The 2021 Best Small Firms to Work For: Acquis Consulting Group

Client Industries Served: Biotech, Pharmaceutical, Communications and Media, Energy, Financial Services/Banking, Health Care, High Tech, Manufacturing, Packaged Goods, Non-Profit, Real Estate, Retail, Utilities

Consulting Service Lines: Strategy, Operations Management, and IT

CMAG: How would you say you've managed to stay among the industry's Best Small Firms to Work For amid these unprecedented times?

When we realized that COVID-19 was going to fundamentally alter how we perform our day-to-day business, we looked closely at our client delivery model and our employee engagement model. With our clients, we were able to use the strong relationships Acquis has built over time to help them navigate their personal and professional challenges, whether that was learning how to work from home or how to remain aligned to quickly shifting organizational priorities. With our people, we focused first and foremost on their well-being and then on ensuring we could continue to provide the strong foundation they needed. Then we determined how best to support our office-based employees with their remote delivery challenges, whether that was acquiring new collaboration technology, providing them with a stipend for in-home office supplies, or sharing lessons learned from our remote workforce on how to support remote delivery. We could not be prouder of the energy and engagement our employees have continued to bring to work each day.

CMAG: Were there any specific programs or initiatives (internal or external) that contributed to you being a Best Small Firm to Work For? 

Acquis has always looked at our company culture as the special sauce that makes it a great firm. That culture was even more important in this past year as we found ourselves physically distanced and needing to strengthen relationships over Zoom rather than through in-person interactions. We've hosted several virtual activities like trivia nights, book clubs with the author, flower arranging, painting, cooking with a Top Chef, and coffee tastings that provide different ways for our employees to interact with one another. We have always considered giving back through our Acquis Social Responsibility partnerships as an important part of our culture. Our employees have had the opportunity to participate in a wide array of virtual social responsibility opportunities with the American Cancer Society, the Bowery Mission, Back on My Feet, and the Book Trust. We're proud of the relationships we've built over the years as they represent the causes our people want to champion, and they provide an additional connection to the communities in which we live.

CMAG: What is unique about your firm? What sets it apart?

At our core, Acquis has an entrepreneurial spirit that enables us to act nimbly, taking advantage of immediate opportunities and making investments in growing demand areas, while leveraging our 20+ years of management consulting experience to anchor the business. Specifically, we employ an adjacency model in which we build adjacent businesses that complement our core management consulting practice. This lets us take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace, provide different growth opportunities to our employees, and build organizations with rich but differing cultural attributes. Our rather unique adjacency model allows our employees to be a part of a business-building culture that is coupled with the stability of an established firm.

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

We're experiencing an exciting period of significantly increased demand from our clients and rapid growth in our business. Over the next 6 to 12 months, it's important to us that we grow in a way that allows us to maintain our People First culture and keep a high level of quality delivery to our clients at the forefront. We always say that it takes great people to do great work. Our top priority is and always has been to be a great company for our employees to work for and for our clients to work with.

CMAG: When you look at the remainder of this year and 2022, what excites you? What opportunities do you see in your markets?

Our clients want to ensure they are taking advantage of transformation opportunities across the organization, and we see this as an exciting opportunity in both our Management Consulting and Technology Solutions business units. In the second half of 2021, we will continue to expand our capabilities across digital transformation, customer experience, and the technologies to support them, including building upon the formal launch of our Salesforce practice. We also plan to take a company trip, targeted for 2022, to celebrate the successes of these past two years in a fun and safe environment with our team.

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

Being honored by Consulting Magazine as a Best Small Firm to Work For recognizes the hard work and tremendous efforts of all Acquis team members over the past year. During a time that has been personally tumultuous for many, our team has persevered, which makes this honor even more special for us. The recognition of this honor also reinforces with our clients, prospects, and recruits that Acquis is a special firm.