2019 RANKING & REVIEWS
BEST BOUTIQUE CONSULTING FIRMS
2019’s Top-Rated Boutique Consulting Firms to Help Energize Your Business
Often business owners find they’re required to wear too many hats. They’re handling marketing, logistics, bookkeeping, social media, and more. The smartest leaders delegate to others that are more knowledgeable in a particular field, bringing in consultants to help them build and grow their company.
Boutique consulting firms offer some distinct advantages for organizations over general consultants. Consulting firms that are “boutique” tend to have lower prices and a more compact team that can work with you one-on-one in any number of business areas to provide guidance based upon years of expertise.
One of the biggest challenges for companies searching for the best boutique consulting firms is finding one that will truly help them. Unfortunately, there are many that call themselves “consultants” but are mainly in it to charge high fees and not offer much real benefit in exchange.
The top boutique consulting firms offer results and a good return on investment for their clients. They care about building long-term relationships and getting to know your company in-depth so they can offer you the best advice possible to fit your needs.
AdvisoryHQ has worked to make your search for a top consulting firm that’s considered boutique easier by ranking the top 9 in the industry. We’ve highlighted reasons why each of these boutique consultants made our list, the types of services they offer, and why companies enjoy working with them.
If you could use some expert help to improve processes, growth, and sales at your business, then read on for the top boutique consulting firms that could potentially be a great match.
Award Emblem: Top 9 Best Boutique Consulting Firms
Top 9 Best Boutique Strategy Consulting Firms | Brief Comparison & Ranking
Best Boutique Consulting Firms | 2019 Ratings |
| Clarkston Consulting | 5 |
| Eagle Hill Consulting | 5 |
| Excella Consulting | 5 |
| Insight Sourcing Group | 5 |
| Jabian Consulting | 5 |
| Point B | 5 |
| Putnam Associates | 5 |
| The Brattle Group | 5 |
| The Bridgespan Group | 5 |
| Novantas, Inc. | 1 |
Table: Top 9 Best Boutique Management Consulting Firms | Above list is sorted by rating
Why Should You Consider a Boutique Consulting Firm?
The term “boutique firm” can mean one of two main things, it can refer to the size of a firm, a boutique consulting firm typically being smaller than a non-boutique firm, or the specific focus of their services or the industries they serve. It can also be a combination of the two.
Boutique consulting firms are generally considered more specialized in a specific area or the needs of a certain industry. Additionally, a smaller team often means you’ll be working with a principal and may get more personalized attention.
Our ranking of the best boutique consulting companies includes firms that can be considered boutique by either their size, their range of focus, or a combination of both.
Compared to larger consulting firms, a boutique firm often provides certain advantages, as outlined below.
Offer Specific Services
The top boutique consulting firms have years of experience and education in a particular area of business or a specific industry. This means that if you’re a manufacturer, your consultant specializing in this area could help with things like production automation and shipping logistics.
A larger consulting firm may not have the same depth of knowledge about a particular service area or industry as that of a boutique consultant.
Boutique consulting firms can specialize in any number of support areas such as sustainability and lean manufacturing, IT support, legal advice, human resources, and more.
Lower Priced Services
There are always some exceptions to the rule, but in general, boutique consulting firms often charge less for their services than larger consultants. This is due to typically having less overhead and a smaller staff than much bigger firms do.
Additionally, because they tend to specialize in very specific areas, rather than offering a wide range of services, they don’t have the same types of costs associated with staffing experts in every area and can instead just drill down into their distinct specialties.
The combination of area or industry expertise plus the low cost is an attractive one for many small and medium-sized businesses.
Focus on Company & Client Culture
A common theme shared by the best boutique consulting firms is fostering a positive, innovative, and welcoming corporate culture. Due to their smaller size, boutique consultants can often be more flexible because there is less corporate red tape.
Their smaller size also enhances the consultant-client relationship because clients often can work with principals at the company as well as their team members and develop a closer relationship than they can at a huge corporate consultant firm.
Many boutique strategy consulting firms are also community-oriented, participating in local events and contributing to the overall success of their city.
