The 2020 Best Firms to Work For: Collaborative Solutions

Consulting Service Lines: Strategy, Financial & HCM Consulting

Collaborative Solutions strives to create a robust employee experience, constantly collecting feedback and analyzing areas where the company could do better and what that might look like, which prompts new programs and ways for employees to engage with the company. Actively monitoring the pulse of its workers has helped land the Reston, Va.-headquartered strategy firm on our Best Firms to Work For list for five years in a row.

CEO Carroll Ross says the recognition over the years has had a significant impact across the firm.

"To our current employees, the honor brings great pride, instills confidence, and boosts morale. It is because of our employees' incredible skills, work ethic, and dedication that we've landed on the list, so it is wonderful to see that hard work recognized. This award is also highly regarded by the industry, so having a place on the list is encouraging to our current customers and positions us well in the Workday ecosystem. Being known as a Best Firm to Work For also shows us that we are continuing to progress forward as Collaborative matures and grows inside the Cognizant family of companies," says Ross.

Collaborative Solutions has had its share of change over the last year independently of the pandemic, being acquired by Cognizant in May of this year.

"As our people are always our top priority, maintaining our special and unique familial culture is a main driver in all business and company decisions. That is why the transition into the Cognizant family of companies has been very smooth," Ross says.

"Collaborative continues to maintain its own brand and operations, now with additional support from a large and innovative parent company."

Looking ahead to the next 6-12 months, Ross says he's excited for the opportunities to build upon the firm's success.

"At Collaborative, we will continue to capitalize on our global investments, as we are seeing a lot of momentum in global opportunities and multinational companies. We look forward to continuing to leverage our virtual capabilities on future deployments to better serve and empower our customers."

Consulting: How would you describe morale at your firm and why? 

Ross: "Morale at Collaborative remains high, and we like to think that is mostly due to living out our company values daily. We have heard from our employees that now, more than ever, they feel that our value of Balance is truly shining through. No matter what our employees are going through at home during this difficult time, it has become increasingly obvious that the Collabie Family has each other's backs. Our values are not just a list of lofty words on our website: we stand together because we know that we are smarter together, balanced together, trusted together, and ultimately better together. Our values truly are an accurate reflection of how our company functions and the DNA of our workforce. Our dedication to staying true to these values naturally creates an environment that enables employees' outlook and attitudes to remain high."