After a two-year hiatus, SEI, a 120-person IT consultancy with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas and Phoenix, returns to our Best Small Firms to Work For list. It does so on the strength of its Work/Life Balance and Client Engagement, areas where it excelled on the survey.
Erin Sullivan, Managing Director of SEI, says he thinks there's one reason for both. "Our consultants are empowered to manage their engagements. As employee owners, they service the client with a commitment to excellence you can only expect from owners," Sullivan says. "It allows them the flexibility to both delight the client, and manage the client's expectations to a reasonable work/life balance."
That, of course, makes SEI an attractive option and helps keeps morale high. "The consultants are the heart and soul of our business, so hiring is everything," Sullivan says. "We get the right people on board, ensure their client work is challenging, ensure they have opportunities to participate in the management and growth of the business, and give them the insight into the health of the business."
Hiring the right people is so integral to SEI's success, he says, that the firm has walked away from business rather than hiring people who are not the right cultural fit. "With business picking up, we've been able to bring aboard some great talent this year," Sullivan says. "We're seeing strong demand across all of our verticals in all of our practice areas."
Since the firm prides itself on hiring only the best, the Best Small Firms award is especially satisfying, Sullivan says. "To hear that our consultants are as excited about SEI as we are about having them on board really is special," he says. "It's great for the team as well, a reminder that they are part of something special."
—J.K.
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