blogs.vault.com/ Tue, 09 April 2019 14:42:00 Tue, 09 April 2019 14:42:00 /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/5-takeaways-from-bains-newest-cohort-of-mba-hires/#detailed_comment “Bain is the best place to work. The people are so amazing. [We have] great, supportive coaches and mentors to help you learn and grow. Bain really cares about their employees and is committed to training and growing their people. [We] work hard, but we know how to laugh...I enjoy working with my colleagues, and we truly have fun together.” This is just one of many similar responses we received from the consultants at Bain & Company who took our most recent survey of the industry’s best consulting firms. Bain—which ranks No. 2 in the 2019 Vault Consulting 50—is an exemplar of a positive and enriching workplace culture. It has a reputation as the “fun” firm among the Big Three and is No. 1 in Vault’s ranking for the Best Consulting Firms for Firm Culture. Bain’s emphasis on culture endures among its most recent cohort of new consultants, according to an in-depth profile recently published on Poets & Quants . In “ Meet Bain & Company’s MBA Class of 2018 ”, P&Q senior writer Jeff Schmitt profiles 12 of Bain’s MBA hires from the Class of 2018 and speaks with Bain partner Keith Bevans about the philosophies that define and differentiate the firm’s culture. “Bain places a premium on people, ones who are….passionate, perceptive, and prepared. Committed to growing from within, Bain invests heavily in developing talent, always parsing out new challenges to stir their creativity and push them to get better,” writes Schmitt. “It is a place that demands being yourself as much as producing results, an equal mix of empowerment and accountability where MBAs are always supported and never alone.” Bain hired hundreds of MBAs from the Class of 2018, selecting their cohort from more than 60 full-time MBA programs. This year, Bevans tells P&Q that they will hire 500 consultants. These essential takeaways from the Poets & Quants profile on the Class of 2018 should serve as a roadmap for this year's round of prospective MBA hires. Bain hires hail from a diversity of backgrounds. If you’ve ever been nervous that the path your career took before your MBA wasn’t well-suited for one of the Big Three…well, don’t be. “From bouncers to ballerinas”, as Schmitt phrases it, Bain’s most recent cohort of MBA hires hail from an incredibly diverse range of backgrounds. In Schmitt’s profile alone, there are former literary students, dance enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and, yes, a former bouncer. Bain’s newest hires maintain their personal passions while developing new ones—honing their skills in analytics and beyond while also bringing a wealth of life experience and personality to their respective teams. Thrive as an individual, thrive as a professional. As one of our own survey respondents said, Bain provides “accelerated professional development that is unmatched anywhere, with the smartest, most down-to-earth people.” Another contends that “professional development is key. A richness of growth and opportunity –professionally, personally, and socially—beyond what I could have imagined.” It’s no wonder that Bain is No.1 in Vault’s rankings for Informal Training and Mentorship and No. 3 for Formal Training ; a culture that places a “premium on people” is bound to create an enriching environment of learning to grow those people. As Annie Robertson Hockey, an MBA hire in Bain’s San Francisco office, tells Poets & Quants , "It’s more than professional development at Bain. It is also development of you as a person. There is an emphasis at Bain on thriving…if you are thriving as an individual, you’re going to thrive as a professional.” From a focus on mentorship to unparalleled externship and transfer opportunities (the firm ranks No.3 for both Exit Opportunities and Internal Mobility ), Bevans firmly believes Bain is grooming the general managers of the future. Culture still eats strategy for breakfast. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” writes Schmitt. “That maxim has been the go-to warning for MBAs…Of course, this bit frames culture and strategy as separate menu items…In reality, they are an inseparable pairing, reinforcing and rejuvenating the other…” There’s a reason Bain has consistently ranked No. 1 for Firm Culture since 2010. As Keith Bevans tells Poets & Quants , “Bain is the type of place where people want to get to know each other…It is less about having a rock band or a soccer team. It is more about finding ways for people to spend time with each other and build relationships that extend long beyond their time at Bain…the relationships extend beyond that because you’re more than just colleagues.” The investment Bain places in people extends beyond its emphasis on professional development. It is a firm that forges relationships, both within teams and around the globe. The inclusive culture and diversity of talents and experiences foster an “innate sense of community”. While cultures differ across offices, that spirit of camaraderie is alive throughout the entire firm. Textbooks don’t teach you everything. Practical experience is paramount to the development that occurs at Bain, and Bain consultants are expected to hit the ground running. Real work on client projects begins almost immediately, and through this, new hires develop the skills to deliver the client-tailored approach on which Bain prides itself. While this learning harnesses and deepens what you learn during your MBA, it occurs far beyond the pages of the textbook. Faye Cheng, an MIT Sloan MBA, tells Poets & Quants , “real-world data is messy and ambiguous, and a lot of what we work on is so cutting-edge that the best data set or analysis that exists is the one we are actively helping to create…this is simultaneously daunting and empowering… At the end of the day, the best answer is not necessarily the one that’s textbook perfect, but rather the one that is feasible and tailored to the client’s particular needs.” Adds Schmitt: “At Bain, the learning simply accelerates for MBAs after graduation…and never stops.” Technology is the future. As a word of both precaution and inspiration, Bevans tells Poets & Quants that the future of consulting—and, by extension, MBAs—lies in the perpetually changing landscape of technology. “When the boundaries of what is realistic change, you have to be a bigger thinker than you were two or three years ago…a lot of MBAs are intrigued by tech and some of them are not. Practically speaking, we are moving to a time where saying you are not a tech person