ZS Associates
Phillip LaRue, BBA1
Issue date: 1/23/06 Section: Day in the Life
I visited ZS Associates at their headquarters in Evanston, Illinois as well as one of their additional offices in Chicago on December 16, 2005. ZS Associates was founded by two professors from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in 1983. ZS currently has 13 offices worldwide and over 600 employees. During my visit, I was able to spend time with associates at all levels of the company including business associates, consultants, managers, and principals. I was able to hear about projects that associates have worked on in the past, tour the Evanston and Chicago offices, sit in on a teleconference meeting with a client, and ask questions about the positions and the company.
ZS associates serves many clients in various sales and marketing functions, including sales incentives, marketing research, pricing, marketing mix optimization, and sales forecasting. To assist in many of these projects, ZS has an in-house software development team that has created programs that perform specific and specialized functions. These programs are able to incorporate functions that associates request directly and eliminate many tedious tasks that other software programs require.
ZS has an excellent track record and has experienced growth even in times where the consulting industry as a whole was suffering. This may be due to the fact that ZS focuses on marketing and sales functions, which are vital to every company. One principal explained that whereas other consulting companies work on projects that involve restructuring and lay-offs, clients of ZS are always happy to work with them because the sales and marketing projects do not typically result in negative outcomes. Many ZS clients loyally return to the firm because ZS focuses not only on the research and recommendations on projects, but also ensuring that the implementation goes smoothly.
ZS maintains a very welcoming and open environment where associates at all levels feel comfortable talking to one another, both professionally and personally. Several associates mentioned that they could ask for help from anyone, including a manager or principal, and that person would make time to assist with a question. My host for the day explained that he was able to arrange eight mini-interviews with associates at all levels for my Day in the Life visit with no trouble at all. With the level of honesty and enthusiasm at ZS, it is apparent that the associates really enjoy their work and their office environment.
ZS associates serves many clients in various sales and marketing functions, including sales incentives, marketing research, pricing, marketing mix optimization, and sales forecasting. To assist in many of these projects, ZS has an in-house software development team that has created programs that perform specific and specialized functions. These programs are able to incorporate functions that associates request directly and eliminate many tedious tasks that other software programs require.
ZS has an excellent track record and has experienced growth even in times where the consulting industry as a whole was suffering. This may be due to the fact that ZS focuses on marketing and sales functions, which are vital to every company. One principal explained that whereas other consulting companies work on projects that involve restructuring and lay-offs, clients of ZS are always happy to work with them because the sales and marketing projects do not typically result in negative outcomes. Many ZS clients loyally return to the firm because ZS focuses not only on the research and recommendations on projects, but also ensuring that the implementation goes smoothly.
ZS maintains a very welcoming and open environment where associates at all levels feel comfortable talking to one another, both professionally and personally. Several associates mentioned that they could ask for help from anyone, including a manager or principal, and that person would make time to assist with a question. My host for the day explained that he was able to arrange eight mini-interviews with associates at all levels for my Day in the Life visit with no trouble at all. With the level of honesty and enthusiasm at ZS, it is apparent that the associates really enjoy their work and their office environment.
