After being here for over a year, there a few important details that I feel are important to call out. This is a long review because I don’t feel that a couple of sentences does a company justice. A common theme you will find here is “culture”. Don’t ignore that. Think of how hard it is to create, maintain, and grow a positive culture, and then put into perspective that KG has multiple businesses, multiple departments, across multiple countries.. Somehow amidst all of this growth, KG continues to create a great culture within every faucet of their work, whether it be their hiring, projects, socials, or management.
Also, I change between saying “I” and “We” a lot in here. It comes from a place that this is a very team oriented company, so while I do not represent KG as a manager, it comes from a place of feeling part of the company.
- The people I work with are genuinely the smartest and nicest people I have ever met. Somehow, KG has managed to hire people that are driven to succeed but always want that success for the team, not just themselves. There is no throwing people under the bus, or undermining team members… something that shouldn’t be overlooked, because this is a rare thing to find.
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- The Clients we work with are world class, and are consistently impressed with our work. When you have fortune 500 companies praising the work that we do, you immediately realize not only the value & impact of your work; you also realize that you are working at an industry leading company.
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- My managers are consistently looking to me for my opinions. The idea of a defined and rigid hierarchy at Konrad is a foreign concept. I have worked directly with everyone from senior managers and VPs of the Strategy , Design, and Technology teams, and all of these leaders have not only listened to my thoughts, but encouraged them. This is on a project level, but also on a personal level. Managers here don’t just see you as an employee, they see you as a friend and close ally, so your success becomes their success, and they actively look to help mentor me while listing to my feedback. I genuinely can’t count the times I have had the realization walking home that I directly disagreed with a senior manager and they changed their minds based on my critical thinking -- that is a pretty great feeling, and not something that is easy to find -- It is hard to find smart and experienced individuals who are not set in their ways and open to criticism/feedback.
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- KG is growing rapidly… I have been here just over a year and I can see it in the new office that we have, the Clients we are working with, the project size, the team growth… everything. AND YET….somehow, they have maintained a positive culture and continued to hire the right people. It is very easy for a company to say one thing: “We hire the best”, and then when given the chance, undermine that saying because “Well, we have a big project, so let’s just hire a bunch of people and it won’t be that bad”. KG continues to impress me with their steadfast dedication to hiring the right people, often (from what I have gathered) turning down Clients so that the growth of the company doesn’t damage it’s long term success.
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- We are starting to see long term employment value: Right now, I am not too concerned with retirement, I don’t have kids, and my eyesight is okay… so right now, the benefits I am looking for are different than what I will want in 5,10,15 years. This year, we received RRSP matching. This was a huge milestone in my opinion, because you can see that KG is looking to be a leader for YEARS to come. These types of changes (and other minor ones that I have noticed culturally) are very important and do not happen overnight.
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- The socials/events/clubs: There are a ton of activities at KG. A lot of them are planned by the company, and a lot are planned by employees, and then supported/advertised by KG. It is one thing to say “Hey, we have monthly socials, a pool table, and a beer KG”. It is another thing to have a team (Our Operations team..shout out to them!) who is tirelessly dedicated to running events, and have fostered a culture that has full employee support. -- We had a company soccer game on BMO field with about 50 people showing up at 7:00 am. This was organized by some employees and then supported by the Operations team -- I think it is impressive that we have a culture where employees feel confident and comfortable to implement their ideas, and then be backed by the company.
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- KG pushes their employees and values their hard work. Whether it be through promotions, financial compensation, or direct manager feedback, I have always felt that I am a valued member of the consulting team.