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2019 AdvisoryHQ’s Selection Methodology
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Detailed Review – Top 9 Best Boutique Consulting Firms
Below, please find the detailed review of each firm on our list of 2019 top boutique consulting firms. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these boutique management consulting firms to score so high in our selection ranking.
Click on any of the names below to go directly to the detailed review for that firm.
- Clarkston Consulting
- Eagle Hill Consulting
- Excella Consulting
- Insight Sourcing Group
- Jabian Consulting
- Point B
- Putnam Associates
- The Brattle Group
- The Bridgespan Group
- Novantas, Inc.
Click below for previous years’ rankings:
- 2018 Ranking: 8 Best Boutique Consulting Firms (& One to Avoid)
- 2017 Ranking: Top 6 Best Boutique Consulting Firms
- 2016 Ranking: Top 6 Best Boutique Consulting Firms
Clarkston Consulting Review
With a loyal customer base and a culture that drives success, Clarkston Consulting is one of the top-rated boutique consulting firms to consider holistic solutions that leverage years of knowledge and industry experience.
Clarkston specializes working with clients in the life sciences and consumer products industries, and offers some of the following consulting services:
- Data & Analytics
- Management
- Sales & Marketing
- Quality & Regulatory
- Supply Chain
- IT/Technology
This top boutique consulting firm is headquartered in Durham, NC and has additional offices in Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI, Roanoke, VA, and Bridgewater, NJ.
Key Factors That Allowed Clarkston Consulting to Rank as a Best Boutique Consulting Firm
Sector-Specific Expertise
Clarkston Consulting prides itself on offering expert insights and services to clients within the consumer products and life sciences industries.
Their expertise in these industries is illustrated in the firm’s dedication to providing sector-specific approaches and consultants with first-hand experience and knowledge.
Key consulting sectors for life sciences include:
- Pharma
- Medical Device
- Biotech
- Generics
- Contract Manufacturing
- Wholesale/Distribution
Key consulting sectors for consumer products include:
- Fast Moving Consumer Goods
- Food & Beverage
- Health & Beauty
- Specialty Retail
- Consumer Healthcare
- Wholesale/Distribution
Strong History of Success
As one of the top-rated boutique consulting firms, Clarkston Consulting has a solid and well-defined history of success in terms of service and clients served.
The firm has a 97 percent client satisfaction rating, marking one of the highest ratings on our list of boutique consultancy firms. They take pride in nurturing strong client relationships and 70% of their business is through repeat clients or referrals.
Additionally, this top boutique consulting firm has worked with an impressive array of clients from consumer products and life sciences, including:
- L’Oréal
- Coca-Cola
- Estēe Lauder
- Pfizer
- Seventh Generation
- Ocean Spray
Top-Rated Consulting Firms
Rating Summary
With a laser focus on two key industries and expertise in everything from supply chain management to regulatory compliance and quality control, Clarkston Consulting is a boutique firm that clients enjoy working with.
Their outreach and participation in the local community is additionally an important part of the company’s corporate philosophy, which in addition to their specialized expertise earn Clarkston Consulting 5 stars as one of the top consulting firms to consider partnering with in 2019.
See Also: The Top Healthcare Consulting Firms This Year (Ranking and Review)
Eagle Hill Consulting Review
With a nimble and innovative approach, Eagle Hill is one of the best boutique consulting firms that covers a number of different industries. Additionally, this boutique consultant stands out from the crowd because it is family-run and woman-owned.
The firm has a 100% client satisfaction rating and no matter where a client is located, Eagle Hill is happy to work with them through web-based services. They have three offices across the U.S., one in Washington D.C., one in Boston, and one in Seattle.
Their areas of industry expertise include:
- Financial Services
- Health & Life Services
- Technology, Media & Entertainment
- Public Service
Their multi-disciplinary expertise encompasses three key areas, strategy and performance, talent, and change.
Key Factors That Allowed Eagle Hill to Rank as a Best Boutique Consulting Firm
High-Quality Talent
Eagle Hill is very selective and employs experienced, highly educated consultants. 70% of their leadership team members have graduate degrees, and many have been awarded multiple degrees.
