Our Story

‘A Visionary.’ That’s how colleagues describe KJT founder and former CEO, Dr. Kenneth J. Tomaszewski. It was the strength of his vision that convinced the company’s first employees – two researchers and one programmer – to follow Ken from their established careers at Harris Interactive (now Nielson) to start KJT Group in 2007.

Over the intervening years, those three individuals strived and thrived alongside Ken, including Michaela Gascon (current President and CEO), Lynn Clement (current EVP of Strategic Research Services) and Amy Allen (current VP of Qualitative Research). Together, along with many other key staff additions in the first several years, they built an evidence-based consulting firm, with a staff of approximately 70 research professionals serving a diversity of clients across multiple healthcare sectors today.

From the beginning, KJT set itself apart through a holistic approach to market research vs. the siloed model used by many big firms – wherein researchers only touch their individual segments of a project, never gaining the full view of a client’s business, marketplace dynamics, problems and/or opportunities.

The hands-on experts at KJT manage projects from start-to-finish, building long lasting partnerships with our clients in order to capture the deepest, most actionable insights that enable innovative solutions to a wide variety of business needs. In addition to the continuity of its workflow, KJT is passionate about well-designed research and analysis. Our Insight by Design methodology places five, core principles at the heart of all our partnerships, enabling transparency and driving alignment throughout the process.

Our results benefit our clients by enhancing strategic and tactical decision-making and guiding them as they negotiate the increasingly complex healthcare industry. We are also committed to enhancing the patient experience and ensuring that their needs are adequately represented as the industry continues to grow and evolve.

Ever Better

While many things have changed over the years, the agency’s foundational vision is still very much in evidence. Based in large part on the motto of Ken’s alma mater, the University of Rochester, KJT’s culture and values are rooted in the Latin ‘Meliora,’ meaning ‘for the pursuit of the better.’

Ever Better is one of the company’s seven stated values, which also include: Balance, Mutual Respect, Empowerment, Empathy, Integrity and Mindfulness.  These values guide the KJT staff in building the relationships with clients and colleagues that help us deliver the deep insights and critical research results that continue to differentiate KJT’s offerings today.

The Ever Better approach also places a heavy emphasis on personal growth and development, which includes nurturing talent within KJT’s growing population. We’re very proud of the numerous interns and early-stage professionals who through training and experience have become excellent KJT leaders.

The KJT Culture

KJT started out as an all-hands-on-deck proposition, with everyone doing everything from assembling desk chairs to taking out the garbage. This gritty, authentic, small business culture still stands today. At KJT, everybody pitches in.

We also strongly believe in work/life balance, and have implemented a Wellness by Design Committee, along with a Social Committee – both of which are very active in the pursuit of work/life balance and the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of our employees.

100% Employee-Owned

In 2019, KJT became an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) company, fulfilling our founder’s vision, which was to sell 100% of the company to KJT employees so they could become financial participants in our long-term success.

We believe the KJT ESOP aligns everyone’s incentives and builds an ownership mentality, by creating a very tangible return on employees’ hard work, which leads to a highly motivated workforce. That in turn improves organizational performance, which positively affects company earnings – ultimately contributing to a higher balance in employee ESOP accounts.

Being an ESOP company is such an important aspect of KJT’s culture, we updated our Mission Statement to reflect it: To build a culture where all employees think like leaders with the freedom and ability to deliver what our clients need most to make the best business decisions and create marketplace advantage.

Co-Creation

The people of KJT are 100% invested in our clients’ success and aspire to deliver results that support and empower their goals and objectives. We aim for buy-in vs. sign-off, engaging with our clients as co-creators and co-owners of solutions that all stakeholders understand and are ready to implement once delivered.

We rely on active listening and open communications as the foundation of our collaborative partnerships. This helps us maintain clarity, confidence and alignment across teams throughout all phases of a project. Sometimes our client connections extend beyond research, into the realm of hand-rolled sushi-making classes and cooking tutorials for these valued business partners!

Vision for the Future

From the beginning, KJT focused on optimizing client relationships and the client experience, which helped us grow very quickly.

To date, the company’s evolution holds true to our original culture and the ability to build and maintain close customer relationships. That includes a hybrid work model (virtual and in-office) as well as a family-first mindset.

Moving forward, we will continue to balance all the things that have made KJT what it is, while setting the course to grow the business, building from the springboard of the current leadership team and leveraging the enthusiasm and momentum of our employee owners.

 

Interested in joining our team? Apply today.