Vantaggi
The company is fully of extremely mission-oriented people who are working to make a positive social difference. There is a sense that everyone is coming to work to get down to business with their own part of savings the world. This sense of purpose engenders a strong team spirit and collegial atmosphere that focuses on cooperation over competition. Unlike some other firms in this industry there is not a sense of different offices as "dueling profit centers." Instead there is a general recognition that we all benefit from working together and that getting the job done is more important than whose budget something accrues to. I also appreciate the deep technical expertise here in so many areas. At some firms in the consulting industry there is a poker-faced game of "we've never done that before and don't know much about it, but just tell the client that we'll do it, and we'll figure out 'how' later." At ICF I am consistently impressed by the expertise present at all levels in many practices - usually there is someone who *has* done it before and *does* know a lot about it. This earns my respect and makes me feel like there is leadership I can trust. At the same time there is a trust in staff and a willingness to appreciate innovation wherever it arises. I think this allows junior staff to grow quickly, and motivates them to do their best work. This is not a formulaic place and there is a lot of room for younger employees to put their own mark on the work that comes out of ICF.
Svantaggi
ICF is in a phase of rapid growth after its IPO as a public company in 2007. This has its upsides of course, but it is also engendering a shift to a more investor-profits-driven mentality at the top. While this may be appropriate business practice, it may put some strain on the organizational culture to meet these growth goals. The company's culture of excellence and expertise may be challenged by the requirement to rapidly expand successful groups beyond their current size.