Experts at this top boutique firm have real-world experience, not just educational expertise. More than 2/3 of their team have worked for organizations in the industries they serve.
As an additional benefit, 91% of Eagle Hill consultants have talent consulting experience, while 1/3 have training or teaching backgrounds.
Solid Track Record of Success
Eagle Hill has over 12 years of working with various businesses and an average 74% growth rate since 2010. They have more than 80 clients that are federal, nonprofit, and commercial.
With a perfect track record of client satisfaction, Eagle Hill has shown to be well-versed in its field of expertise as a boutique consulting firm.
Their performance is further exemplified by the long list of awards from local and national publications, including Forbes, The Washington Post, Vault, and Washington Business Journal.
Rating Summary
An award-winning firm that fosters the core values of family, impact, collaboration, and Fun, Eagle Hill stands out as a top boutique consulting firm that brings a fresh viewpoint to the table for many clients.
With an experienced team and a hands-on knowledge of the industries they serve, Eagle Hill scores 5 stars as one of the top boutique consulting firms to consider working with this year.
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Excella Consulting Review
Helping organizations harness the power of technology, Excella Consulting is one of the top-rated consulting firms that take a boutique approach. Located just outside Washington D.C. in Arlington, VA, Excella offers IT expertise over a number of business areas.
This boutique consulting firm takes a comprehensive approach to help clients solve their biggest challenges. They thrive on helping organizations evolve their thinking so they can prepare for the business of tomorrow.
Excella works with federal, commercial, and nonprofit clients. Solutions offered at this top boutique consulting firm include:
- Agile Transformation
- Modernization
- Advanced Data & Analytics
- Digital Service Delivery
Key Factors That Enabled Us to Rank Excella Consulting as a Best Boutique Consulting Firm
Focus on Education & Training
While many of the best boutique consulting firms provide educational materials through their blog or a quarterly journal, it’s uncommon to find a firm that holds regular education and training sessions for the public.
Excella Consulting hosts in-depth training on Scrum and Agile, offering two-day courses and certification for Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM) and Certified Scrum Product Owner® (CSPO).
Both classes are open and available to the public for a fee, helping boost the abilities of project managers, executives, analysts, testers, and more. Additional classes include:
- Agile Engineering
- Agile Business Analyst
- User Story Workshop
- Agile and Scrum in a Day
Clients have the additional option to schedule private training sessions with Excella Consulting, and the firm will hold classes at a location of their choosing.
2019’s Best Boutique Consultant Firms
Personality & Approachability
Excella Consulting shows a unique ability to fill in the gaps left by other boutique consulting firms and their approachability is apparent when you visit their website.
By nature, consulting firms can be somewhat stuffy and unapproachable, though this is certainly not the case with Excella Consulting.
With a brightly colored website, engaging content, and a call-to-action with open jobs and upcoming events, this boutique firm manages to communicate their personality and offer a friendly welcome to all to visit.
In an industry that traditionally has less personality conveyed in their advertising, this attention to detail stands out and makes Excella Consulting one of the top-ranking boutique consulting firms to work with.
Rating Summary
Dedicated to solving complex problems with outside-the-box thinking, the team at Excella offers clients both industry expertise and a novel approach. Their technical expertise is a calling card of the firm, and they sponsor Washington D.C.’s largest monthly meeting of Agilists.
With an inviting and friendly style, a focus on innovation and advanced analytics, Excella Consulting are both leaders in their industry and a 5-star rated top boutique consulting firm to consider partnering with this year.
Insight Sourcing Group Review
Founded in 2002, Insight Sourcing Group is a leading North American boutique consulting firm. Their focus is exclusively strategic sourcing and procurement-related services and the firm is based in Atlanta, GA.
Insight is laser-focused on client results and boasts typical client results that include 20% average savings per indirect spend category, and 5-15% savings for direct spend categories.
