Of all the elements I brought to Liquid Consulting during my time leading that firm, the one I’m proudest of is making field service the heart and soul of the organization. It is what drives the firm, and it is where and how they add the most value. In this sense, they operate quite differently from their competitors.
At many firms, to work in field service is a requirement before employees move elsewhere. It is not perceived as an especially appealing assignment, and employees are often eager to move to another role. Liquid Consulting hires, trains and retains people who love field service. Their people want to work there for the long term. They enjoy being in plants, working directly with clients and putting to work their deep knowledge of the liquid foods manufacturing process. To say this another way, the company’s team has much more field experience than any other. Before I transitioned out of the company, we created a phrase for describing the essential character of the firm. It is “born onsite we are.” The origins of the firm go back to working in the field, seeing the unmet needs of both current and potential customers, and recruiting people who could join the team and help fill those needs.