is not an acceptable answer… What I think MBAs aren’t thinking about his how pervasive technology will be in every sector of the economy…” Some important food for thought for the class of 2019. Click here to read the entire Poets & Quants profile. Visit Bain & Company’s Vault profile for the full list of its latest rankings. For the rest of 2019’s best consulting firms , visit Vault’s complete rankings page. /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/5-takeaways-from-bains-newest-cohort-of-mba-hires/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/5-takeaways-from-bains-newest-cohort-of-mba-hires/ Tue, 09 April 2019 14:42:00 /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/the-15-best-consulting-firms-for-gender-pay-equality/#detailed_comment On March 8 th , we celebrate International Women’s Day to honor the achievements of women around the globe and continue the fight for gender equality. One issue that serves as a critical focal point for this ongoing discussion is pay equality. More and more, employers are recognizing the inherent unfairness of paying men and women differently based on gender instead of merit. As Women’s History Month continues beyond International Women’s Day, we thought we’d take a look at which employers are doing their part to close the gap. Every year, Vault surveys thousands of professionals at the best consulting firms around the world. Their responses form Vault’s annual rankings of the top consulting firms in prestige, quality of life, and numerous other factors such as diversity and compensation. Drawing from the 2019 consulting rankings for North American firms, we’ve compiled a list of 15 consultancies that are making strides in closing the gender-based pay gap. Survey respondents were asked to rate their employers on a scale of 1 to 10 based on pay equality. The firms you see below each had more than 100 responses, and are organized by their pay equality score. 1.)  Bain & Company (Score: 9.846) Selected response: “Bain has a number of diversity groups to support not only the recruiting efforts of these diversity groups, but to build a more robust culture within the firm. Regarding compensation, I could not imagine a more transparent compensation policy than what Bain institutes—everyone makes the same base salary…The difference comes in bonuses, but they are tied exclusively to performance ratings, so there is no possibility for pay inequality…” 2.)  McKinsey & Company (Score: 9.707) Selected response: “ The firm has a really strong commitment to equity of pay and opportunities. For example, during reviews (when pay and promotion decisions are often made), the firm even appoints someone in the room to specifically call out unconscious bias so that reviewers are talking just about the merits of each individual person. The firm also invests heavily in developing and supporting women in the firm so that they're ready to take on those promotion opportunities.” 3.)  L.E.K. Consulting (Score: 9.234) Selected response: “The promotion discussions are very open, and there is a consensus decision on who gets promoted, followed by an appropriate justification. Both male and female managers are involved in making the decision for a person's promotion. Pay scale is based on quantitative ratings rather than subjective feelings, hence there is pay equity per employees’ performance reviews.” 4.)  Strategy& (Score: 9.216) Selected response: “ There is an increasing effort to promote gender diversity and transparency into the promotion policy. Last year, the head of Strategy& left and was replaced with one of the women partners… Also, the pay levels are a bit formulaic, so it would be hard for me to imagine pay inequity.” 5.)  The Brattle Group (Score: 9.196) Selected response: “ Brattle is a very open environment and there is generally clear communication regarding compensation and the basis for it. Brattle has a highly educated workforce that is quite diverse.” 6.)  A.T. Kearney (Score: 9.127) Selected response: “A.T. Kearney is proactive and transparent in addressing the gender gap in consulting. There is a concerted effort for hiring equity at the junior ranks and increasing focus on increasing the presence of women in firm leadership.” 7.)  Trinity Partners, LLC (Score: 9.125) Selected response: “ Trinity is very cognizant of pay equity, and has dedicated resources to ensure there is no gender-based pay gap. I am impressed by its willingness to look inward and analyze its own performance to foster a work environment in which there are equal opportunities for male and female employees.” 8.)  Simon-Kucher & Partners (Score: 9.118) Selected response: “The firm is pretty open with how they set salaries. Each person is assigned to a "cohort" based on level of education and number of years at the firm. High performers are primarily rewarded through bonuses and promotions. And, I've seen very similar promotion timelines between male and female co-workers.” 9.)  Bates White Economic Consulting (Score: 8.809) Selected response: “The firm engages in a thorough, thoughtful, and inclusive compensation process that seeks input from external benchmark data, 360 performance reviews, and objective business measures. Authority for compensation adjustments is delegated to Practice Leaders and harmonized by the Board of Directors and senior leadership.”   10.)  ZS (Score: 8.777) Selected response: “ZS has been very transparent in sharing analysis that compares the equality of men vs. women both in terms of pay and promotion.  As a participant in most local promotion decisions, I have never felt there has ever been any discussion (either direct or indirect) other than the performance of the individual.” 11.)  Oliver Wyman (Score: 8.764) Selected response: “Very structured consultant compensation model… Level determines compensation. Promotion opportunities harder to define. Personally, as a woman, I feel I have been given strong access to promotion opportunities.” 12.)  Deloitte Consulting LLP (Score: 8.616) Selected response: “I believe that promotions are earned based on our ability to earn our clients trust and ability to serve them consistently over a period of time. Market eminence and subject matter expertise determine promotion readiness.” 13.)  PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) (Score:   8.547) Selected response: “Salaries are laid out based on fairly mechanical lines, so that someone in the same position with the same tenure would be paid regardless of gender. The firm is greatly focused on ensuring female and diverse employees are given opportunities to excel.  