The 2014 Best Firms to Work For: The Boston Consulting Group

And now in 2014, BCG breaks on through to the other side.

"Being recognized as the Best Firm to Work For in our industry is an important recognition of the kind of firm and work environment we've created and reinforced," says Rich Lesser, President and CEO of BCG. "We strive to be the very best place for people to develop the mindsets, skills and capabilities to be leaders in the world. We put tremendous emphasis on our culture, our apprenticeship model, and on doing genuinely high-impact work with our clients. We're not driven by external recognitions, but it's certainly a source of pride to see our efforts so well recognized."

Lesser says the leadership of BCG around the world and across its practices has its efforts laser focused on making BCG the very best place for top talent.

"It is fundamental to our ability to take on our clients' toughest problems and drive the kind of change and value delivery they expect," he says. "Every year our top priorities are to attract, develop, and retain the very best people and to create an environment where they can make a difference with our clients around the world. That long-term focus never changes."

Lesser says BCG hires people who are incredibly achievement-oriented and want to make a difference, and BCG is truly unique in its ability to drive impact for leading businesses, the public sector, and for social sector organizations. "We provide a unique environment to grow personally and professionally at an exceptionally fast rate—to prepare for major leadership opportunities in BCG and beyond," he says. "Our people learn very quickly how to chart a course in uncertain waters, drive complex change in organizations, and build an important set of leadership and collaboration skills with strong support from their colleagues."

In addition, Lesser says he believes that recruits at all levels of experience and expertise appreciate BCG's non-hierarchical and team-oriented culture and the ability to connect and grow with others through a variety of paths. And once those new hires are on board, BCG's employee investment really kicks in.

Once again, as it is just about every year, BCG is ranked No. 1 in the Compensation & Benefits category. As far as the other five categories, it's a question of better and best for BCG as the firm finds itself in the Top 5 across all six categories the survey measures.

This year, an area of focus for BCG has been in the Work/Life Balance category. The firm ranked No. 5, impressive for a firm of BCG's size and travel demands.

To help move the needle, this year, BCG made a major effort to strengthen its mobility programs, Lesser says. In addition, the firm is smack in the middle of a global roll-out of its sustainable work/life balance initiative called PTO—Predictability, Teaming and Open Communication—that was featured in the book Sleeping with Your Smartphone by Harvard Business School Professor Leslie Perlow.

"We continue to see the impact of PTO on our culture and team effectiveness throughout the world," Lesser says.

That culture has always been a focus, Lesser says, and this year the firm ranked No. 2 in that category.

"We have a very unique culture. This is something we've known for a long time but it continues to be validated by senior people joining BCG as a result of consolidation in the consulting industry," Lesser says. "BCG's relatively low level of hierarchy, strong teaming spirit, tremendous respect for the individual, and high level of aspiration to make a difference in the world are cultural elements that create our lasting foundation. Our people also have significant opportunities to forge their own paths within BCG and take on an enormous range of challenges."

That, of course, leads to high morale, which stems from the tremendous sense of opportunity and tangible success in creating value for clients. "We are helping clients find new avenues of growth, win in the digital landscape, achieve simplicity and effectiveness, and be more productive; we are getting to take on our clients' most important issues and develop deep and lasting relationships," Lesser says.

In today's environment, Lesser says, clients also have large and high-stakes change agendas to find growth, drive productivity, incorporate digital and other technologies into the core of their business models, and better prioritize and relate to their customers.

"Specifically, we have major efforts to deepen digital capabilities and help our clients prepare for a very different landscape ahead."

And add to the mix that BCG has enjoyed some of the profession's healthiest sustained growth and the recipe for success is complete.

Lesser says the firm has seen "healthy double-digit growth—a pattern we've sustained over decades, including the last one despite all its macro-economic challenges," he says. "We see enormous opportunities to make a difference at our clients and we believe we can contribute in many ways to change the world—not only in our client work, but also in our social impact engagement in health, education, development, sustainability, and many other areas."

The global economic environment puts pressure on all companies to find growth, to drive to higher levels of productivity, to embed technology differently into their offerings and business models, and to strengthen their organizations, Lesser says.

"When you see so many places where you can make a difference, it is hard not to be energized about it."

What's unique about BCG? What do you think sets it apart from its competitors?

Rich Lesser. President and CEO, says: "For our clients, BCG is unique in our ability to provide highly customized insights and to work collaboratively to translate those insights into lasting impact and value. We have tremendous depth across both industry sectors and key functional topics, and globally we can mobilize teams and share practices across geographies quickly and seamlessly. Our clients also appreciate our ability to change at least as fast as the environment.

The best current example is our new Digital Ventures business, which is helping clients set digital innovation agendas and rapidly create new digital products and services. We've been pioneers in integrating these capabilities into a single offering and the response from clients has been overwhelmingly positive. But this is just one example of many, including our abilities to manage complex change, incorporate what we call "smart simplicity," and unearth consumer insights and trends.

BCG is normally among the very first to spot ideas that matter most to businesses and help them make those ideas relevant. Internally, our partnership structure is a source of real advantage. Every partner is equal in terms of voting rights, regardless of seniority. That means BCG has an unusually democratic, non-hierarchical and open culture—within the partnership and throughout the firm—and one that can embrace change quickly."