Gary Beu, Managing Director, People and Leadership Development,
says: “Over the past 12 months, we
launched a comprehensive re-brand-ing initiative that reflects the firm we
have become over our first decade:
one with more than 350 people in offices across North America. One
foundation of this effort—and a key
input to many elements of the rebranding process—was defining and
documenting a short list of characteristics that describe the personality traits of a successful employee at
our firm: collaborative, confident,
flexible, motivated, authentic, curious
and upbeat. These are the qualities
for which we look when hiring a new
employee. Our top priority over the
next 12 months is to build upon our
recent rebranding momentum by fine
tuning the message we put into the
marketplace to further paint the picture of why West Monroe is the best
choice for companies in transformative situations, and the best choice
for people looking to build a dynamic
and engaging career in consulting.”
What were the specific
initiatives that you set
out to achieve over the
last 12 months? The next
12 months?
?Consulting Asked BEST TO WORK FOR FIRMS The 2012
West Monroe Partners
“We are here
to build a great
consulting firm
for the long-
term, and it
shows in how
we spend
our time.”
—GARY BEU
West Monroe Partners just celebrated its 10th An- niversary earlier this year.
And what better way to celebrate
than a return to the Best Firms to
Work For ranking. The last time the
multi-service firm from Chicago was
on Consulting’s list, however, was
back in 2010. At that time West Monroe was on our Best Small Firms to
Work For list. After a growth spurt,
the firm finds itself in with some bigger fish this time around.
And why not? The employee-owned firm just opened an office in
Minneapolis and has plans to ex-
HEADQUARTERS: Chicago
BILLABLE CONSULTANTS: 355 (*estimate)
SERVICE LINE: Multi-Ser vice
TOP SURVEY CATEGORIES: Culture,
Career Development
EMPLOYEES SAY: “You wont find a consulting company that treats its people with this
much respect. The culture and values are
the best thing about working at West Monroe
Partners. We hire and retain the best and
brightest. I love my job and the people I work
with. The people at West Monroe Partners
are the best. When you're spending this
much time together you better enjoy your
time with your co-workers and I truly do.
Both professionally and personally they’re
a joy to be around.”
pand into Boston, Los Angeles and
Atlanta soon.
Gary Beu, Managing Director,
People and Leadership Development at West Monroe, says “growth
breeds opportunity.” And there
should be plenty of that as the firm
has annually increased its revenues
25 percent and has added more than
100 people each year.
And taking care of those people is
paramount at West Monroe, Beu
says. Since the very beginning, Beu
says West Monroe’s core value of
“Putting People First” has always
been a key driver for the firm. “Most
organizations say they put clients
first, but we believed that if our em-
ployees were satisfied, it would nat-
urally translate into excellent service
for our clients,” Beu says. “Being a
Best Firm To Work For validates for
us that we’re truly living this value—
creating an environment that engages
people in a positive fashion.”
Beu says the firm works hard to
reinforce that “Putting People First”
value in everything it does—invest-
ing time in people, connecting with
them, and providing guidance on
their visions and goals. And the lead-
ers at West Monroe are proud to bear
the responsibility of being great
coaches and mentors, he says.
In fact, Career Development was
one area where West Monroe scored
high marks on the survey. All new
employees are assigned a coach and
a career advisor to help them develop
in their career. And to support career
development, West Monroe is also
rolling out a career equity program
that will empower employees to take
full ownership of their careers with
the tools and guidance to do so.