In a group where travel is basically required (like many in consulting), the firm tries to give mothers flexibility and is actively trying to retain them...” 14.)  Alvarez & Marsal (Score: 8.505) Selected response: “I believe that women in the office are fully supported and receive equal pay and opportunities.” 15.)  Accenture (Score: 8.496) Selected response: “Base pay is a sliding scale across genders, although I don't know if there is a difference between bonus payouts. I do feel that Accenture has a strong commitment to diversity, especially across genders. It's one of the few global corporations setting public goals and sharing current gender mixes (50/50 male/female by 2025).” /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/the-15-best-consulting-firms-for-gender-pay-equality/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/the-15-best-consulting-firms-for-gender-pay-equality/ Fri, 08 March 2019 14:16:00 Stephan Maldonado /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/announcing-the-2019-vault-consulting-25-europe/#detailed_comment I’m excited to announce that today, we've released the 2019 Vault Consulting 25 Europe , our annual ranking of the best consulting firms to work for in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). In addition to the Vault Consulting 25 (our overall Best Firm to Work For ranking), we've released several other EMEA rankings, including the Most Prestigious Consulting Firms in Europe, the Best Consulting Firms in Europe in Each Practice Area, and the  Best Consulting Firms in Europe in by key employment factors (including Compensation, Benefits, Diversity, and more). As with our APAC  and North American consulting rankings, the EMEA rankings are based on exclusive insider information from verified employees in the industry, leveraging insights from our annual survey of leading consultancies. The goal of these rankings is to provide job seekers with an invaluable insider’s perspective on what it’s really like to work at the top consulting firms in the EMEA region. Our survey takes into account  everything from a firm's reputation (its prestige score) to individual quality of life factors. Without further ado, the Top 10 EMEA Consulting Firms based on Vault’s annual survey for 2019 are: McKinsey & Company Europe Bain & Company Europe Oliver Wyman Europe Roland Berger Europe A.T. Kearney Europe OC&C Strategy Consultants Europe Simon-Kucher & Partners Europe Implement Consulting Group QVARTZ Arthur D. Little Europe Survey respondents say of McKinsey & Co., “Impact and integrity are [our] core values... Furthermore, our commitment to innovation is quite unmatched in the industry, as is our investment in developing our people.” “More than most international firms we’ve surveyed, insiders feel as though McKinsey truly operates as a single global entity: a cohesive network where people have access to resources, intellect, and knowledge sharing from around the world,” said Stephan Maldonado, Vault’s Consulting Editor. “Respondents to our survey lavish praise on the incredible set of opportunities, and the great spirit of collaboration—between individuals and offices—that they’ve found at McKinsey. This sense of connectedness and a profound human element only heighten the experience of working at one of the world’s largest and most prestigious firms.” The Vault Consulting 25 Europe is based on scores from more than 5,000 EMEA consulting firm employees surveyed earlier this year. These employees were asked to rate firms on a scale of 1 to 10 based on a variety of factors, including prestige, firm culture, compensation, work/life balances, the outlook for the firm, and overall satisfaction. The Vault Consulting 25 Europe ranking is based on the following weighted formula: 30 percent prestige 15 percent satisfaction 15 percent firm culture 10 percent compensation 10 percent ability to challenge 10 percent work-life balance 5 percent promotion policies 5 percent overall business outlook A Year of Impressive Change Several of the other firms in our Consulting 25 for EMEA have experienced an impressive rise in their positions. Within the Top 10, A.T. Kearney, OC&C Strategy Consultants, and Simon-Kucher & Partners are each up one position (to No.’s 6,7, and 8 this year, respectively), while Implement Consulting Group (No. 8) and QVARTZ (No. 9) are each up two positions (from No.’s 10 and 11 last year, respectively). Some particularly notable increases include The Brattle Group at No. 11, up from No. 15 last year, and Marakon , which comes in at comes in at No. 13—a jump from No. 18 in the 2018 rankings. Perhaps the most impressive jump is L.E.K. Consulting , which holds this year’s No. 14 position—a significant rise from last year’s No. 24. The Boston Consulting Group Leads in Practice Area Rankings This year, The Boston Consulting Group claimed more No. 1 spots in our practice area rankings than any other firm, with McKinsey coming in at a close second. Of 12 different practice areas, The Boston Consulting Group ranked No.1 in five areas: Energy, Management, Pricing, Sales & Marketing, Retail, and Strategy consulting. McKinsey ranked No. 1 in four areas: Economic, Financial, Health Care and Operations. Meanwhile, Accenture took the No. 1 spot in both IT Operations and IT Strategy. McKinsey Leads for Quality of Life & Key Employment Factors Across 22 different quality of life categories, McKinsey proved itself to be a firm whose experience lives up to its prestige, ranking No. 1 in 12 categories: Ability to Challenge, Benefits, Exit Opportunities, Firm Leadership, Informal Training, Innovation, Interaction with Clients, Internal Mobility, International Opportunities, Overall Business Outlook, Relationships with Supervisors, and Most Selective Consulting Firm in Europe. Bain & Company ranked No. 1 in Compensation and Diversity, with insiders saying that the firm “celebrates diversity” and “actively confronts issues related to diversity through helpful dialogue.” Bain & Company also ranked No. 1 in Formal Training and Promotion Policies. QVARTZ was ranked as the No. 1 Consulting Firm in Europe for Firm Culture. As said in our Vault Verdict, “Many consultants take pride in their firm’s culture, but it’s not often that we see respondents to our survey champion their culture so adamantly as if to suggest that it should be the primary differentiator for clients enlisting its services and candidates applying to work there.” More EMEA Rankings In addition to the industry-wide ranking for the EMEA region, Vault also asked consultants to rate the prestige of consulting firms in their region and select the strongest firms in their specific