Our culture and values.

When we opened West Monroe Partners, we set out to build a different kind of consulting firm. One that provides our clients with a refreshing mix of approach, ability and attitude. And, one that provides our people with an engaging and rewarding environment with plentiful opportunities. What made this possible is the set of values we adopted on day one and have practiced every day since.

We put our people first.
When we say we put our people first, it isn’t just talk; it’s the first principle upon which we run our business. We define a “people-first” environment as one centered on the development of our people—an environment that enables them to achieve their potential and to be great at what they do.

We have carefully nurtured our culture to provide an environment that is highly participatory and offers exceptional opportunities. We know that this translates directly into the energy and enthusiasm with which our people approach their client work. The result: we have a growing team of consultants who are truly proud of their work, who are driven by a desire to make a difference, and who recognize that excellence and hard work pave the path to success—for clients, for West Monroe Partners, and for themselves.

We are 100-percent employee owned.
Unlike most consulting firms, we are 100-percent employee owned. Every one of our employees shares in our firm’s financial performance and “owns” an interest in our future.

Our ownership model is not a “get rich quick” model. Rather, it is a model for creating a successful, thriving firm that provides future benefits for all of us. It produces a motivated team of professionals who share their expertise and energy openly and who always look out for the best interests of each other, the firm and our clients. It incents our people to feel and act like owners—empowered and exerting the extra effort to do the job right. And, together with opportunities here to do meaningful and challenging work, it provides the incentive for building a satisfying, rewarding career with West Monroe Partners.

We don't settle for anything less than the best client service.
While we serve a wide range of clients – from small, local companies to multinational enterprises – we give the same attention and care to all. Our clients are the reason we are in business together; the source our compensation. We look for ways to grow with them as they rise to achieve their potential.

Delivering the best client service is hard, but rewarding, work. It requires commitment, communication, and compassion. Sometimes, it requires sacrifice—tough in the short term but certainly tolerable when viewed in the context of our careers.

We value client service to such an extent that we will walk away from work if we don’t believe we are able to perform at our best or to add the value that a situation demands. Money doesn’t drive our decision making; quality client service does.

Finally, we don’t take our client service capabilities for granted. We make sure every client has the opportunity to provide us the feedback we need to stay on top of our game.

Stewardship is everyone's responsibility.
We make it a priority to develop and utilize properly the talents of all our people and to maximize the opportunities available to them at West Monroe Partners. In return, our people understand and subscribe to the concepts of organizational stewardship – putting the interests of the organization first, knowing that the firm is looking out for their personal interests.

Every member of our team shares the goal of making West Monroe Partners a better place to work now than it was when they joined, by committing to continually improving our processes, skills, and methodologies. We not only encourage our people to make a difference beyond their roles; we trust and hold them accountable for finding ways to make West Monroe Partners the best it can be.

Your mission here is simple: treat the keys with care, protecting them for those who will come along behind you.

Integrity is paramount.
Technical skills, experience, knowledge and service skills are critical elements of our ability to build trusted, long-term, mutually beneficial client relationships. The other foundation to these relationships is our strict adherence to the highest standards for moral and ethical business conduct. Integrity is paramount in everything we do. We have a tremendous amount of pride in our work; we do not tolerate ethical misjudgments or allow them to cloud anything we do.

From time to time, there will be challenges—for West Monroe Partners as an organization or for our people. Collectively we take the high road, keeping our focus on our broader mission. More importantly, we support our people—unwaveringly—when tough calls are required.

Practical innovation drives better results.
Entrepreneurship is alive and well at West Monroe Partners. Our approach to client needs is flexible and responsive; we expect our people to seek out and present the best solution, not just the expected solution. We will ask tough questions, probe for underlying issues, consider the implications, and present an approach that is completely aligned with the client’s goals.

Innovation, though, doesn’t mean recreating the wheel every time we approach a client need. Rather, it means working together to create and refine practical, market-relevant approaches that are proven to produce value for our clients and for West Monroe Partners.

We respect diverse experiences and thought.
Diversity at West Monroe Partners embodies diversity of thinking and diversity of ideas. We live by the principle that “two heads are better than one,” and we rely on this principle, and each other, to make smart business decisions. No one has a lock on the good ideas; our founders created a vision for our organization and will always have opinions, but it is our team that will determine where we go and how we get there.

We have taken great care in developing a team with a well-balanced set of knowledge and skills, and we invite all ideas as we strive to provide the best possible solutions for our clients. In our dealings with clients and each other, we seek to understand first, and then to be understood. This extends to the newest members of our organization—both experienced hires and new college graduates. Your ideas add to the richness of our firm—and we will expect you to back those ideas with execution, as we do with everyone in our organization.

Meritocracy provides opportunities.
West Monroe Partners operates on a philosophy of advancement based on ability, achievement and contribution to the firm and its clients—in other words, we promote you when you are ready. Rather than having “years-of-service” or “years-at-level” requirements as the primary criteria for career progression, we look at your skills, experience, motivation, and potential.

This is not to say that there is a magical “fast-forward” button. The consulting profession—and dealing with strategic business issues, in particular—requires a certain amount of seasoning; experience that simply cannot be accelerated. But, at West Monroe Partners, talent and hard work can and does shorten the cycle.

We recognize talent. Where appropriate, we push and reward it. How far and fast you go . . . well, that’s up to you.

We seek the best and brightest.
Our people join West Monroe Partners to develop and maximize their potential; they are the people who desire to work with an organization known for having the best and brightest in its field.

We invest in, mentor, and retain those who demonstrate the talent, potential, and drive to be the best they can be. You will have the chance to work in small, focused project teams, taking on responsibilities far beyond those available in larger organizations. You will work side-by-side with and be mentored by seasoned professionals—people whose experience and business insights expose you to the critical issues of growing organizations and the best practices for addressing those needs. You will also have ready access to the tools and training opportunities that can help you keep your skills sharp and your knowledge relevant.

We strive for quality before growth.
Organizational growth is an essential ingredient for our long-term viability as a company. It’s also what enables us to provide exceptional career and development opportunities for our people. We are proud of what we have been able to build in our early years as West Monroe Partners. But, we will always take great care to grow on our terms, and quality is at the top of that list of terms.

We add to our team only people who bring the right mix of attitude and ability and who share our values. Our primary focus in building our team is to add and develop new college graduates—the people who represent the future of our firm. We invest heavily in finding the right individuals on campus, applying time-tested and best practice recruiting methods, such as critical behavior interviewing, that enable us to assess the potential fit with our culture.

We are responsive by remaining nimble.
Responsiveness is one of the hallmarks of a successful consulting firm. This is one area where West Monroe Partners excels because we established, and work steadfastly to maintain, an efficient, nimble operating structure that benefits our people as well as our clients.

We empower and trust our people to find the right ways to respond to clients and the market. By striving to keep our organization administratively simple and efficient, we can provide affordable solutions to organizations of all sizes--our support and maintenance capabilities are a prime example of how we can extend our client relationships by remaining nimble.

We have fun at work.
If you ask any member of our team what is different about working at West Monroe Partners, one of the words you may hear is “fun.” That is by design. Being able to do the type of work for which we have a passion, and being able to do it while working hard with people we enjoy and respect makes for a rewarding and, dare we say fun, environment.

Fun does not imply casual, easy, or carefree—or that our primary interactions are happy hours or social events. To the contrary, it means everything about the kind of place we all want to work. A place that provides intellectual stimulation and challenging work. A fast-paced, dynamic environment, where every day is different. A team-oriented atmosphere that feels a bit like family. These are the things that make our people look forward to coming to work, day in and day out.