10 – Towers Perrin
On any given day, Towers Perrin consultants can open a daily paper and find headlines intricately linked to their client work. Whether it be coping with rising healthcare costs or pension and compensation issues, Towers consultants believe their work is having impact. Add to this a portfolio of top clients — 370 are in the Fortune 500 — plus ample training at work, great resources to get the job done, and nice coworkers, and you get downright happy employees.
"There are great opportunities to do the kind of work that you want to do, the way you want to do it, in an environment where you rarely hear the word 'no' when you pitch a new way of doing things," says a 50-year-old Towers senior consultant.
An associate consultant who joined the firm four years ago adds, "The training is without peer. If you are a high performer, the company will train you out of its ability to pay you."
Training for Towers consultants includes formal workshops, e-learning, webinars, informal brown-bag lunches, and tuition reimbursement, as well as programs recommended by the firm's training institute, says David Dean, the firm's director of strategic staffing.
The firm also has a robust knowledge management infrastructure that puts consultants in touch with experts around the world on an as-needed basis. A question posted by a professional to electronic practice community members could get answered almost immediately by Towers experts located in 23 countries.
Towers respondents tell us that the 100 percent employee ownership structure is a key fact underpinning the ethical and self-directed culture. And with the reorganizations from recent years behind them, consultants at the privately held firm say that they are grateful they don't have the pressures of having to release quarterly earnings reports dictating their business decisions.
Work/life balance is generally easier at the HR consultancies, and Towers is no exception. More than 88 percent of Towers respondents traveled one day or less a week. In addition, the firm offers a number of flex-time options, including working compressed workweeks and reduced hour schedules.
The culture is team-oriented, but the matrix organization means that newcomers need to be aggressive in finding a mentor as well as in getting themselves noticed enough to land regular amounts of work.
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