practice areas. For key employment factors, consultants were only permitted to rate their own firm; for prestige and practice area rankings, survey respondents were NOT allowed to rate their own firms, and were only permitted to rate those with which they were familiar. This data informs 12 practice area rankings—including Economic Consulting, Healthcare Consulting, Financial Consulting, and Strategy Consulting—and Best Firms to Work For based on 22 key employment factor rankings—including Benefits, Compensation, Diversity, Innovation and Formal and Informal Training. You can see more of the consulting rankings we released today by visiting any of the links below: View all EMEA rankings Vault's Most Prestigious Consulting Firms in Europe Vault's Best Consulting Firm in Each Practice Area  (Includes Management, Strategy, Healthcare, Economic Consulting and more) Vault's Best Consulting Firms to Work For  (Individual employment factor categories, including Compensation, Firm Culture, Work-Life Balance, Diversity and more)   Thank you to everyone who contributed to this year's rankings: our amazing client outreach and editorial teams, our survey team, the firms we've featured, and especially this year's participants. Without your feedback, these rankings would not be possible. /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/announcing-the-2019-vault-consulting-25-europe/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/announcing-the-2019-vault-consulting-25-europe/ Tue, 25 September 2018 16:31:00 McKinsey & Co /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/changing-your-mindset-from-law-to-consulting/#detailed_comment Kui is a law school graduate who joined McKinsey ’s Nairobi office three years ago. In this post, she shares her experience on making the decision to apply her legal education to consulting and what it was like to return to Nairobi, her home country. Studying law in the United Kingdom opened the world to me, both through my fellow students and through the globalized perspective of my study. I spent some time at a study abroad program at the National University of Singapore focusing on corporate finance as well as working in law firms that focused on project finance in London. I briefly worked at Bowman’s, an African law firm, doing M&A—including due diligence—and Corporate and Commercial. All of these experiences drew me closer to wanting to understand how businesses worked from the inside-out. While I enjoyed my legal career, I realized I needed something more, especially in terms of client engagement. I wanted to be able to truly understand clients from a different perspective other than the court room. I decided to move back home and explore potential opportunities. Returning to Nairobi was a breath of fresh air, and I felt inspired to pursue a new, innovative career path. Joining McKinsey in Kenya meant shifting from the high–level view I had experienced in legal practice to a truly in–depth view on how different industries and companies work. The traditional mindset of a frozen career path through a narrow lens was shattered by experiencing the groundbreaking ways my colleagues work. During my first engagement at McKinsey—a project called Generation Kenya—I experienced this dynamic approach firsthand. The project involved creating a methodology that could be used and replicated globally as a solution for youth unemployment. It focused on upskilling and subsequently employing youth from underprivileged backgrounds with the intrinsic characteristics for employment in various industries. Today, Generation Kenya is the world’s biggest youth unemployment program. McKinsey has been a fantastic experience and a truly global one. I’ve worked in Kenya as well as South Africa, Ethiopia, and other African countries. I have engaged with senior leaders across various organizations and acquired expertise in fields and industries that I had only heard about before McKinsey. About Kui Kui has been at McKinsey for three years and is a part of our Nairobi office.  She loves travel and activities that give her an adrenaline rush. One top experience was bungee jumping over the Victoria Falls which she would highly recommend for all the thrill-seekers. If you’re not so keen on that, she recommends the Falls which are also incredibly beautiful to explore through the national park. In her own country, she loves Watamu as the perfect beach escape with great Swahili and Italian food. This is a sponsored blog post by McKinsey & Company. You learn more about McKinsey here . /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/changing-your-mindset-from-law-to-consulting/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/changing-your-mindset-from-law-to-consulting/ Wed, 19 September 2018 00:36:00 Stephan Maldonado /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/the-best-consulting-firms-in-asia-pacific-2019/#detailed_comment Today, I am thrilled to announce the release of the  2019 Vault Top Consulting Asia-Pacific ranking . As with our North American rankings , the Asia-Pacific list is based on our annual survey of leading employers within the consulting industry, and take into account everything from a firm's reputation (its prestige score) to individual quality of life factors. The Top 10 Asia-Pacific Consulting Firms based on Vault’s annual survey for 2019 are: The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. Asia McKinsey & Company, Asia-Pacific Bain & Company, Asia Deloitte (Asia Consulting Practice) Roland Berger Asia A.T. Kearney Asia Pacific Oliver Wyman Asia Pacific OC&C Strategy Asia   Alvarez & Marsal Asia Simon-Kucher Partners Asia Pacific Survey respondents call The Boston Consulting Group “more than an employer: a culture, a family,” echoing a general satisfaction with the firm’s emphasis on culture and the care it takes to ensure that its people feel valued and set up for success. Insiders describe the entrepreneurial platform the firm provides as “an unparalleled opportunity to grow and make a real difference.” “The Boston Consulting Group has proven itself to be a firm of exceptional prestige and capability, one that continues to deliver client results of the utmost quality and recruit some of the best talent in the business,” said Stephan Maldonado, Vault’s Consulting Editor. “This year, the focus is on culture and mentorship, with insiders overwhelmingly praising BCG’s remarkable ability to maintain a family feel despite being such an elite firm.” The Vault Top Consulting Asia-Pacific is based on scores from more than 1,800 APAC consulting firm employees surveyed earlier this year. These employees