This top-rated boutique consulting firm offers the following services:
- Strategic Sourcing
- Spend Visibility
- Procurement Transformation
- Group Purchasing
- Enterprise Energy Solutions
Key Factors That Enabled Us to Rank Insight Sourcing Group as a Best Boutique Consulting Firm
Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO)
Insight offers the power of group purchasing to their clients, which gives them the leverage of combining their spending with 500 other companies, offering lower costs than they could get purchasing alone.
This top-rated boutique consulting firm delivers rapid savings through GPO by lowering client costs in several target categories. This a unique benefit that you may not find at a boutique consultancy that doesn’t specialize in sourcing and procurement, like Insight.
There are four key reasons that organizations will find the firm’s group purchasing benefits unique:
- Their programs are developed by sourcing professionals, not from former salespeople from the indirect world.
- GPO members of this boutique consulting firm get SpendHQ’s category-specific management module for free to help with procurement management.
- Insight provides active vendor management and offers recommendations for additional savings.
- Their GPO is flexible and fully customizable to an organization’s needs.
An Industry Leader
Insight Sourcing Group has been the recipient of multiple recognitions and has a long-term history of growth.
The firm has been named for 10 years in a row to Inc. 5000’s list of fastest-growing private companies. They’ve also been recognized by Vault as the #1 Boutique Consulting Firm to Work for in the U.S. and the #1 Most Innovative Consulting Firm (of any size).
Insight has worked with a number of well-known organizations, assisting them with innovative and personalized procurement and sourcing needs. Some of their clients include:
- Univision
- Johnson Controls
- Under Armour
- iHeart Media
- Ralph Lauren
Rating Summary
Insight Sourcing Group has the expertise many clients are looking for, having completed over 4,000 sourcing projects since inception. Their average client one-year ROI via the firm’s Strategic Sourcing is 400% to 1,000%.
With a client-centric approach and the power of group purchasing to provide rapid cost savings, Insight Sourcing Group solidifies a 5-star rating and is one of the top boutique consultants to consider for your sourcing and procurement needs this year.
Read More: Best Economic Consulting Firms | Ranking
Jabian Consulting Review
Jabian Consulting works to help clients reach their greatest potential and to make a meaningful difference in their lives. This top boutique consultant is a legacy firm that specializes in technology consulting and strategic management
The firm has offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, and Dallas and they understand that great consulting is about offering strategies that get real results
Consulting services available through Jabian Consulting include:
- Human Capital Management
- Business Strategy
- Operational Excellence
- Customer Interaction
- Technology Optimization
- Technology Execution
Key Factors That Enabled Us to Rank Jabian Consulting as a Best Boutique Consulting Firm
Professional Accolades
As a top-rated boutique firm, Jabian Consulting has earned a large variety of professional accolades and acknowledgments from multiple publications and other industry organizations.
Many of these awards recognize the firm for community involvement, company culture, work-life balance, and overall performance.
Some of the firm’s most recent awards include:
- Named as a National Best & Brightest Companies to Work for Winner in 2018
- Named as a Top 10 Boutique Consulting Firm for 2018 by Vault
- Named as a Best Firm to Work for (Work/Life Balance) for 2018 by Vault
- Named as one of the Best Workplaces for 2017 by Inc. Magazine
Top Ranked Boutique Consulting Companies
The Jabian Way
Jabian is one of few firms to guarantee success for each and every client, which definitely makes them stand out among the best boutique consulting firms in the country.
This guarantee is closely related to how the firm represents itself. Along with a results guarantee, the firm defines itself through the following set of guiding principles:
- Hire the Best People
- Have Fun
- Serve Local Communities
- Achieve Balance
- Be Trusted Advisors
- Be Thought Leaders
- Treat Every Interaction as the Most Important
- Create Rewarding Career Opportunities & Strong Teams
- Pursue the Right Work to Deliver the Highest Value
- Run the Marathon, Not the Sprint
Rating Summary
Jabian doesn’t provide cookie-cutter solutions but rather works to learn their clients’ distinct goals so they can tailor a solution to reach them. They have a track record of delivering value-focused service and successful results across multiple industries and projects.
