The 2007 Best Firms to Work For: An Overview

In previous years, around 5,000 management consultants shared their opinions of their firms with us. The information was valuable and the competition stiff. But this year, it's a whole new ball game: We heard from 9,000 professionals representing 190 firms. And each firm has a unique culture and model—as well as its own consultants willing to open up about what's working and what's not. With an 80 percent increase in the number of respondents this year over last, what we can glean about those in the industry—and the firms where they work—is all the more valuable. Although the sheer volume of the survey was radically different, the criteria we used for being considered a Best Firm to Work For wasn't. Consultancies still needed to have at least 200 billable consultants to be considered, and firms with fewer than 25 survey responses were not eligible.

This year we're thrilled to have newcomer firms to the competition—especially when they win. That's the case with two of our top firms, North Highland and West Monroe. These consultancies weren't even listed on our drop-down list on our Web survey based on last year's participants.