Pros
BRMi is a great place to work. BRMi's culture is one where you're taken care of almost like family. As a small firm, the company's leadership has the opportunity to get to know everyone, and they do just that. And that opportunity is a two way street. You are not segregated from the leadership like you are at most other places. Do you have an idea that you think would help make the company better, or have something else on your mind? You can go to CEO Mike Battle's office, sit down and have a chat with him. (Where else, anywhere, can you do that with the CEO??) Have a question about your benefits? You just call up the head of HR and she will have your problem resolved in five minutes. And for the day to day challenges, your team lead is there to help you. The culture of any company starts at the top, and BRMi is no different. I was part of the company for a substantial amount of time it has been around, and during that time I saw Mike's kindness and commitment to his people reflected in the culture repeatedly. During a government shutdown a few years ago, Mike chose to keep his benched employees paid (while other companies chose to send their employees home without pay) at substantial cost to himself and the company. This is just one example of how the company cares for its employees and how highly it values their talents. That value system is reflected every day in ways ranging from the way people respect you, to the commitment of its staff to volunteerism in the community, to the strong commitment to employees' career development. In terms of career development, the company is full of bright people at all levels, from young employees starting their careers through the senior staff. BRMi has a formal mentorship program that pairs senior staff (including leadership) with more junior staff, and lots of informal mentoring happens too. You are strongly encouraged to develop your skill sets, especially in new capabilities the company seeks to get into such as Agile development and Robotic Process Automation. There is a well-established process for your team lead to meet with you on your goals and objectives at the beginning of each year and periodically thereafter, and then works with you to help you meet those goals. Being a small firm, its staff often have opportunities to grow their careers more quickly in new directions in response to changing demand from the marketplace and the firm's clients. BRMi tries hard to maintain its culture despite its staff being spread across multiple locations as they serve government clients. Happy hours and other events happen regularly, and the CEO brings everyone together every quarter for a transparent discussion about the firm's financials and objectives. BRMI people work hard, but the firm values work-life balance and provides people with as much flexibility as possible. Working from home is subject to client needs, but is otherwise fine (within reason.) You get generous vacation time, even when you're new. The company's pay is competitive, and it has a bonus structure linked to company and individual performance.
Cons
BRMI's challenges are the same that face other firms in the government consulting space. The increasing uncertainty in government programs, and its reluctance to start longer term projects, affect consulting companies both large and small. BRMi's senior leadership is addressing this challenge by moving aggressively to diversify its client base into the commercial sector, particularly by building expertise in the cutting edge technology of Robotic Process Automation. BRMi has developed partnerships with one of the world's leading RPA vendors, has hired top leadership talent for implementing RPA, and is training staff in how to implement this exciting technology for clients. The transtion hasn't always been smooth, but BRMi has the leadership, the vision, and the commitment to build this competency and keep the business growing strong in new directions.
