The 2021 Best Firms to Work For: Kin + Carta

Client Industries Served: Agriculture, Financial Services, Industrials, Insurance, Private Equity, Public Sector, Retail Healthcare

Consulting Service Lines: Strategy and IT

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

Kin + Carta has remained resilient amid unprecedented times by keeping true to who we are. This is something that happens across all areas of the firm. We're a mission-driven digital transformation consultancy, consistently working to ensure that we're placing an equal emphasis on our people, our planet, and our profit. This is what makes us a Best Large Firm to Work For. Our values of Courage, Compassion and Connection ground our decisions, and our mission of building a world that works better for everyone keeps us focused on a clear 'why'.

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

Becoming B Corp certified in the Americas and working towards global B Corp certification has contributed to Kin + Carta being a Best Large Firm to Work For. In lockstep, Kin + Carta's Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Awareness strategy was put into motion and holds us accountable to DEI goals and ever-evolving our workplace to be more equitable and inclusive. Upholding certification is how we will continue to be a best workplace and how we have committed to corporate social responsibility. B Corp certification proves that we are on the right track, and reminds us that we have more work ahead of us as we work to place a more equal emphasis on people, planet, and profit.

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

What sets Kin + Carta apart is the fact that all consultants are working on something big and impactful. Yet they are still seen. It's our territory-based structure and collaborative working environment that has allowed each employee a network of leadership supporting them in their role, a practice that's scaling where they can hone their craft, and their own personalized growth path. At Kin + Carta, we are large enough to deliver against the world's toughest challenges, yet we've structured ourselves to be small and connected enough to care about each and every employee, personally.

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

Over the next 6-12 months, we'll be hyper-focused on sustainability, formalizing the ways that Kin + Carta can leverage what we've learned on our sustainability journey to drive transformational outcomes for our clients. Our global team of responsible business specialists will work across service lines to develop go-to-market offerings that will advance the sustainability goals of our clients. These offerings include carbon reduction strategy, inclusive design services, and more. In the near horizon, we will also be standing up formal sustainability training programs for our Kin that will drive the scalability of our sustainability ambitions. This bilateral approach will ensure that Kin + Carta is well-positioned to meet the demands of our time, and of our future while supporting our clients in meeting their triple bottom line objectives.

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

I'm really excited about what we're doing as it relates to our data services and capabilities, and the experiences and platforms we are capable of building for our clients. Much like the technology waves we predicted and caught in the past with mobile and cloud, we're at the starting line here, and data holds the promise to be the next wave of digital that our clients in the enterprise need. This year, we invested in the foundation of Kin + Carta Data Labs and are already in the process of delivering projects with some of our largest clients that will transform the data literacy of their business, as well as giving our employees technical data experience which they were hungry for. This is just the beginning, and I look forward to the propelled growth and how it scales our firm throughout the rest of 2021 and into 2022.

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

A big, ambitious goal we're working towards is to become an internationally recognized best place to work. We've committed to an EVP, a three-year Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Awareness strategic plan, and a bi-annual employee engagement survey process to track towards this goal. Being a Best Large Firm to Work For validates the effort taken thus far and signals to the market that we have the right people to elevate their business. This award win energizes me to continue evolving, improving, and doing good for our people.