were asked to rate firms on a scale of 1 to 10 based on a variety of factors, including prestige, firm culture, compensation, work/life balances, the outlook for the firm, and overall satisfaction. The Vault Top Consulting Asia-Pacific ranking is based on the following weighted formula: 30 percent prestige 15 percent satisfaction 15 percent compensation 10 percent firm culture 10 percent work-life balance 10 percent overall business outlook 5 percent promotion policies 5 percent ability to challenge McKinsey Remains the Most Prestigious Consulting Firm in APAC Vault also asked consultants to rate the prestige of consulting firms in the APAC region and to select the strongest firms in their specific practice areas. For prestige and practice area rankings, survey respondents were NOT allowed to rate their own firms and were only permitted to rate those with which they were familiar. This year, McKinsey again ranked No.1 in the Prestige rankings. There was little surprise here, as McKinsey has occupied this position since 2008. Meanwhile, The Boston Consulting Group held steady at No. 2. McKinsey’s continued dominance in the Prestige rankings speaks to the enduring, seemingly undying, power of its brand and reputation. The rest of the Top 5 for the prestige rankings remain unchanged this year, but there was some movement between 5 and 10. Ernst & Young cracked the Top 10 this year, jumping to No. 9 from No. 11 last year. And KPMG rose two spots to No. 10 from No. 12 last year. McKinsey Dominates Practice Area Rankings This year, McKinsey dominated the Practice Area Rankings. Of 14 different practice areas, McKinsey ranked  No. 1 in eight: Economic, Financial, Energy, Health Care, Management, Pricing, Sales & Marketing, Retail, and Strategy consulting. Meanwhile, Accenture took the top spot in three practice areas: Operations, IT Strategy, and IT Operations. Leading APAC Firms for Quality of Life & Key Employment Factors Regarding our rankings in 22 various quality of life categories, OC&C Strategy Asia and The Boston Consulting tied for most No. 1 rankings. OC&C ranked No. 1 in Benefits, Compensation, Hours in the Office, International Opportunities, Relationships with Supervisors, Travel Requirements, and Work/Life Balance. Meanwhile, The Boston Consulting Group ranked No. 1 in Ability to Challenge, Diversity, Exit Opportunities, Innovation, Interaction with Clients, and Business Outlook Bain & Company and Deloitte ranked No. 1 in four areas each. Bain took the top spot in Firm Leadership, Formal Training, Internal Mobility, and Most Selective Firm. And Deloitte took the top spot in Firm Culture, Informal Training & Mentorship, Promotion Policies, and Satisfaction. View the entire Vault Top Consulting Asia-Pacific  and other APAC consulting rankings for 2019, including Most Prestigious Firms, Best Boutique Firms, Best Firms by Practice Area, and Best Firms to Work For in 22 different workplace categories, including Benefits, Compensation, Diversity, and Formal and Informal Training. /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/the-best-consulting-firms-in-asia-pacific-2019/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/the-best-consulting-firms-in-asia-pacific-2019/ Wed, 12 September 2018 00:47:00 Stephan Maldonado /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/vaults-top-50-consulting-firms-for-2019/#detailed_comment I am thrilled to announce that we've released our  Vault Consulting 50 ranking  for 2019, our annual ranking of the top consulting firms to work for in North America.  McKinsey has claimed the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row. Bain & Company has climbed to No. 2 from last year’s third spot, switching places with The Boston Consulting Group. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Accenture have crawled into the Top 10, at No.'s 8 and 10, respectively. The Top 10 North American Consulting Firms based on Vault’s annual survey for 2019 are: McKinsey & Company Bain & Company The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. Deloitte Consulting LLP Oliver Wyman Putnam Associates EY-Parthenon PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services LLC Bridgespan Group Accenture The Vault Consulting 50 rankings are based on scores from almost 17,000 consulting firm employees surveyed earlier this year, who were asked to rate firms on a scale of 1 to 10 based on a variety of factors that include prestige, firm culture, compensation, work/life balances, the outlook for the firm, and overall satisfaction.  McKinsey Leads as Best Consulting Firm for Innovation Survey respondents described McKinsey as “the best place to develop yourself” and called their colleagues and managers “the world’s greatest people.” Respondents value the “incredible experiences” McKinsey affords them, and are both optimistic and proud of the firm’s great trajectory. McKinsey & Company has a well-deserved reputation for outstanding talent, but it is also known as an excellent place to work. It’s clear that McKinsey makes it its mission for its people to succeed. Employees praise the ‘superb’ mentorship and training that enable them to become better professionals. The firm’s culture leads to a fast progression of skills, while consultants report that they feel ready and eager to take the next step. After holding steady at No. 2 for 2018 and 2017, McKinsey reclaimed the No. 1 spot in 2019 as the Best Consulting Firm for Innovation. Prior to 2017, McKinsey had occupied the top position for three years in a row, making this climb a distinct return to form for a firm that has consistently ranked the Most Prestigious Consulting Firm since 2007. Keystone Strategy has reached the No. 2 spot, up from No. 7 in 2018. Putnam Associates holds steady at No. 3, while Insight Sourcing Group dropped from No. 1 to No. 4 this year, despite survey respondents expressing confidence in leadership’s focus on growth and innovation. Perhaps the most drastic climb this year is that of GE Healthcare Partners , which rounds out the top five at No. 5, marking its very first appearance in this ranking of the 25 most innovative firms. Survey respondents consider GE Healthcare Partners an entrepreneurial firm with an intrinsic focus on the future and client-tailored solutions. Best Boutique Firms Experience Big Shakeups Of our Consulting Firm rankings, the Best Boutique Firms have seen enormous changes from 2018 to 2019. Putnam Associates and Insight Sourcing Group have switched places: Putnam is now No.1, up from No. 2, while Insight Sourcing Group comes in this year at No. 2, down from No. 1. The Bridgespan Group moves up