8. Nordic
Headquarters: Madison, Wis. Number of Billable Consultants: 600 Client Industries Served: Healthcare Consulting Service Lines: Strategy, Professional Services, Operations Management, IT
Consulting magazine began publishing the Best Firms to Work For list more than 20 years ago, so it's becoming less likely to see newcomers on the list. But when one sneaks up and makes its debut it's always a reason to sit up and take notice. And this year the highest-ranking newcomer is healthcare consultancy Nordic.
Katherine Sager, Executive Vice President, Consulting Services for Nordic says it's a huge honor to be named a Best Firm to Work For, and this recognition is a testament to the firm's fantastic consultants and home office teammates. "For us, 'Best' means excellence both in what we do and how we do it," she says. "What we do is help healthcare organizations become better businesses with stronger patient outcomes. Being named to this list affirms for us again that what we are doing—and how we are doing it—is important and worth protecting. We hope that this recognition will inspire confidence in our current clients and consultants, as well as curiosity in those we hope to work with in the future."
Sager says there is a turn towards increased profitability and cost-saving in the healthcare market. "Our conversations with clients have become increasingly focused on realizing value as they grapple with this challenge, and there is a great deal of opportunity to help our clients be successful in this area," she says.
Additionally, healthcare providers are catching on to advanced technologies like AI and machine learning. She says she's seeing innovation in lots of niche areas, and over the next few years those are going to become more comprehensive across a health system's enterprise. "We're going to see more and more operational uses like supply management, patient throughput, etc. as everyone continues to get more comfortable with the technology, we can start making a real difference clinically," she says.
Meanwhile, while the firm's roots are in the professional services space, Nordic continues to evolve and diversify to anticipate and meet clients' ever-growing needs, Sager says. "This diversification is already well underway with our expansion into managed services, data and analytics, population health, revenue cycle transformation, ERP and Cerner services," she says. "We expect that diversification to continue over the next 12 months."
On the survey, Nordic excelled in the areas of Client Engagement and Leadership. "We do our best to act as a true partner to our clients and consultants." Meanwhile, the firm's leadership is demonstrated in its adherence to the firm's maxims, its commitment to transparency and openness with clients and consultants, and the commitment to always growing, learning, and improving so that "we can serve clients and consultants even more effectively tomorrow than we do today."
How would you describe morale at your firm?
Sager: Morale at Nordic is high. Our maxim, "Be You," encourages us to celebrate our authentic selves, include people of all backgrounds, and embrace our differences. We truly care about our people as human beings and foster an environment in which team members are encouraged to be fully themselves, bringing their unique experiences and perspectives into the work that they do. Another of our maxims asks each employee to "Act Like an Owner," and thus we make our employees actual owners of Nordic by offering them equity and providing them with regular, comprehensive quantitative and qualitative updates on our performance. As a result, our team members are truly invested, not just in our clients, but in Nordic's success and each other.
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