The 2022 Best Small Firms to Work For: The Gunter Group

Client Industries Served: Insurance, Financial Services, Health Care, Retail, Government

Consulting Service Lines: Technology, Execution, People, Strategy

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

We really focus on listening to our team. Our mission has been, and will continue to be, to maximize potential for our consultants, our clients, and our communities. We frequently engage our team in conversations about how to make our organization better and how to operate as a company that they can continue to be proud of. Then we have followed these conversations up with actionable steps and enhancements to our culture, structure, and processes.

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

We started this firm with an unquestioning commitment to employee engagement and our engagement program is a central driving feature of our culture. We're committed to keeping our finger on the pulse of our employees' alignment to our overall team's goals. We solicit input and share accountability with our whole team to ensure we're pursuing the cultural goals we have as a firm. This internal engagement work is an essential program to maintain our culture of excellence. Some other specific initiatives include an annual all-company offsite for team members and their families, a permanent home office stipend (not just as part of the COVID pandemic), weekly stand up meetings and social connection times, competitive compensation and a suite of benefits, and an ambassador program for building relationships with colleagues. While some of these can be specifically measured and analyzed, others reflected our non-quantitative commitment to broader cultural and organizational health and values.

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

We look at every business decision, large or small, through the lens of our six Non-Negotiables. Our Non-Negotiables are the bedrock of our organization and more than words on a page. They were developed not as an aspirational list of values, but rather by assessing what makes people successful at TGG. We continue to ask ourselves: "Does what we want to do or what we think we should do align with all of our Non-Negotiables?" Not just one or two of them, but all of them. They are Integrity, Intellectual Curiosity, Emotional Intelligence, Ability to Thrive in Ambiguity, Grounded Confidence, and Collaboration. As we focus on continuing to build our company and growing into new markets, our Non-Negotiables have never been more important as the basis for framing our decisions.

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

Our focus is on ensuring that we can retain our culture of excellence while developing new opportunities for our growing team. We've put a lot of intentional effort into this focus area and we will be executing our plan over the next year and beyond. It's an exciting time to be a part of the growing TGG team and we're really proud of everything we've achieved to date. We're excited to carry that momentum into the future.

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

As our team continues to grow, our ability to follow through with our mission to maximize potential grows as well. The work we've done this year to prepare our company and our team for a brighter future is going to become tangible and real over the next 12 to 18 months, and we're excited for the opportunity that represents for our team!

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

For our firm it is another validation of the time, energy, and passion we pour into our culture. We believe that our culture is the most vital part of our organization; we prioritize this focus. For our team it is a celebratory moment, one of affirmation, that reminds us to always put people and culture first. With our clients, it is a testament to the value we bring–highly engaged and highly engagable people are more focused on driving valuable results. Focusing on our team and our culture is reflected in how we deliver outstanding client service, and the respect with which we treat our client teams, both of which are to our clients' benefit.

CMAG: Thank you, and congratulations.