With a commitment to giving back to their community and a dynamic team that loves new challenges, Jabian Consulting scores 5 stars as one of the top boutique consulting firms to consider working with in 2019.
Related: Best Consulting Firms
Point B Review
With a strong ownership mentality and a passion for helping their clients succeed, Point B is one of the top-rated boutique consulting firms with expertise in data and analytics, the future of work, digital, and mergers and acquisitions.
Point B offers 13 locations across the country including the areas of Southern California, the Bay area, the Northwest, New England, the South, and the Midwest.
This top boutique firm has expertise working with multiple industries, including:
- Energy & Resources
- Financial Services
- Healthcare
- Media & Entertainment
- Public & Social Sector
- Retail & Consumer Products
- Technology & Communications
Key Factors That Enabled Us to Rank Point B as a Best Boutique Consulting Firm
Exceptional Workplace
Point B is 100% employee-owned and named as the #2 “Best Firms to Work For” in the United States by Consulting magazine.
Many of its employees say that they are honored to work for this company because it fosters team engagement and has one of the best work environments.
As a result, the experts at this boutique consulting firm can become truly invested in the quality of their work, improving the overall client experience.
Additional workplace awards that Point B has garnered include, the #1 Best Medium Workplace in the Nation, the Best Workplace for Women, and a Best Workplace for Millennials by Fortune, among many others.
Culture & Values
Point B has a series of values that it holds dear, including communication, transparency, and a strong ownership mentality. Ultimately, this boutique firm believes in fostering lasting relationships with clients which they do by always acting with the utmost integrity.
Additionally, the firm incorporates social responsibility into everything they do, striving to deliver positive client outcomes all while reducing their environmental footprint and fostering a healthy, diverse, and inclusive, workforce.
For businesses that want a boutique consulting firm that values honesty, social responsibility, and excellence, Point B is a great fit.
Rating Summary
Point B stands out among other top boutique consulting firms due to their positive workplace experience which nurtures employees that love working for their firm and helping the firm’s clients achieve positive results through innovative thinking.
With expertise in multiple industries and a fully integrated approach, Plan B earns 5 stars as a top boutique consulting form to consider partnering with this year.
Related: Top Marketing Consulting Firms This Year (Detailed Comparison Review)
Putnam Associates Review
With three decades of experience serving global clients, Putnam Associates is a top boutique consulting firm that works with biopharmaceutical, diagnostics, and medical device clients, along with the private equity/venture capital community.
Putnam is headquartered in Boston and has a West Coast office in San Francisco. Innovating strategies for the life sciences what they’re known for and their core areas of expertise include:
- Corporate Strategy
- Portfolio, Licensing, & Development Strategy
- New Product Strategy
- Established Product & Franchise Strategy
- Pricing, Reimbursement, & Market Access
Key Factors That Enabled Us to Rank Putnam Associates as a Best Boutique Consulting Firm
Client-Facing Approach
For Putnam Associates, client success and satisfaction is king. This is reflected in its comprehensive approach, which includes:
- Insight: Focusing entirely on clients within the life sciences provides consultants with unmatched depth, experience, and knowledge
- Clarity: The firm listens to client needs and personalizes each strategy to best suit their individual objectives
- Strategy: Consultants provide customized, actionable, and strategic recommendations for each client
By offering a detailed explanation of their consulting strategy the firm supports transparency and instills trust between consultants and clients, making Putnam Associates a top-rated boutique consultancy.
Top Boutique Consultancy 2019
Impressive Qualifications
As one of the best boutique consulting firms, the team behind Putnam Associates and the firm itself all come with top qualifications.
Putnam Associates serves 17 of the top 20 global bio-pharmaceutical companies, marking an impressive validation of their services.
Additionally, 77 percent of their projects come from clients that have remained with the firm for over five years, which speaks to their level of client satisfaction.
On the consultant level, Putnam Associates maintains an impressive range of talented team members. The average industry experience is 15 years and 91% of Putman team members have worked on a case looking at global markets.
