2. Wilson Perumal & Company
Headquarters: Dallas Number of Billable Consultants: 33 Client Industries Served: Industrials, Distribution, Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas, Energy, Technology, Healthcare, Government Consulting Service Lines: Strategy, Operations, IT
It's been a little while—since 2014—that Wilson Perumal & Company landed on the Best Small Firms to Work For list. At that time, the Dallas-based firm was ranked No. 11. This year, the firm is back with a vengeance, rocketing all the way up to No. 2!
David Toth, a Partner with Wilson Perumal says being recognized as a best small firm is very important. "At the end of the day, consulting is a people business; we need to be a great place to work to attract and retain the exceptional employees for which we are known by our clients," he says. "Clients tell us consistently that it 'feels different' working with us."
Doing interesting work, the right way, means Wilson Perumal consultants get ample opportunity to team, learn, and grow, he says. "Our consultants are driven and genuinely nice," Toth says. "They go out of their way to help each other succeed and drive positive impact for our clients."
Toth says the team is truly close-knit; employees really enjoy the time they spend together and have a great deal of respect each other. He says the firm recruits carefully for the right fit and has a strict "no jerks" policy. Additionally, with the firm's founders setting and routinely communicating a strong vision, it's easy for employees to be excited about building the firm.
Meanwhile, a big part of what makes Wilson Perumal unique is its focus on helping companies identify and effectively address the complexity in their businesses, Toth says. "Unmanaged complexity limits profit and growth, affecting all parts of the organization," he says. "We have unique methods to identify complexity and a collaborative approach for helping clients manage complexity from the shop floor to the board room."
In the upcoming year, Wilson Perumal's priorities include deepening its relationships at its flagship clients in commercial, private equity and defense sectors while continuing to recruit top talent to build out the team.
As a result, the firm seeks out a broad mix of skills in its consultants—hiring people with solid, relevant previous experience, but in a wide diversity of roles and industries. "We have former plant managers and brand managers, veterans, and AI experts," Toth says. "We look for everybody to bring something to the table, and we all learn from each other to best serve our clients."
On the survey, the firm excelled in the areas of Work/Life Balance and Compensation & Benefits. "Our teams work very hard to have client impact, but we try to do it by working smarter rather than harder," Toth says. "We are disciplined about avoiding extraneous travel. There is no doubt we still put in long days, but a lot of this comes from earnest client focus."
Were there any specific programs that contributed to being one of the Best Small Firms to Work For?
Toth: Our founders continue to build and share an inspiring vision for the firm. At every company meeting they share a "State of the Business" presentation that gives employees a complete picture of WP&C and where we are headed. Getting to see under the hood helps pull the whole team in to solve challenges and work towards lofty goals. Also, in addition to the normal pieces of compensation (salary, bonus, insurance 401(k), etc.) WP&C offers its employees bonuses to incentivize wellness and to recognize the toll of time spent away from home. This lets the employee, and their spouse, know how much we value their time.
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