It's been a wild five years for CDG & Associates.
The human resources consulting company has harnessed the
rapid growth that threatened the company's profitability and
is now primed to become an industry leader, said Cynthia
Driskill, who founded CDG in 1987.
"It's been a very cleansing experience," said Ms. Driskill,
president and chief executive.
"I'm as excited about our opportunities now as I was when I
started the company."
Ms. Driskill, 54, has reason to be excited.
The Carrollton company's sales grew from $6.5 million in
1997 to $20.8 million in 2000.
The recession has temporarily dampened that growth. The
company's revenues fell about 23 percent to $16 million during
2001. The company made a profit, but it was a small one.
Ms. Driskill isn't worried. "I've been through two of these
before, and this time we're a lot bigger, a lot smarter, and a
lot stronger," she said.
CDG has trimmed its consultant ranks from 104 people to
about 80 in response to reduced customer demand. But Ms.
Driskill expects her workforce to climb back to 100 by the end
of the year, and 2002 revenues are projected at $18 million to
$20 million.
Targeting clients
Last spring, CDG formed a separate division to
focus on the company's strategic planning business. The
division is expected to target customers grappling with
tighter budgets.
"We should do better in a bad economy because we can help
our customers be more efficient," Ms. Driskill said.
A customer recently hired CDG to look into a software
system upgrade that would cost $180,000. After CDG's
consultants evaluated the system and the company's needs, they
realized the upgrade wasn't necessary.
"Software evaluation is very arduous, but it's a critical
decision," Ms. Driskill said. "We can say where the risks and
benefits are for each program."
Those kinds of internal examination have become much more
common as companies cope with the recession, said Betsy
Kovacs, president and chief executive of the Association of
Management Consulting Firms.
"When there were more resources available, it was possible
for many organizations to take greater risks with new products
or technology," Ms. Kovacs said. "Now, companies are shoring
up and trying to make their core business more viable."
Tighter budgets also mean CDG consultants have to work
harder to show customers how their services can affect the
bottom line.
"A few years ago, companies would think nothing of spending
$250,000 on new technology," Ms. Driskill said. "Now, price is
a bigger factor."
CDG competes with the industry's leaders, such as
Accenture, and with consultants employed by software vendors.
Flexible services
Ms. Driskill describes CDG as the "Switzerland"
of the consulting world, helping clients with all the major
human resources software brands, rather than just one.
"We want to provide whatever software solution works best
for each client," Ms. Driskill said. "We don't want our
clients to feel like we're biased toward only one brand."
That versatility also gives CDG more protection when
individual software programs go in and out of favor.
It's a strategy the company has pursued since Ms. Driskill
formed CDG after her contract consulting business grew too big
for one person.
She started with four other consultants, and the company
expanded quickly, mostly through word of mouth. But continued
rapid growth during the early 1990s nearly spelled disaster
for CDG. A lack of management infrastructure to manage that
growth was putting the company in the red, Ms. Driskill said.
The business also faced quality issues when it came to
customer service.
So in 1995, Ms. Driskill stopped working as a consultant to
focus solely on running the company. "I had to learn the
business of running a business," she said. "We got
overconfident and didn't have the financial infrastructure in
place."
Ms. Driskill didn't have time to take executive management
classes. Instead, she read constantly and developed a network
of experts to use as advisers.
A thriving market
The market for human resources consulting has
grown faster than the overall consulting industry during the
last several years, said Brad Smith, an analyst with market
research firm Kennedy Information Inc.
"There's a growing emphasis on workforce as a strategic and
competitive weapon," Mr. Smith said. "Companies are looking
for ways to use technology to be more effective."
CDG ranked No. 96 on the latest Dallas 100 list of the
area's fastest-growing small, private companies. The company
also was honored by Working Woman magazine last year as
one of the top 500 highest-grossing female-owned companies in
the United States. And Ms. Driskill was named entrepreneur of
the year for the Southwest region by Ernst & Young in
2000.
She doesn't plan to quit before reaching a few other goals.
In five to seven years, Ms. Driskill said, she expects CDG to
bring in $75 million to $100 million in revenues annually, and
she wants the company to make Fortune magazine's list
of the 100 best companies to work for.