to No. 3 from No. 4. ghSMART & Co. debuts on this list at No. 4 while Cornerstone Research returns at No. 5 after being absent from this list for 2017 and 2018. And LeapPoint leaps to No. 6 from last year’s No. 24. Several firms have also experienced startling drops. Rounding out the top three last year, ClearView Healthcare Partners now ranks at No. 15. Last year’s No. 10 firm, DayBlink Consulting is now No. 21. It’s not just the drops or the massive leaps that shook up the Best Boutique Firms rankings this year. In addition to ghSMART & Co., several firms have made it onto the list that did not rank last year: the Keystone Group (No. 7), Cicero Group (No. 12), OC & Strategy Consultants (No. 13), Smartronix (No. 16), Kenway Consulting (No. 18), Censeo Consulting Group (No. 19), Analysis Group (No. 20), Vivaldi Partners (No. 22), and Keystone Strategy (No. 25) all either debut or return after a hiatus. Additional Rankings In addition to the industry-wide ranking, Vault also asked consultants to rate the prestige of consulting firms in their region and select the strongest firms in their specific practice areas. For quality of life issues, consultants were only permitted to rate their own firm; for prestige and practice area rankings, survey respondents were NOT allowed to rate their own firms, and were only permitted to rate those with which they were familiar. From this data, Vault produces 14 practice area rankings—including Defense Consulting, Healthcare Consulting, Financial Consulting, and Strategy Consulting—and Best Firms to Work For based on 22 quality of life rankings—including Benefits, Compensation, Diversity, and Formal and Informal Training. You can see more of the consulting rankings we released today by visiting any of the links below: View all rankings Vault's Most Prestigious Consulting Firms Vault's Best Boutique Consulting Firms to Work For Vault's Best Consulting Firm in Each Practice Area  (Includes Management, Strategy, Pharma & Biotech, Economic Consulting and more) Vault's Best Consulting Firms to Work For  (Individual Quality of Life categories, including Compensation, Firm Culture, Work-Life Balance, Diversity and more) We'd also like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this year's rankings: our amazing client outreach and editorial teams, our survey team, the firms we've featured, and especially this year's participants. Without your feedback, these rankings would not be possible. /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/vaults-top-50-consulting-firms-for-2019/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/vaults-top-50-consulting-firms-for-2019/ Tue, 21 August 2018 23:30:00 /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/culture-cloud-and-clients-why-an-it-consultant-chose-deloitte/#detailed_comment Tony Witherspoon is an IT consultant who has been in the game for a long time: he's been working in IT and consulting since 1998. Over the course of his experience, he has worked for several of the biggest names in the tech consulting business, as well as companies that are household names in the consumer products space. In short: he knows a lot about what it takes to build a successful career in the tech field, and about the kinds of attributes that people who are trying to choose an organization should look for in an employer. Currently at Deloitte, where he is a Specialist Leader in Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Cloud Services Practice, Tony recently took the time to talk to Vault about his experiences.   Vault: Can you tell us about how your career has progressed? Tony: My experience has been particularly broad. When I began my career, I worked mostly on software development. That progressed to IT project management. About six years ago, my role began to pivot toward Cloud Computing. In terms of industries, I started out doing more federal government work. Now, I'm more focused on the commercial side, where I look for ways to impact and serve our clients.   Vault: How does the lifestyle at a consulting firm compare to the firms you've worked for in the public sector? Tony: A major difference is that, here, IT is the core. When I was at [an apparel company], IT is not what they're all about it just was not their focus — they use IT as a tool. When it came down to it, it was a consumer products company and their focus was on the people who build the products.  When you're in a consulting organization, it's different because what brings the revenue is the people. At Deloitte, we constantly look to grow our skills and experience to best serve our clients. As a result, I’ve had opportunities to provide input in shaping where the organization goes, what we do, and how we operate. That’s a great feeling.   Vault: What about the cultural shift? How has that changed since you moved back into the consulting sector? Tony: The culture is definitely different. Deloitte has clients all over the world. Since joining Deloitte, I've been to many locations inside the U.S., and also traveled to support clients abroad. Traveling is both exciting and challenging. Meeting new people and tackling new projects is fun, but being away from my family is tough. I’ve discovered that it’s about finding a balance, and Deloitte’s leadership has been a great support.  They realized that if I'm burning out, I won't be able to serve our clients. Deloitte wants its professionals to do well and balance priorities.  Vault: So what does that look like in practice? Tony: It takes work. This is a changing world. Technology changes, and so does the way people work and operate. Over the last five years, I've noticed a trend toward more web conferencing and video conferencing. For example, with our current client, I’m on site, but the team members are in different cities. Increasing remote interactions can be great, but also a challenge. It’s important to build up trust in the beginning, showing them that even when we're remote, we're getting the work done. The flexibility is great. When people join our project, they tend to want to stay. They like our approach and work style.   Vault: Is there such a thing as a typical project in the cloud practice at Deloitte? Tony: Not in my experience. I've been on four projects since I've been here, and they've all been different. The in-depth knowledge and experience we bring to a project is a constant, though.  We help clients assess their current state, envision the future state, and determine a path forward.    Vault: What is the onboarding process like for an experienced hire? Tony: Deloitte has a lot of new hire training to welcome people to the organization and get them acclimated to the culture and processes. They also get you started networking and making connections across the organization.    