Standing still is hardly a recipe for success in today's fast-changing business environment. Successful enterprises are agile. They evolve, innovate and adapt to rapidly changing market forces. This is especially true in the information technology consulting industry where demands can change in the blink of an eye and firms must continually develop new capabilities to stay current. Keeping a staff of consultants up to date in the latest technologies, however, can be a challenge, particularly in a down economy.
Chicago-based Thoughtworks, Inc., like many IT consulting firms, faced a shrinking market in 2001. Companies were slashing their IT budgets and making fewer capital purchases, leaving consulting firms to scramble for pieces of an ever-shrinking pie. Times of crisis, however, have a way of revealing an organization's strengths, as Thoughtworks soon discovered.
Thoughtworks for much of its history has emphasized learning by doing. They integrate training and development into their day-to-day operation by pairing less experienced staff with veterans on projects that would allow these younger employees to develop new skills. The firm often supplements these learning opportunities with immersion courses on up-and-coming technologies led by internal experts. What's more, all new employees are assigned a mentor or as the firm calls it "sponsor," who helps new hires with their development and makes sure that they are happy with their roles in the organization.
According to U.S. Managing Director Greg Layok, one of the 14-year-old IT consulting company's secrets to success has been hiring bright people who want to learn and giving them opportunities to develop, even if it means the occasional failure.
"We've been an early adopter of many technologies, because we're not afraid to take risks," Layok says. He adds that the company encourages "employees to fail faster," meaning the firm wants employees to take chances on emerging technologies and move on when those skills are not proving to be marketable.
Director of People Development John Hundreiser agrees. He says that the company has always tried to target clients that wanted to implement cutting-edge technology. Not only has that helped the firm expose their people to new learning opportunities, it has helped make the firm an employer of choice among IT professionals.
The firm's unique approach to learning and development allowed them to stay current on emerging technologies, and therefore competitive, while keeping their training expenditures in line with the economic realities of the time. The company weathered the downturn, and has enjoyed between 30 and 35 percent growth each of the last two years.
While demand has increased, so has the need to hire more recent college graduates. This has meant the firm has had to re-examine the way they approach learning and development. "We found we needed to implement a more formal training and development program," says Global People Support Director Mike Aguilar.
In 2004, the firm started "Thoughtworks University," a three-month immersion training program held in their Bangalore, India offices. Not only does the program help expose new employees to a wide array of technologies, but it serves as a crash course in how the company works and helps acclimate people to the firm's culture.
It is this cultural component of Thoughtworks University that is perhaps the most valuable aspect of the program. Creating a strong culture can be a challenge for an IT consulting firm. With so many employees stationed outside of the office, it's easy for employees to feel disconnected from the company as a whole. The firm continues to address this issue long after a new hire's first three months. For example, consultants spend at least one day a month in their regional office, giving them a chance to catch up on internal developments and share ideas on their respective client projects.
Befitting an IT firm, the company makes good use of technology to connect employees. For example, important firm-wide meetings are recorded and posted on the company's intranet.
According to Layok, the company's strong culture helped Thoughtworks weather the down market of 2001. "Our employees made a lot of sacrifices during the downturn in terms of compensation and assignments," he says.
Assignments, in particular, are a big challenge in the IT business. Consultants can spend a considerable amount of time working far from home, making a healthy work/life balance difficult. Traditionally, Thoughtworks has tried to take employees' personal situations into account when assigning projects, keeping employees as close to home as possible. According to Layok, the firm did not have that luxury during the early part of the decade, adding that their employees' willingness to sacrifice during those years was one of the biggest benefits of creating a people-friendly workplace.
The firm now makes getting their consultants home on Fridays a priority and allows a number of employees to work from home. For example, Client Principal Nancy Kistler says she negotiated a telecommuting arrangement with one of her clients when she recently adopted a baby, allowing her time to bond with the new child. The firm also understood when her sister was diagnosed with cancer, allowing her to take a month and a half off to care for her ailing relative.
"We try to accommodate people who come forward with work/life issues," says Aguilar. "It's not something we've codified. Most people in our industry understand that our business requires travel, but we try to be as flexible as possible when it comes to scheduling."
This flexibility carries over into almost everything the firm does. According to Hundreiser, it is one of the keys to running a successful operation. "Hire smart people and listen to them," he says.
Company: Thoughtworks, Inc.
Web Site: www.thoughtworks.com
Industry: Information technology
Location: Chicago, Ill.
Employees: 650
Sales: N/A
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