From Team Culture to Client Impact: A Blueprint for Growth

When a member of an account team for one of RGP’s biggest technology clients experienced a sudden loss in her family, the work did not stop, but it also did not fall on her. Instead, the rest of the team immediately absorbed her responsibilities, maintained her accounts, and continued to generate her revenue until she could return.

This moment reflects how this account team operates more broadly. What appears externally as a high-performing account is built internally on shared ownership, constant communication, and a deliberate approach to team design. The same principles that guide how the team supports one another with clarity, trust, and collective accountability also directly shape how it engages with the clients on the account. In other words, the team’s internal model is not separate from its client success; it is the foundation of it.  This account team is also an emerging blueprint for how other RGP accounts can grow and operate.

The current team structure was put in place two years ago following a full transition of the prior team. With no legacy model to maintain, the new account leaders, Danielle and Fiona Macfarlane, took a different approach.

Instead of building around fixed roles, they assembled a mix of complementary personalities: individuals who naturally generate opportunities, those who bring discipline and execution, and others who connect efforts across the group. Operations and talent were embedded within the core team rather than positioned as separate support functions, resulting in greater integration and shared ownership.

Communication happens continuously through shared channels and focused meetings, ensuring alignment across all activities. Team members support each other’s accounts and step in when needed, as seen in the response to personal hardship.

Leadership reinforces this by setting expectations around collaboration and accountability. The absence of internal competition is intentional.

“Everybody knows what everybody’s doing,” Danielle said. “There’s no question. And we are all in this together. We never fight. We don’t compete with each other. I think Fiona and I set the tone from the onset. We deliberately planned a team to be able to work this way together.”

That internal model has directly influenced how the team engages with clients. The account has shifted from the former account team’s more transactional model of responding to requests to an extraordinarily consultative one, where the team participates in shaping the tech company’s strategy. The team engages with the tech company early, often before formal work begins, helping the stakeholders define priorities and plan for the year. They also set clear boundaries, focusing only on areas where they can deliver value.

This approach has led to increased trust and expanded access across the entire tech company. The account team has grown from consulting in a single functional area into multiple business units, including procurement and corporate development, and has secured a preferred partnership position, which is extremely hard to obtain at this client. As a result, the team’s revenue performance has remained consistent through market shifts, supported by steady delivery and strong client relationships.

“We’ve done everything we said we would do,” Danielle added. “We show up, and we deliver.”

The team now views its internal model as transferable. The same elements, shared ownership, clarity of roles, and continuous communication, can be applied across other accounts at RGP.

“If you could take this model and apply it elsewhere,” Danielle said, “it would change how all of RGP’s accounts grow.”