The 2020 Best Firms to Work For: Protiviti

Consulting Service Lines: Strategy, Operations Management, IT and Financial Consulting

Protiviti's success in these challenging times can in part be attributed to a willingness as a firm to embrace innovation, collaborate across global offices, and learn from both successes and challenges, while continuing to live by its values of integrity, inclusion and innovation. Those efforts are surely paying off, with this year marking the firm's seventh year in a row on our Best Firms to Work For ranking.

"The global pandemic has created enormous challenges for firms across all industries. Protiviti has pivoted from traditional ways of operating to focus on new ways of working, new services that keep us relevant and new ways to connect with our clients," says Joseph Tarantino, Protiviti President and CEO.

"As our people transitioned from offices and client sites to work from home at the start of the pandemic, we quickly built a support system of enhanced benefits, such as allowing additional time off to care for children and for family members affected by Covid-19. We actively encouraged our people to adopt a flexible work approach that took into account the needs of both their families and their clients, and we continue to work with individuals to ensure they have the support they need to address the stress, burnout and anxiety that some are experiencing right now."

Since there's no way to plan for a crisis on the scale of the pandemic, it became something of a resiliency test of the systems and processes a firm had established before it hit. Looking ahead, Tarantino says, the firm will continue to prioritize resiliency using lessons learned from this unprecedented time.

"One of the lessons we've already learned is the critical need for operational resilience if businesses are to survive in highly unpredictable times like these. We are working with our clients to improve their resilience in a wide range of operational areas, including cybersecurity, supply chain, compliance, financial processes and data management,"Tarantino says.

Maintaining a strong firm culture is extra hard with everyone working remotely, but Tarantino says increasing the frequency of firm-wide communications and being highly transparent has helped Protiviti keep morale and engagement at all-time highs through it all.

"Our people have risen to the challenges of working remotely and helped many of our clients to successfully make the same transition. Early on, we committed to the safety and health of our people, giving our employees more options in choosing how and where they work. We see daily examples of our consultants collaborating across all levels and geographies to find innovative client solutions, and they have been willing to step out of their comfort zones as we reengineer our skillsets and approaches to adapt to a rapidly changing dynamic," Tarantino says.

As for what it means to be named to the Best Firms to Work For list for a seventh consecutive year, Tarantino says it's a welcome opportunity to celebrate in the midst of a highly disruptive social and business environment.

"Our people are our top concern, so knowing that they continue to feel valued and supported during these very difficult times is a meaningful endorsement of the actions we've taken over the past several months to maintain our stability and engender confidence for facing the future. Being recognized once again as a Best Firm to Work For reminds our clients that we're an effective team, we're here for the long haul, and we're all in this together."

Consulting: What's the top priority over the next 6 to 12 months?

Tarantino: "Within Protiviti, our top priority will continue to be the health – both physical and mental well-being – and safety of our people. Externally, like everyone, we can't predict what the next 12 months will bring without a crystal ball! What we can predict is that the business environment will continue to be fast-moving and challenging. Our top priority will be to continue to stay agile and innovative and assist our clients as they navigate through what are likely to be choppy waters, including the impact of the U.S. presidential election, regardless of the outcome."