7 – Kurt Salmon Associates
Our culture and success as a firm depends on a collaborative approach," says Lynn Spuhler, a vice president who joined the firm 27 years ago. "If you are a lone wolf and are most successful operating independently, KSA is not the place where you will be the most successful."
Founded in 1935, KSA advises consumer products, retail, and healthcare clients on strategy, process, and technology deployment. With about 270 consultants in the U.S., the firm still feels relatively small and entrepreneurial. As a result, there aren't as many processes in place.
"To be successful, you cannot be a wallflower," says a 31-year-old manager in California. "You must take the initiative. For example, you must make the phone call directly to get the project you want."
KSAers travel a lot — nearly 65 percent of KSA respondents travel between three and five days a week — but they also enjoy a great deal of latitude in determining their schedules. Nearly 93 percent of KSAers are satisfied with the company's flexible work arrangement policy. One practice leader works four days and spends Fridays volunteering in her daughter's school, says Pam Beckerman, KSA's director of human resources.
Work/life balance is also a team issue. At the start of each engagement, project leaders meet with the consultants to develop what they call a "Life Balance" agreement. These agreements specify project objectives and strategies to be used to achieve work/life balance. And, you can say "no" to a manager here.
Depending on the role and the assignments, some of the consultants are "relocators," and relocate to the client with their families for the duration of an engagement. They avoid the stress of traveling and get to see their families most nights. A salary premium is paid to them, and their rent is also subsidized, Beckerman says.
Colleagues are friendly, politics are minimized, and backstabbers are advised to check their daggers at the door, or so KSA consultants told us. Although it's a team-based culture, individual accomplishments get noticed. Given that the firm operates within a consensus-building environment, the decision-making process may appear slow to outsiders. The culture is time-tested, so newcomers will need to adapt.
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