Rating Summary
For those in the medical industry, Putnam Associates offer strengths in solving issues that involve complex interactions between patients, physicians, payers, healthcare organizations, and regulators.
With a talent for quantitative analytics and innovative and strategic solutions to problems, Putnam Associates solidifies a 5-star rating as one of the best boutique consulting firms to consider working with in 2019.
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The Brattle Group Review
Originating in 1990, The Brattle Group is a top boutique consulting firm with an international footprint. They serve clients from ten offices around the world, including four in the U.S. and others in places like London, Sydney, Rome, and Brussels.
While the firm is large, they have a specialty boutique focus on answering complex economic, regulatory and financial questions, working with governments, law firms, and corporations. They believe in the relentless pursuit of professionalism and rigorous analysis.
While there are multiple sub-categories of services beneath these, The Brattle Group specializes in:
- Energy & Utilities
- Litigation
- Industries
Key Factors That Enabled Us to Rank The Brattle Group as a Best Boutique Consulting Firm
Leading Industry Specialists
While it may seem as though all boutique consulting firms mention they hire leading industry experts, The Brattle Group has been around long enough to procure some of the best.
Principals at the Brattle Group have advanced (usually Ph.D.) degrees in the fields of economics, finance, management, and engineering from top universities.
Not only do these experts have relevant education, but they have all worked previously within private companies, academic universities or government agencies, allowing The Brattle Group to become one of the best boutique strategy consulting firms.
Consultants at The Brattle Group are engaged in the fields they work within, regularly publishing academic articles, books, papers, and reports, fostering an environment of lifelong learning and leadership.
Top Clients
The Brattle Group has done business with many of the world’s leading companies, law firms, and nonprofit organizations. It also has provided consulting services for the United States government and several regulatory government agencies.
This top-rated boutique consulting firm has worked with 50% of Fortune 100 companies, 25% of Fortune 500 companies, and 80% of AM law 100 firms.
The Brattle Group’s broad geographic range has allowed it to build its expertise in all manners of financial cases. After expanding into Madrid and Rome a decade ago, the firm is now recognized as a top boutique consultancy on energy, competition, and finance throughout the EU.
Rating Summary
By using state-of-the-art analytical techniques coupled with practical industry experience, The Brattle Group is able to assist clients with complex financial, economic and regulatory issues.
With a focus on in-depth analysis and academic research and a wide breadth of expertise, The Brattle Group solidifies a 5-star rating as a top boutique consulting firm to consider working with in 2019.
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The Bridgespan Group Review
The Bridgespan Group is unique in the boutique consultancy arena because they are a non-profit organization with a mission to dramatically improve the quality of life for those in need around the world.
They provide consulting to nonprofits, philanthropists, foundations, and investors with a goal of scaling social impact. The firm has offices in Boston, San Francisco, New York, and Mumbai.
This global boutique consulting firm is passionate about finding solutions to poverty and ensuring equal opportunity justice. Their expertise lies in five key areas:
- Education
- Children, youth, & families
- Public health
- Global development
- Nonprofit networks
Key Factors That Allowed The Bridgespan Group to Rank as a Best Boutique Consulting Firm
Unique Initiatives
As a boutique firm serving a unique set of clients, it makes sense that The Bridgespan Group would offer a unique set of initiatives. In order to meet the needs of their clients, this top boutique consulting firm focuses on:
- Big Bets: Partnership, risk-taking, and innovation in philanthropy
- Leadership Development: Attract, develop, and retain skilled talent
- Pay-What-It-Takes Philanthropy: Delivering outcomes that matter
- Transformative Scale: Serving isn’t enough—let’s start solving
For philanthropists, non-profits, and organizations looking to make a real difference, attract top talent, and maximize the impact of social programs, The Bridgespan Group is a perfect boutique consulting firm to partner with that shares the same vision.
The Best Global Boutique Consulting Firms
Developing & Sharing Insights
Not only does The Bridgespan Group offer valuable consulting services, but this boutique firm is also committed to conducting relevant, impactful social research.
