Centric Consulting, a 300-person IT firm in Columbus, Ohio, is one of only a handful of firms that have been on our Best Small Firms to Work For list every year since we launched it in 2008. Since that time, the firm has continued to grow, and the firm shows no signs of stopping in 2011. This, however, presents some challenges for the firm, according to Larry English, president of Centric Consulting.
"A key challenge for our company and all of our employees over the next 12 months is the transition from being a medium-sized consulting firm to becoming a larger consulting firm," English says. "We believe it will be our most difficult transformation to date, but we are also excited about the opportunities that it will create for our employees."
And it's a significant challenge to preserve Centric's special culture—the firm scored a 4.79 out of a possible 5.0 in Culture on the survey—while growing the company. "We have created a unique culture that all of us love and all work hard to preserve as we grow. We think culture helps us attract and retain both the clients we serve and our exceptional employees," English says.
One key factor to keeping the culture high, English says, is the firm's commitment to its employees. Centric hasn't laid off a single employee during the downturn. "We want every employee that joins us to retire with us. To achieve this in a high-growth company, you need to constantly improve and evolve the aspects of why an employee would want to stay with your firm," English says. "Winning the award the first time was a great achievement. Winning the award multiple years validates that we are having success fostering an environment of continuous improvement."
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