HEADQUARTERS: BILLABLE CONSULTANTS: CLIENT INDUSTRIES SERVED:
CONSULTING SERVICE
LINES:
West Monroe Partners
When it comes to the Best Firms to Work For, give West Monroe
Partners a high five… as in five years in row ranked among the
profession’s elite firms.
“The firms on this list demonstrate
a commitment to maintaining the
integrity of our profession through
innovation in training, career develop-
ment, mentoring, and other factors that
contribute to a great workplace. It is a
privilege to be recognized alongside
them,” says Kevin McCarty, President
of West Monroe Partners. “To receive
this recognition is particularly import-
ant to us given the priority we place on
being a people-first organization. As
we continue to grow into a mid-sized
consultancy, recognition such as this
builds our confidence.”
McCarty says it is a key part of
establishing a “bigger business card”
that allows the firm to compete formi-
dably for talent and for opportunities
to serve larger clients and do complex
transformational work. For people, “it
validates their choice to take the first
or next step in their careers with West
Monroe Partners and to accept our
challenge to make our firm better,” he
says. “Any time we receive recogni-
tion as a great workplace, our people
feel even better about having West
Monroe Partners on their resumes.”
The “Best Firm” recognition is
the result of many things coming, but
most importantly it reflects the firm’s
commitment to not taking its eyes off
the thing that has made it great—its
focus on people, McCarty says. As a
matter of fact, in 2016 West Monroe
updated its mission statement to better
reflect a people-first culture.
“Our mission is to build the next
generation of leaders. Simply stated,
each one of us benefited from someone investing in us and giving us a
chance early in our own careers, and
mentoring us become the leaders and
professionals we are today,” McCarty
says. “We feel a strong sense of
responsibility for passing that on.”
Beyond that, the firm’s workplace
initiatives—from its Career Equity
model to ESOP to its work with an
outside organization to try and break
through the diversity and inclusion
challenges of the profession—reflect
West Monroe’s belief in developing
the next generation of leaders.
Early in 2015, the firm refocused
its branding to spotlight its uncommon
blend of business and technology
expertise—and, in particular, the way
in which West Monroe combines and
packages those disciplines to trans-
form operations and achieve strategic
goals, he says. “That has proven to
be a compelling differentiator in the
market for both services and peo-
ple,” McCarty says. “We continue to
build on this unique strength of West
Monroe Partners.”
HOW WOULD YOU
DESCRIBE MORALE AT
YOUR FIRM AND WHY?
MCCARTY: “Morale remains very
strong. Our employee stock ownership plan, now in its fourth year,
has been nothing short of a home
run in terms of engaging and empowering our people—whether
delivering service or supporting their colleagues. Certainly
the growth of our internal stock
price—almost 400 percent since
inception—has helped. But ask
anyone here, and they will tell you
that our highly collegial culture is
just as important. Ours is a high-touch environment that is different than many other consultancies, particularly those with virtual
workforces. Those who value culture, collegiality, teamwork, and
a sense of family are highly motivated by this environment.”
