Tech consultancy named among Chicago's Greatest Places to Work
Chicago-based technology consulting firm West Monroe Partners has been named the best small or medium-sized company to work for in the Windy City. The consultancy, which has national reach, has won accolades for its people-first approach and continues to generate exceptional growth.
Founded in 2002, West Monroe Partners has been on an upwards trajectory ever since. Last year the consulting firm grew by 34% and 2018 is shaping up to be a similarly memorable year. Expanding from a small team in a Chicago office, the technology consultancy now boasts a headcount of almost 1,000 professionals and manages ten offices across the US, including in New York City, Seattle, and Dallas.
Unusually for a consultancy, West Monroe Partners is a 100% employee-owned company. There are currently ten members of the Board of Managers which provides oversight, the most recent hire being Barbara Duganier – a former Chief Strategy Officer at Accenture. The wider professional team comprises both business consultants and technology wizards who combine their expertise to offer clients strategic business and technological solutions.
West Monroe’s ownership structure is just one small factor in the decision by Great Place to Work, in partnership with Fortune, to name the firm one of the Best Workplaces in Chicago. Specifically the consultancy topped the list of best small or medium-sized companies to work for.
West Monroe took top spot thanks to the firm’s promotion of employee solidarity as part of a broader business strategy. There are regular parties, table tennis tournaments and employees benefit from what Great Place to Work describes as a “high-trust culture.” This has translated into solid HR metrics, including a staff turnover rate of just 11%, or around half the industry average.
Doug Armstrong, senior managing director at West Monroe, has said that, as a consulting firm, trust and personal relationships are taken very seriously by the company’s leadership. “Consulting is a people-to-people business,” he says, adding “we rely on our people to generate ideas.”
The Chicago ranking by Great Place to Work and Fortune saw Deloitte and PwC named among the better large firms in the Windy City. Protiviti and Accenture also won honorable mentions. Fortune recently released its 2018 national rankings of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. BCG was the only consulting firm to crack the top ten, while Deloitte was ranked 11th and KPMG 29th.