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

Client Industries Served: Financial, Media, Telecommunications, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail

Consulting Service Lines: Strategy and IT

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

It's really a testament to our team. Despite the last 18 or so months of the pandemic, our team, from the newest hires to management to our CEO, has continued to foster the spirit of "playing work," as we call it. Although we've been lacking quality in-person office time for Nerf wars, having debates over the area's best pizza place, or going to happy hours, our culture has remained strong thanks to the cultural program that we have in place and our team's outstanding commitment to our mantra: Be exceptional and be collaborative.

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

In addition to our culture program, we have a community outreach program called We Care, where we learn about a local non-profit that assists people in need, and our team donates time, money, and items to help that cause. We donate to different organizations on a monthly basis, and we've been able to help support women's shelters, food banks, soup kitchens and other non-profits in our area. We've also purchased presents for multiple families over the last few holiday seasons. It's been a really heartwarming experience to know that the donations of our team were able to make a difference in people's lives.

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

I'd say it's our people who differentiate us from other organizations. I give a lot of credit to the people we've brought on board with us, from top to bottom. I think that's one reason why we've been able to keep our team intact while also continuing to grow by drawing in new talent. More importantly, we've been able to keep our key players here with us for the long haul. The average tenure at a typical firm is around 2.5-3 years, but our management team has been with us for an average of 7 years. That longevity, I think, is a great sign that people really enjoy working with the team we have and are really aligned with our goals for the future.

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

As an organization, we're looking towards the future with an eye on scalability. We're continuing to refine our existing processes and build out new ones that will enable us to scale our growth with repeatable tasks. This way, we'll remain consistent with our processes, decisions and our messaging whether we're at 55 people or 550.

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

The coming year has the potential to be great for us. With the shift to remote work over the previous quarters, we're likely to branch out to some regions we haven't tapped into yet, which will help to expand our footprint and grow our company even more. From a market standpoint, we're looking.

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

It's a fantastic shot of morale throughout our team. Last year when this event was fully remote, we had a chat going during the awards presentation and you could feel the excitement build as the top 15 were being announced. It's also an awesome testament to our team that we can show to our clients or prospects as a differentiator. Sure, we do awesome work – but we're also pretty awesome to work with, too.