Working hard to involve non-partners in firm affairs and winning their commitment to the firm’s success is a hallmark of the one-firm firm and is reinforced by a widely common practice of sharing firm profits more deeply within the organization than is common at other firms. (The ratio between the highest paid and the lowest paid partner tends to be markedly less at one-firm firms than it is among their competitors.) There is also a suppression of status differentials between senior and junior members of the firm: an important activity if the firm is attempting to make everyone, junior and senior alike, feel a part of the team. At Hewitt Associates, de-emphasizing status extends to the physical surroundings: everyone, from the newest hire to the oldest partner has the same size office.

Excerpted from ‘Managing the Professional Service Firm’ by David Maister, page 316