Week 6: Welcome to Guidehouse! (Theories in Action-Change Leadership)

In February, I received a call from an HR manager from PwC Public Sector, who let me know that the practice had been acquired by a private equity firm called Veritas Capital.  I was contractually bound to my internship, but was nervous to see what would become of this federal consulting firm without its attachment to a Big Four firm.  Throughout my internship, however, I have learned that the leadership of this firm has done an excellent job of preserving company culture this far, as well as set goals to remain successful.

Last Thursday, the new company launched, and the vision for its future was enthusiastically shared by the CEO, Scott McIntyre.  I am now an intern for Guidehouse, and I have been able to witness the beginnings of a new company throughout my internship.  On my first day, McIntyre spoke to us interns about the tremendous growth this practice has accomplished since its inception in 2004.  Additionally, since being acquired, the doors to expanding into commercial consulting have opened, thus creating more opportunity for growth.  He expanded upon this idea more at the Guidehouse launch.  To an audience of over one thousand employees, Guidehouse’s CEO elaborated on the new name choice, the preservation of values, and business goals.  Growth remained a common theme, because that is how the company will be able to do the best work.

He sees his employees as guides, leading their clients to innovative solutions that answer complex questions.  He stated with conviction that Guidehouse employees are the best in the industry, and employee compensation and benefits reflect that.  Furthermore, prior to my time here, employees were surveyed about what workplace values were the most important, and leadership clearly took those into consideration.  From my perspective, it seems as though the only major change that’s occurred has been the name change.  No one was fired during this transition, and actually, members of leadership chose to continue with Guidehouse rather than accepting promotions and staying with PwC in a different practice.

We have discussed situations where leaders must guide their constituents through change, and as CEO, I think Scott McIntyre has done a great job of easing employees into this transition.  Even in just the few weeks I’ve been here, several email updates and communications have come into my inbox to keep us updated about what to expect.  Within the company intranet, there is an entire FAQ page for employees to reference, as well as submit questions.  This transparency has been effective, as I haven’t heard many grumblings of dissatisfaction or confusion from full time employees.

In addition to leadership transparency, I think the preservation of culture is important.  It’s definitely a plus that all the same people are still here, and all the current contracts are unchanged.  It’s also clear that employees have expectations regarding their salaries and the meritocracy that defines the workplace, and leadership has honored those expectations.

Overall, this has been an incredibly interesting time to intern at Guidehouse (formerly PwC Public Sector).  I see a lot of potential for the future of this business, and am excited to see if it lives up to expectations.