1. SLALOM CONSULTING
In 40 markets around the world, their teams have autonomy to move fast and do what is right for their clients, making them m ore personal and nimble than traditional consulting firms.
With specialists in most industries including the public sector and defense, they also share ideas, methodologies, and knowledge across all their industry teams – drawing from their collective expertise in everything from retail to the life sciences. Made up of advisors, strategists, and engineers they focus on people above all else. To Slalom, it is never about the project at hand. It’s about building trust and enabling long-term success.
“For me this award is truly a reflection of our passion to help build something that that they can be proud of – a place where our employees can fulfill both their personal and professional passions like no other company they’ve ever worked for in the past,” said Jim Sikora, general manager, San Diego.
Differentiate Themselves
Sikora said that their employees differentiate themselves from their competition by bringing their most authentic and passionate selves to their clients every day.
“Like many companies we ask our clients every year how happy they are with our services., but we also ask how well our employees are living our core values. And every year our clients give us amazing feedback,” Sikora said.
Slalom Consulting is a full-service management and technology consulting firm that empowers its employees to build a business that aligns with their values and embraces diversity, creating opportunities for growth. With over 10,000 employees worldwide and they are growing their team in San Diego.
Slalom helps organizations tackle their most strategic objectives and its employees have expertise in cloud transformation, customer engagement, analytics, strategy, and organizational change management.
The company is known in San Diego for its innovative partnerships with clients, not-for-profit organizations, and universities.
DPR Construction is a technical builder that has been ranked among the top 50 general contractors in the nation since 1997. The company has more than 6,000 employees across the country and 340 based in San Diego.
DPR’s local, net zero office was the first commercial building to achieve LEED new-construction Platinum in San Diego.
General Contractor
“We’re a self-performing general contractor and we exist to build great things, it’s really that simple and you can’t do that without amazing people,” said Scott Sass, San Diego Business Unit Leader at DPR Construction. “So, I also want to thank all of the amazing people at DPR, for making a recognition, and award like this possible.”
A local project for DPR Construction includes the Palomar Medical Center in Escondido where they took on construction management of the $660-million project after construction had already begun. DPR also led the Genentech Oceanside Product Operations project which was delivered on time and under budget.
Support and Training
Behind these projects are the people who DPR invests in training and growing with the company. DPR has committed to support and training for veterans and creating an inclusive environment through its hiring practices and celebrating the diversity of their team.
“So sure, we’ve got good benefits, we’ve got good wine bars, but again it all comes back to the people working hard every day to make DPR the best place to work,” Sass said. “I just wanted to finish by saying how proud we are of all the amazing people at DPR that made this recognition and honor possible.”
RSM US LLP is a firm that focuses on audits, taxes, and consulting for middle market leaders. The global company has a total of 13,148 U.S. employees and 121 based in San Diego.
The company prides itself on being a powerhouse of collaborative innovation and a trusted adviser to clients. RSM has been nationally recognized as a leader in diversity in the workplace and the local office has an employee network group where people can learn and develop cultural understanding with one another.
“It truly is an honor and privilege to be recognized as a Best Place to Work in San Diego. As a professional services firm, our greatest asset is our employees,” said Jerry Varga, RSM San Diego office managing partner. “Without them, we wouldn’t be able to provide outstanding service to our clients or continue on our growth and trajectory.”
Hires Veterans
The company also actively pursues hiring veterans and through a third-party vendor at military bases and local veteran network groups, RSM markets job opportunities.
“Like many businesses throughout San Diego, the last year has been very challenging for us,” Varga said. “However, I continue to be impressed each day watching our employees persevere working from home, supporting our clients, training one another, onboarding our newest employees and even finding time to volunteer in the community.”
Employee Appreciation
Even during the pandemic, RSM has continued its employee appreciation programs by celebrating virtually and sending employees redemption coupons to order meals instead of an actual in person party or event.
Natallie Rocha contributed to this story.