The 2021 Best Firms to Work For: Slalom Consulting

Client Industries Served: Biotech & Pharmaceuticals, Business and Consumer Services, Financial Services, Food & Beverage, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Media & Communications, Nonprofit, Real Estate, Retail, Hospitality, Software, Telecom, and Utilities & Energy,

Consulting Service Lines: Strategy, Technology, Business Transformation

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

People come first at Slalom, and they always have. We are guided by our vision of a world in which each person loves their work and life. Whenever we face a challenge, our vision, purpose, and core values lead us forward. We exist to build and shape a sustainable future for our customers, our customers' customers, our communities, and ourselves.

Through the pandemic, the widespread reckoning with racism, the growing impacts of climate change, and the other ongoing challenges of our unprecedented times, we have continued to put people first, making every decision with both our heads and our hearts. When the pandemic struck, even though it was quickly apparent that the world was facing a challenge like nothing we'd seen in our lifetimes, we made the commitment to avoid layoffs, to pay merit increases and bonuses, and to put our focus on drastically cutting discretionary spend in order to protect our teams.

This time has not been easy for any of us, but we are proud of how our teams have rallied together to support one another, our clients, and our communities. We are inspired by the meaningful work we do every day—from building COVID response dashboards in Chicago and Los Angeles and partnering with Seattle Central College to help invert the graduation rates of Black male students to helping non-profits adapt to a more digital world.

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

At Slalom, we bring our heads and our hearts to everything we do, because that's who we are. All our programs and initiatives are driven by our deep care for people—our own team members, our clients and partners, and our communities. In recent years, we've worked to reimagine our career framework to empower more meaningful career experiences for each Slalom team member. We believe our approach is unique in the industry in the way that it balances titles, roles, and capabilities, powered by a world class-platform. By taking a holistic view, we seek to ensure that the distinctive skills and passions of every individual are seen, celebrated, and rewarded—and development plans are personalized to each person's career aspirations and skill development areas.

We've grown our investments and commitments around equity and social responsibility. For example, we launched a Social Equality Initiative, sponsored by our Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, to partner with organizations that focus on dismantling racist policies and practices and addressing economic and education disparities faced by the Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) communities. This multi-year initiative is funded by the Slalom Foundation and represents a total of $1,000,000 in grants to eligible organizations that align with our purpose, priorities, and goals—with a process that engages Slalom team members to nominate organizations that are meaningful to them.

We've launched an AI for All initiative (slalom.com/ai), dedicated to the belief that artificial intelligence (AI) can—and should—be used to build a better future. And we've taken a thoughtful approach to the future of work in a world where the divide between work and home will never be the same. This includes our internal "Best for All" philosophy—a flexible, evolving approach grounded in the belief that work should work for people and teams—and our ETHOS model for clients, a "compass" that is nuanced enough to hold the complexity of navigating the hybrid future (slalom.com/ethos).

These are just a few of the many exciting initiatives that are shaping the future of Slalom.

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

What makes Slalom unique is our lively, inclusive, entrepreneurial culture. Every individual who joins us becomes part of our fabric, weaving their talents and perspective into the greater whole of who we are. Guided by our vision, purpose, and core values, we empower one another to be our most authentic selves and do the best, most meaningful work of our lives. Our consulting business was founded with a commitment to no unwanted travel. We build strong local teams, where talented, motivated consultants can work where they live, help people and organizations in their own communities, spend more time with their loved ones, and sleep in their own beds. We remain deeply rooted in our communities, with a unique degree of autonomy and flexibility at the local level, as our model has evolved to incorporate more regional, national, and international leadership alignment and cross-market resource sharing—magnifying our strengths, enabling us to do more as one, and driving rapid innovation.

Slalom leaders are servant leaders who put people first, steward our values-based culture, and thrive on client service. We bring our whole selves to work and nurture a culture of belonging and inclusion. We learn continuously, staying humble and curious. We coach others and teams to high performance. We are drivers who inspire others to think bigger and broader. And we are change agents, leading with agility and empathy.

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

We have identified ten strategic priorities to guide our business through 2030. We are particularly excited about becoming a more global company—extending our global reach while keeping our local soul strong. Slalom teams are now thriving in more than 40 markets in 5 countries, having added 17 new markets across 4 countries in less than four years. In each market, we build long-term trust and relationships, while connecting across markets around new innovations and capabilities to deliver even more impactful work for clients.

Another strategic priority is nurturing our people-first, values-based culture. We want our team members to not just love their work and life; we want them to thrive and do the most impactful work of their lives. We recognize that the global pandemic and prolonged state of uncertainty, racial injustices, and other life events have resulted in increased anxiety and stress for many. Nurturing health and well-being (emotional/mental, physical, social, and financial) is not a moment in time response, but integral to our way of being as a company. We continue to amplify our focus and investments on health and well- being.

CMAG: When you look at the remainder of this year and 2022, what excites you?

The challenges of the past months have only strengthened our commitment to putting people over profits, living our core values together, and driving meaningful impact in our communities. Going forward, we're excited about adapting our modern ways of working to an increasingly connected world with our Best For All approach to the future of work within Slalom—and our ETHOS model for helping our clients succeed in a hybrid future (slalom.com/ethos). Looking out to 2030 and beyond, we will continue to grow as a purpose- and values-driven global company known for customer love, delivery excellence at scale, and bringing immediate value to our clients.

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

Being recognized by Consulting Magazine as a Best Firm to Work For is an honor for Slalom, one that we are proud to have received for over 10 years because it represents the collective voice of our employees and our people-first, values-based culture. We believe that employees and clients seek us out because of this recognition and that it sets a high bar for what they can expect from us that is aligned to our core values. It reaffirms the choice that each of us made to join the Slalom team and distinguishes us as a great firm to work with for our clients.