The 2021 Best Firms to Work For: West Monroe

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?

The main reason we've remained among the industry's best workplaces is the same reason that got us here in the first place: our ongoing commitment to our values. Values and how you treat people are location-independent concepts. We can care for people, give them great opportunities, and focus on their development just as well remotely as we can in person. Our ability to do so is largely due to the types of people we hire and the types of people who succeed here.

We also have a very strong employee value proposition. In my view, there are two key reasons people choose to work here: to build mastery and skills, and to have an impact – for clients, the community, and our firm. We understand that, and we are intentional about delivering on those aspirations, regardless of where people are working.

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

Our employee resource group (ERG) program has developed considerably in the last 12 to 24 months, and has had a tremendous impact. Our firm has embraced our ERGs, all the way to the top. By the end of 2021, we will have added three new ERGs, for a total of six. We fund them, and they have widespread and very senior engagement. But we also empower them to run in a way that makes sense for our people, with one requirement – that they are inclusive and welcoming to anyone who wants to participate. That has led to some truly exceptional programming. Our Black Employee Network stepped up and guided our firm and our leaders through the difficult period surrounding George Floyd's murder. They organized very impactful listening sessions that helped our people see how they were experiencing it, as well as understand their experiences around equity in the workplace.

ERGs are just one part of our increased focus on inclusion and diversity (I&D). In fact, I&D was one of our biggest investments outside of acquisitions. We have expanded the listening session concept and introduced new I&D training, including personal sessions for our senior leaders. And we established a dedicated I&D team to maximize the potential of our initiatives. We have also done a lot of work around a sense of fulfillment and purpose. We know our people want to connect their work to a purpose. We are tackling this in many ways – for example, we have spent time defining how we respond to social issues that impact our people, and how to effectively invest in our communities.

But a lot of what makes us a great workplace is not about programs. On the commercial side, we are very intentional about the work we do and the clients we partner with. And frankly, that work is fascinating – a lot of it is now about blending analog and digital. The example I like to use is curbside pickup. You can't offer that without the digital capability (app) to connect with the customer. But it also involves areas such as supply chain, staffing, SKUs, and a physical parking lot with signage. And all of that has to be extremely well-orchestrated to deliver the intended experience. This is the future of consulting. The pandemic created opportunities to work on these types of projects – helping companies not just do digital but be digital. It's fascinating work, and it provides great experience and opportunities for our people to build mastery and skills relevant for the years to come. Between the strides we've made in areas such as inclusion and diversity and the work we are doing, I truly believe we are coming out of this period a better place to work than ever before.

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

Our most obvious distinction is our collaborative culture. I'm not talking about collaboration just in the sense of camaraderie, although that is certainly something we pride ourselves on. Rather, it's about our multidisciplinary teams – our ability to work across areas of specialty and bring different perspectives together to solve clients' business problems. That's extremely important to our clients. In a survey we just completed, they said that was the No. 1 thing they care about. Getting that right requires a collaborative culture. That doesn't happen by accident. We are extremely intentional about fostering it. One example is in assigning sales credit: we triple count sales credit. So, if a team of three sells new work, we don't just divide the credit among members. Each gets full credit. This is very different from a lot of other firms, where the division of credit promotes competition rather than collaboration. Multidisciplinary collaboration not only makes us more responsive to today's business needs, but our people also get better experiences. They are constantly learning new skills by working alongside experts outside of their own field of specialty.

The other thing that distinguishes us from similar firms is that our real and meaningful commitment to developing people and leaders. It isn't just about our training and development programs or career models. Of course, we put a lot of effort into those. But developing people is our mission – it's who we are. Our people take that to heart and want to develop those around them. Our best leaders are also great people developers. Or said another way, if you aren't a good people developer, you won't be successful here.

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

Like most organizations and not just those in our profession, we want to establish a solid operational rhythm in a hybrid work world. This will require agility around how we serve clients. We are building our hybrid approach around a philosophy of 'working mindfully' – that is, being thoughtful in when and where you work. This approach includes best practices and norms to ensure work/life integration is respected, and meetings are inclusive no matter where you are participating. We want to engage and build personal relationships – but also meet our people and clients where they are. We understand this will be an evolutionary process, but we are committed to approaching it with empathy, purpose, an open mind, and a commitment to getting it right.

Secondly, as discussed in question two, increasing our diversity, particularly at the senior levels of the firm, will continue to be a top priority and an area where we will invest significant resources. Commercially, I go back to the blending of digital and analog. That is central to a lot of what we do, so strengthening our capabilities for large-scale digital delivery is a priority.

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

We go to market by industry, and that offers some tremendous and fascinating opportunities to make a positive impact, not just for clients but also for society. I think about our work with electric vehicle (EV) strategies. That work is transforming how we consume and create energy, while also decarbonizing our communities. In healthcare, we're finding ways to use abundant data – for example, to better predict healthcare needs, improve patient outcomes, or develop custom drug treatments. I love the idea that we are able to work on fun and interesting projects that drive both revenue and growth but also positive social change. Connecting those dots is what creates a real sense of purpose for our people.

The convergence of digital and analog opens up so many opportunities for fascinating work and innovation. We are incredibly well-positioned to take advantage of that, and it shows in our performance. We expect to grow by over 40% this year, and I think that will continue. A lot of our work entails partnering with clients for years on transformational journeys—for example, to realize the full potential of distributed energy resources. That means we get to collaborate with our clients on hugely impactful, long-term programs.

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

For the firm and our people, this is a definite point of pride. We celebrate this recognition internally because everyone in our firm has a vested interest in making this a great place to work. This isn't just about what our leadership has done or accomplished. It is an achievement for us all. It is important in recruiting and in sales. Clients want to know that we have missionaries, not mercenaries and that our firm cares about people. And, finally, it helps us in acquisitions and corporate development, which are a big part of our growth strategy. Our workplace is a big talking point in discussions with targets. I know this, because I spend a fair amount of my time in that area.