Vault: What's the typical level of experience of someone coming into your team? It depends on the project – but Deloitte helps employees at all levels to develop their skills through hands-on experience and internal training programs.     Vault: Last question. If you were selling Deloitte to a potential hire, what would you tell them about the organization? Tony: Deloitte knows its clients well. For anyone who is excited to help organizations, large and small, solve some of their toughest problems, this is the place to do it.    This content was sponsored by Deloitte. The following disclaimer was provided by the firm: As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte Consulting LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of our legal structure. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.  This publication contains general information only and Deloitte is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor.  Deloitte shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication. /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/culture-cloud-and-clients-why-an-it-consultant-chose-deloitte/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/culture-cloud-and-clients-why-an-it-consultant-chose-deloitte/ Tue, 24 April 2018 11:00:00 PreptoAchieve /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/transition-tales-how-an-engineer-became-a-consultant/#detailed_comment Long seen as the domain of people with finance and general business backgrounds, consulting is a profession that is increasingly reliant on those with specialized skills. People who went to school or started careers in fields such as tech, supply chain logistics, pharma/healthcare, and engineering are all in strong demand within the consulting sphere right now—a pattern that only seems likely to strengthen as the business world becomes ever more sophisticated. In this post, from our friends at PreptoAchieve, a service that is dedicated to helping high achievers access opportunities at leading business schools and consulting firms, an engineer-turned-consultant shares his insights on making the transition, and the challenges he faced along the way. PreptoAchieve : When did you think of becoming an engineer?   Hadi Sawaya: The first time I thought of engineering as a potential field of study was when I had to make a decision regarding my high-school specialization. Back then, focus on mathematical studies was a clear decision for me but the step beyond that had always been vague. After reading career advice books and discussing with engineers from the family I started considering engineering as a potential field of study. PreptoAchieve : Was management consulting your first job after your degree in engineering?   HS: No it wasn't. My first job was a technical job that was directly related to my field of studies. That job not only allowed me to develop a strong technical foundation but also to understand how large multinational companies operate and how career progression happens in the industry. PreptoAchieve : Were there any competencies where you felt you were lagging as a consultant?   HS: Like most consultants coming into consulting from the industry, developing dynamic financial models and fancy slides were challenging to me in the beginning. However, I have managed to acquire these skills very quickly. PreptoAchieve : Were there any competencies where you felt you were leading as a consultant?   HS: Technical knowledge and understanding of how activities are carried on the ground were of huge value to me as they allowed me to bring valuable knowledge to the teams I worked with, be positioned as a go-to person within the company when it comes to specific areas of knowledge, and effectively handle conversations and discussions with clients. PreptoAchieve : Do you think that the MBA is a must for engineers to up their game in management consulting?   HS: Engineers may have some weak areas of knowledge like finance for example, depending on their educational background, and the MBA is one way to help in bridging this gap. However, the MBA is not the only path to do this and not necessarily the best way. In my opinion, the MBA has additional value to offer in terms of exposure to other successful people and development of leadership skills and these benefits are valuable not only engineers but to management consultants from different backgrounds. From another side, the MBA can be a gateway for engineers seeking a move from the industry to management consulting as it increases exposure to management consulting companies. PreptoAchieve : What would be your top piece of advice for current engineering graduates?    HS: My key advice for current graduates is to seek the jobs that allow them to learn the most in order to develop a strong foundation of the key skillset required for the careers they dream of, whether in technical or non-technical domains. Once they have developed this skillset they can evolve and steer their career in the direction they see fit for themselves.  PreptoAchieve : What would be your top piece of advice for young consultants who hold a degree in engineering?   HS: I believe that engineers currently doing consulting should capitalize on their practical engineering skills and pragmatic approach to solving problems as the consulting industry is moving further and further towards not only offering theoretical solutions to problems but also to being able to implement such solutions. PreptoAchieve : What do you believe is the future of management consulting as a profession?   HS: As mentioned previously, management consulting is shifting gradually towards becoming more practical with clients getting more sophisticated and project topics getting more and more focused on solving very specific problems, not only by providing a solution roadmap but also giving practical advice and sometimes even implementing it. A version of this post previously appeared at  PrepToAchieve . PrepToAchieve consists of a team of highly experienced management consultants from tier-1 consulting firms. PrepToAchieve aims to be the single reference for high achievers targeting selective jobs with leading management consulting companies or aiming for post-graduate degrees at tier-1 MBA schools. PrepToAchieve was founded by Joanna Abou Jaoude and Hadi Sawaya.  