#29 West Monroe Partners
Nobody wants to get stuck doing the same thing, all day, every day. Variety is the spice of life, and for Gen Yers eager to climb their career ladders, it's essential: learning more skills makes for a more well-rounded professional, of course. West Monroe Partners, a professional services firm, places importance on multi-tasking.
Director of HR and Operations Paulette McKissic says, "Part of the reason we're attractive to Gen Y is because when you come in to work here, you aren't focused on just one thing. You have an opportunity to learn a breadth of industry knowledge and skills that can really prepare you for your future career."
Kevin McCarty, Co-Founder and Managing Director says that the nature of the work demands quick thinking. "Our consulting in general involves a lot of high-churn, high velocity projects instead of long-term projects that other consulting firms participate in." When employees get to work, they have plenty of help--especially if they're doing more than one thing at a time. "We encourage our emerging talent to communicate with senior executives," McCarty says. "The entire team participates in the project process. Gen Y grew up with a quick message media, and that's why our business model works well with Gen Y."
Senior Consultant Keenan Crockett says that his task juggling involves work and training. "When you aren't working for a client, you get to improve yourself by learning more. Seventy-five percent of the time, I'm working for a client. The rest of the time, I am 'on the bench,' learning." Crockett adds that working with others is part of his skill set. "There's a lot of team collaboration. You have to be able to work with individuals in your own team, as well as others."
Perhaps because the employees are constantly improving their skill set, the senior members of the company take heed to their suggestions.
"I was working with the CEO on a project for the association of zoos and aquariums," says Reva Kamhi, Senior Consultant. "We were charged with determining whether a business opportunity existed. It was totally open-ended with no methodology. I was able to pitch my ideas about how to build a financial model for this business. [Our CEO] liked my ideas and it became the standard for how we implement our financial planning." Kamhi says that was a particularly proud moment for her. "The sense of empowerment was great."
With so much to do, employees have to make time for perks, which there are plenty of. The environment creates a place that Gen Yers are happy to settle into. "I came straight from college and had offers from many different companies," says Kamhi, "but I liked West Monroe Partner's business model best."
