeff Harris, Partner and National Leader, Sport Business Advisory, Deloitte Canada
Deloitte | Worldwide Management Consulting Partner
See the possibility. See the impact.
There is a lot of overlap between becoming great in sports and good in the workplace. The consistent thing is that it’s difficult to become a high performer. You need the patience to keep going and the urgency to become better – it’s the synergy between those two things that really takes people to the next level.
- Robbie Otal, Discus Thrower and Analyst at Deloitte US
