The 2020 Best Small Firms to Work For: Soriant

Consulting Service Lines: Healthcare and Education Support Service Departments

Atlanta-based Soriant works hard to ensure its people are connected and professionally engaged, with the idea that workers who are taken care of will better take care of their clients. The firm lives by its mantra: people like working with kind, caring, and competent people.

Few sectors had the bird's-eye view of the pandemic that healthcare consultancies had, and being so close to the eye of the storm meant firms had a unique set of challenges in ensuring its people were well cared for.

"The core to our business is our people. Our team is hired by our Clients to engage and support their teams. When Covid-19 put our client hospitals into lock down our mission was to keep our people connected and professionally engaged," says Erik Scott, CEO of Soriant.

"My top priority was understanding that each person on my team was being affected differently and my job was to support each member from a personal and professional perspective. Taking care of my people ensured my people could take care of our clients." 

As far as the next 6-12 months go, Scott says Soriant will remain focused on business development to ensure its workers have a steady supply of engaging projects to provide support for.

Looking at the unique attributes Soriant brings to the table, Scott points to the firm's small size as a strength.

"We are small enough to feel like a family run business yet large and nimble enough to provide support to large AMCs, systems and small hospitals. We are able to flex to the needs of our clients based upon need," he says.

One recurring theme we've seen as the pandemic played out has been the importance of staying connected across the team, particularly in an environment where client face time and firm-wide get togethers have all but disappeared.

"We have a strong focus on continuing education and providing meaningful topics to our staff. We annually invest in Lean and Six Sigma training for professional development. But more important than that is the way we engage as a virtual team on a regular basis just to touch base and stay connected personally.  I strongly believe that strong personal relationships within the team is what holds us together when things become hard or challenging," Scott says.

The pandemic has been a major business disruptor, acting as a catalyzing force for many strategies and technologies that have gone from the margins to the front page. In healthcare, Scott says, telehealth's move to the forefront presents an exciting opportunity in the space.

"Telehealth has become a greater focus and believe there is a lot of opportunity for health systems to standardize how they approach telehealth. Additionally, demand for higher level of cleaning and sanitation standards has been driving growth for us and we believe that this will continue through all of 2021."

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

Scott: "Being recognized as a Best Small Firm to Work For validates for us that we have invested appropriately in our people and our culture resonates well both internally and externally.  I believe that our culture and the way we support each other resonates well with our Clients and matches the expectations of the industries that we work in."