The 2020 Best Small Firms to Work For: Argo Consulting

Consulting Service Lines: Operations Management

Argo strives to approach its work without ego or politics, identifying the people who will thrive in their unique environment and do their best work for clients. Argo has built a team that works well together, aligning the projects it does best with its people best-suited to the task.

Even before the pandemic forced a lockdown that ground most US business to a halt, Argo was closely monitoring its progression. The firm was able to preemptively deploy remote working tools and move projects off-site before doing so became mandatory, resulting in only a small number of cancelled US projects.

"We had a few uncertain and scary months as most of our sales activity grounded to a halt. We called a town hall meeting and were very transparent with our team. We had a large cash cushion and promised everybody job security for a minimum of a year even if we had zero business," says Argo CEO Fernando Assesns.

Our people's response was incredible, and our team managed to continue delivering great results for our clients working from their living-rooms. We started only two new projects during the March-July period but every single one of our existing projects were extended. I am immensely proud of how our team pulled through this crisis!" 

There's undoubtedly more uncertainty in the months ahead, but Argo is looking at ways it can position itself over the next 6-12 months and come out stronger on the other side.

"COVID-19, unlike a regular business cycle, has clear winners and losers. Some industries are being decimated and others are growing fast. This crisis is creating unprecedented opportunities to grow our team with very talented people that would normally not be available and is allowing us to grow rapidly in new industry verticals that historically we were not focused on," Assens says.

Ask him what being named one of the Best Small Firms to Work For means for the firm and its clients, and Assens says it's a strong source of pride and motivation.

"The Consulting magazine award validates the strong culture we have created at Argo. It is clear that our employees like working with each other, truly enjoy what they do, and are motivated to achieve outstanding, measurable, and sustainable results for our clients," he says.

"For our clients this is also a very meaningful recognition. As a firm we have more credibility with our clients when we have been recognized as being a great company to work for. Clients like working with consultants who are enthusiastic about their jobs, ego-free, and dedicated to delivering results, and this is truly what being a Best Firm to Work For is about."

Consulting: What's unique about your firm? What sets it apart? 

Assens: "We have a clear strategy and are laser focused on the industries and service offerings we are really good at and never deviate from it. Additionally, we have become very good at identifying those people that will thrive in our firm and do great work for our clients. After 22 years in business, we believe we have achieved great alignment between the projects we are really good at delivering and our people (who we hire, how we manage them, how we compensate them, who we promote). We have built a team that works really well together. At Argo we have no egos or politics."