The 2020 Best Small Firms to Work For: ImagineX Consulting

Consulting Service Lines: IT Consulting

Atlanta, Ga.-based ImagineX Consulting made a big splash in the pages of Consulting in 2018, being named as one of our Seven Small Jewels as well as a Best Small Firm to Work For. After a repeat appearance last year, ImagineX is back for a third time in a row this year.

"In my 20 years consulting in technology and working through the downturns of 2001 and 2007-2008, neither of those come close to what we have seen since March," says Shaun Bank, Co-founder and Managing Director of ImagineX Consulting.

"This is a huge honor for us to receive this award for the third consecutive year, and this year given all the challenges is especially rewarding.  It proves that ImagineX is indeed a great place to work for technology consultants, one that will persevere against the constraints we have been up against."

This year has been a tough one across the board, with firms facing unprecedented challenges that have rippled through their entire business. Through it all, ImagineX put its best foot forward in making its people and their wellbeing a top firm priority.

"Especially during these times, it is so important for our folks to work on being better humans, taking care of our health, treating our clients as true partners, and supporting our colleagues as we wrestle with working from home while trying to push for new offerings and ways to bring value to our existing and prospect clients," says Bank.

ImagineX Consulting's IT consulting focus helped insulate it from some of the worst of the pandemic-related disruption, as well as its diverse range of service lines. Through it all, the firm prioritized transparency with all workers about the health of the business and any major moves the founding team was evaluating.

"Because we operate across just about every industry, our overall business was not hit as hard.  We did immediately lose key accounts in hospitality but we saw these offset with demand in financial services, healthcare and software.  We also focused on cost containment and protecting our core accounts by providing superior delivery and value to our existing clients," Bank says.

Keeping up employee morale is a priority in any successful firm, but 2020 brought with it some new difficulties that made it harder than in the past. Through it all, however, ImagineX put in the time needed to keep workers busy and happy.

Overall I would say that morale continues to be relatively high. We have had peaks and valleys as we have had to make tough decisions and in some cases shift consultants around on projects to solve staffing gaps. But we have also kept our bench pretty lean and have kept those folks very busy on innovative internal initiatives that we ordinarily would not have had the time to work on but have been really needed to help us scale as an organization," says Bank.

"So there is a silver lining in that we will come out of this pandemic more efficient, effective, and more focused than we have ever been in the past."

What impact do you think being a Best Small Firm to Work For has on the firm? Employees? Clients?

Bank: "With the past 6 months being littered with bad news almost daily, it is great to have a win where we see our folks still believe in our mission, believe in the client work we are doing, believe in the value we are providing, and want that recognized. It shows that our consultants understand that while we have had to make uncomfortable decisions, we are treating each team member with grace, respect, and understanding and considering the impacts on their families and their personal wellbeing.