Consulting Magazine - September 2016

Lausanne Business Solutions
This year’s most-impressive newcomer goes to Wilmington,
Del.-based Lausanne Business Solutions, which makes its
debut at No. 2. Founded in 1986 as The Lausanne Institute,
Lausanne Business Solutions originally provided research and
consulting solutions to Government, Aerospace and Defense.
Since that time Lausanne has expanded to include a full suite
of People Strategy and Human Capital Management consult-
ing solutions, says Gregory Pontrelli, President/CEO & Chief
Talent Strategist for the firm.

“At Lausanne we are passion-
ate about talent. We are fortunate
to have a very talented group of
consultants and we believe this
recognition will help us continue
to attract and retain the best in the
industry,” Pontrelli says. “Ultimately
this translates into more successful
engagements, greater deliverables,
more unique solutions, and outsized
results for our clients.”
It’s no surprise that he’d describe
morale at Lausanne as “vibrantly in-
tellectual, creative, and unyieldingly
motivated in our shared mission to
deliver value for our clients.”
Ask him about his and the firm’s
priorities over the next 12 months
and he says, not surprisingly, to
continue to deliver “outstanding
services to our clients while main-
taining a fresh and positive envi-
ronment for our employees.”
To that end, Pontrelli says the
firm is relentless in its pursuit to
optimize its client’s people and
their performance, but also works
equally hard to create a workplace
where people are supported and
enabled in order to maintain high
sentiment and performance. “We
always talk to our clients about the
importance of having a framework
for supporting and enabling their
employees,” he says. “We talk the
talk and walk the walk.”
Pontrelli says there are two as-
pects that make Lausanne different
from other human capital consulting
firms. First, Lausanne takes a more
holistic approach, he says. “We
partner with our clients to under-
stand every aspect along the talent
management continuum. We believe
it takes a full understanding of the
talent function to be able to address
and optimize each piece.”
Second, he says the firm has a
unique value proposition that lever-
ages expertise, technology, and psy-
chology. Lausanne employs practi-
tioners, as well as academics, who
have both theoretical knowledge
and practical experience.

On the survey, Lausanne excelled in many areas, but specifically in Work/Life Balance and Career Development. That’s because Lausanne is all about relationships, Pontrelli says. “This all goes back to our mentor program.

We believe that a properly structured mentor program has a powerful impact on morale, the ability to balance work and personal life, as well as developing an understanding of what is necessary to advance one’s career.”

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE REMAINDER OF THIS YEAR AND 2017, WHAT EXCITES YOU? WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU SEE IN YOUR MARKETS?

PONTRELLI: “Many of the organizations we work with are reshifting focus to their people— recognizing that their workforce is their best competitive advantage and that investing in their people yields high dividends.”