Some of their recent research findings include:
- Identifying and defining “field catalysts” (events that spark change) within marriage equality, teen smoking rates, and teen pregnancies
- Creating a framework for modern philanthropists to support change on a larger scale
As a top nonprofit boutique consulting firm, The Bridgespan Group also specializes in issues that are distinct to non-profits, such as estimating overhead for grantees, developing effective media messaging, and improving financial health.
Their research findings are regularly published and referenced in a variety of publications, increasing the authority that The Bridgespan Group holds within the industry.
Rating Summary
The Bridgespan Group’s unique area of expertise helping to promote social change and make the world a better place for all people makes them standout among boutique consulting firms around the world.
With a passion for helping others, solutions are driven by research and strategy, and a history of making positive change, The Bridgespan Group easily earns a 5-star rating as one of the top boutique consulting firms to consider partnering with this year.
Novantas Review
Novantas is a large boutique consulting firm in the financial sector offering its clients the confidence to face a continually evolving bank landscape and helping them make complex long-term financial decisions.
For over a decade, their experts have worked closely with 80 percent of the largest global banks, payment networks, and wealth managers. The firm has five U.S. locations as well as offices in Toronto, Canada, and Sydney, Australia.
Although the firm has been rated highly by financial publications, in comparison to the other boutique consulting firms on our list, Novantas falls short in a few key areas.
Below, please find an in-depth overview of why Novantas has earned a 1-star rating, and what we feel this boutique firm can do to improve their standing in next year’s rankings.
What Novantas Can Do to Improve Their Ranking
Improve Transparency
There are many ways to promote transparency as a boutique firm, but Novantas is missing a few key ones.
First, our review could not find any detailed case studies on their website. While we found some case studies mentioned, there are no links to read more details. For potential and current clients, seeing examples of proven success helps to validate the value of a boutique consulting firm.
Case studies also promote transparency by giving clients an in-depth look into the firm’s process and methods of how they solve problems and produce results. Unfortunately, this is an area in which Novantas appears to be falling behind other firms.
Second, while the firm provides information on their achievements in hard numbers, there is no mention of the core values or philosophies that drive Novantas as a boutique consulting firm. Working with a firm that operates on a clearly stated set of values is important, particularly when using boutique consulting services for the first time.
Publishing detailed case studies and clearly stating an ethical foundation for the firm could significantly improve transparency.
Improve the Employee Experience
Many of the firms on our list of the best boutique consulting firms place a strong emphasis on workplace happiness and employee satisfaction as a means to increase client satisfaction.
While Novantas does encourage a supportive and enjoyable work environment, direct responses from employees tell a much different story. Glassdoor shows a rating of 2.8, with only 50 percent of employees approving of the CEO.
This rating is significantly lower than Glassdoor ratings from other top boutique consulting firms on our list. This suggests a significant issue with corporate culture, and potentially in the overall client experience, as well.
A rewarding and supportive company culture for employees will increase a consultant’s effectiveness, and it appears that Novantas is falling short in this area.
By focusing on transparency and improving the company culture, Novantas could increase trust, showcase their unique value to clients, and improve the overall consulting experience for both employees and clients.
Conclusion – 2019 Top 9 Best Boutique Consulting Firms
Working with a boutique consulting firm can help you take your organization to new heights by gaining expert guidance in key performance areas.
However, there are many companies out there working under the guise of consultancies that are more adept at taking your money than providing any real value. This is why it’s important to fully research a firm in order to find the top boutique consultancies to work with.
Our top 9 list offers plenty of excellent options that specialize in a variety of industries, from healthcare to entertainment to nonprofits. These top-rated consultants also score highly when it comes to customer retention and employee satisfaction.
If you’ve been on a plateau at your business or up against challenges that you’ve had a hard time overcoming, working with a top-rated boutique consulting firm can often give you the fresh injection of ideas and knowledge you need to re-energize and grow your organization.
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Image sources:
- https://clarkstonconsulting.com/about-us/culture/
- https://www.excella.com/
- https://www.jabian.com/about
- https://www.putassoc.com/
- https://www.bridgespan.org/about-us/about-bridgespan
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