The Best Firms to Work For 2020: FTI Consulting

Consulting Service Lines: Finance, IT, Legal, Strategy

Despite facing unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic, recent employee engagement surveys show morale is higher than ever at FTI Consulting, due in large part to workers firm-wide taking local leadership roles to support both the clients and one another.

Steven H. Gunby, President and CEO of FTI Consulting, says the hallmark of a great professional services firm is people taking individual leadership actions to make the firm's proposition better. The readiness of FTI's people to step into leadership roles even in the face of great difficulty helps make it clear why the Washington, D.C.-based firm is making its third consecutive appearance on our Best Firms to Work For list.

"We have had an incredible — and perhaps surprising — level of success through COVID-19 thanks to unbelievable efforts by an enormous number of people across our firm. We have delivered for clients who are undergoing major crises while at the same time supporting our people as they individually weather these difficult times," says Steven H. Gunby, President and CEO of FTI Consulting.

FTI has prioritized the safety of its people during the pandemic, giving its employees their full support to work from home until they feel safe, even before they closed down their offices. Through it all, Gunby says, the team has risen to the challenge and then some.

"Given that our business is, in large part, a crisis business, our second goal was to adapt work practices to support high-stakes litigation and other crisis issues from remote locations. Doing so has required innovation in terms of technology and work processes, but also incredible creativity by people figuring out new ways to meet client demands from home. It has not been perfect, but it's been much more successful than we would have ever anticipated."

Gunby acknowledges the pandemic isn't behind us yet, but says he's been heartened to see how FTI employees have committed themselves to connecting with their clients and each other through it all.

"It is that commitment that enabled us to enter 2020 in the strongest position we have ever been in, and it allowed us to weather this year's challenges extraordinarily well. When I think about the teams we've assembled and the ambition of our people, I have never been as positive about the potential for our company as I am today. I see us as an incredibly vibrant place with enormous upside in every one of our businesses and every one of our geographies."

Consulting: What impact do you think being a Best Firm to Work For has on the firm? Employees? Clients? Gunby: "Our people aspire to make sure we are the firm our clients call upon in times of crisis, to work on the most important jobs and make the biggest impact. Over the last few years, there have been a huge number of indicators that we have been succeeding in that endeavor, from the number of headline jobs won, to the value created for clients, to the number of people who want to join us and advance their careers here. To have an organization like Consulting magazine recognize FTI Consulting as a Best Firm to Work For is a powerful confirmation that is meaningful to me and many of our people."