The 2022 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?

Our Acquis 'People First' core value is a key pillar of our strategy and we're constantly adapting to the needs of our clients and our team. The last several years have been a time where we have placed additional focus on mental health, employee engagement, and diversity, equity and inclusion. Supporting our people and adapting to current needs is more important than ever right now.

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

As we've shifted to a more hybrid working model, we wanted to provide our people the opportunity to stay connected, celebrate our successes, and align on important initiatives. To ensure we are meeting our goals, we hold company-wide all-hands twice per month and the first week of each month is dedicated time together in New York for in-person meetings. In addition, we held two collaborative company meetings in Florida and New York this year, giving everyone at the company a chance to finally be together again. We introduced a personalized mental health and well-being platform for each of our employees, increased our extended medical leave benefits, and launched the Acquis Foundation to give back to our communities and support special causes important to our people.

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

We are proud of our entrepreneurial adjacency model. Not only are we helping established companies with their businesses, but we are creating and building businesses as part of the Acquis portfolio. While this creates a strong, diversified, asset base for us, it also creates unique opportunities for our people. Our consultants help, create, run, and lead transactions related to other businesses in our portfolio. This allows many of our people to flex their entrepreneurial muscles while still having the stability of an established organization.

Additionally, our "People First" mantra at Acquis permeates beyond the organization. We have a shared mission of making a difference in our communities and society at large. To support this vision, we started the Acquis Foundation, to focus on people-related causes that are most important to the Acquis team. Our philanthropic efforts are aimed to support a diverse range of charities by leveraging our strategic expertise and making a positive impact in the community.

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

We recently conducted an internal design thinking session to understand what resources and support our people need to succeed in this evolving landscape and we came out of the session with key projects to help improve hybrid collaboration both within the firm and with our clients. Whether it's discussing best practices, learning the newest tools for project management, or finding fresh ways to keep the team up to date on our strategy, we want to continue to be agile and adaptable as our business continues to grow and diversify.

CMAG: When you look at the remainder of this year and 2023, what excites you? What opportunities do you see in your future?

From a client perspective, we are seeing tremendous growth in the Employee Engagement and Digital Customer experience space. The launch of our Acquis Cortico-X brand allows us to bring our passion and expertise around Customer and Employee experience to market at the next level of scale. As the needs of our clients evolve, we have seen growth in many of our Practice Areas and we are excited about the caliber of new employees that have chosen to join Acquis. From an employee perspective, we are planning an epic 25th anniversary trip for all of our employees and their guests in February 2023. We have had many years of phenomenal growth and want to pay it forward by creating an exciting experience for our team.

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

We are so proud to be recognized as a Best Small Firm to Work For. Our firm was founded with the belief that when you treat people well and become a great place to work, your ability to retain the best people and make an impact on your clients is exponential. This recognition helps provide insight to potential recruits and helps our clients see the value we place on people and excellence.

CMAG: Thank you, and congratulations.