Joanna  is an HR expert with solid project management and delivery experience. She spent five years as a management consultant with Deloitte, five years in industry, and two years as an entrepreneur and university lecturer. Joanna holds a BA in Economics and an MA in HR Management from the London School of Economics. Joanna is now a HR Project Manager with Amazon Global Expansion, Mergers, and Acquisition team in the Middle East and Africa.  Hadi  is a seasoned management consultant with extensive experience in delivering large-scale consulting projects. As a manager at Booz & Co. (currently known as Strategy&), Hadi led consulting engagements for major corporations. Hadi holds an MBA from INSEAD and a B.E. in Computer and Communications Engineering from the American University of Beirut (AUB). He is now a Director for Customer Strategy and Digital Insights with Oracle covering the Middle East and Africa." /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/transition-tales-how-an-engineer-became-a-consultant/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/transition-tales-how-an-engineer-became-a-consultant/ Mon, 09 April 2018 16:54:00 /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/women-tech-consulting-booz-allen/#detailed_comment In the slew of coverage around the #MeToo movement and #TimesUp campaigns, the technology industry has been a prominent focus for campaigners. And it's not surprising: tech is a largely male-dominated field that has a reputation for not being particularly welcoming to women. Among the documented problems: a persistent gender wage gap , and leading companies with an entrenched culture of sexist behavior . And that's on top of issues common across all industries, such as the majority of the burden for child-rearing tending to fall on women. Small wonder, then, that the rate of women leaving the tech industry is approximately double that of their male counterparts. At a time when people with skills in any STEM-related field are in desperately short supply, that's a huge waste of talent. One company that is working to overcome all of those problems is Booz Allen Hamilton , a leading technology consulting firm with a strong background in government contracting . I recently had a chance to talk to Patricia Goforth, the first female leader of the engineering business at Booz Allen. With more than 20 years of experience in the engineering field, Goforth leads more than 3,400 engineers and applied scientists at Booz Allen and serves clients including NASA and the Department of Defense. In addition, she also helped to launch a return-to-work program , with the Society of Women Engineers—a paid internship designed to help bring experienced women engineers back to the workforce.   Diversity makes business sense Talking to Goforth, it quickly became apparent that none of the usual detractors' claims about diversity would hold water: the return-to-work program has nothing to do with quotas or feel-good social activism. It's about one thing, and one thing only: attracting and retaining mission-critical talent. "We do pretty well with hiring our young engineers, and we're doing pretty well at the senior level," Goforth told me. "It really is this mid-career period where we find that our numbers go down. And what I've seen is that about the time when our engineers are transitioning from that entry level to team leader, project leader is typically about the time that women and men are starting to become new parents, starting a family, or taking on increasing responsibility in their personal lives. And that seems to be when we lose a higher percentage of our talented women. So this relaunch program is an opportunity to target that affected group. If they should choose to step out of the workforce for a period of time, this is an opportunity for them to come back, to be supported in that comeback and to re-engage in the workforce." At present the program, which has been in place since 2016, is small—in its first year, the company had just seven summer interns on it. However, it's also showing a lot of promise as a means for enticing talent back to the firm: five of those seven women joined Booz Allen on a full-time basis after completing the program. Not only that, but it's about to get larger: starting this year, the return to work program will also be open to the spouses of military personnel. "It's an opportunity for us to reach people who are being impacted by personal priorities," said Goforth. "If, due to their spouse's deployment, someone is taken out of a geography where they had opportunities but then have the opportunity to come back to an area like Washington, DC--this is a way for us to give them, again, a path back into the workforce. And it's also very consistent with Booz Allen's commitment and respect that we provide to the military." Beyond recruitment Of course, recruitment and re-entry to the workforce is only one thread when it comes to providing support for female careers in tech. The other strand is retention and upward mobility—which is something that Booz Allen has also been addressing. One of the ways it has been doing that, said Goforth, is by creating forums for women with interests in specific areas: "We have a forum for women in engineering, for women in data science and for women in cyber, and we use these forums for women with those common interests to come together and share challenges they are finding--technical challenges, social challenges--and also, we use it as an opportunity to ideate and provide ideas for how we can improve the capabilities and service offerings that that we're presenting in those areas. We've found that those are very energized and creative forums that our women in those specific fields use." "And this year in my new role, I've been asked to take on functional agenda leader across all of those STEM disciplines.  So we're also going to be looking at ways of integrating across disciplines, because very often we're finding that women who have an interest in cyber may also have an engineering background, and vice versa. So we want to maintain the specialization but also find opportunities for greater integration." Battling unconscious bias While the forum concept helps at the "grass roots" level, as Goforth puts it, and creates places for people to connect with peers and mentors, all of that work would go to waste in an organization where senior managers simply select people who look and think like them when it comes to making hiring and  promotion cycles—something that has long been an issue in the tech community. So how, I asked, does Booz Allen guard against that? "We have an ongoing program around unconscious bias," said Goforth. "So, as unconscious bias seeps into our day-to-day decision making, we want to make sure that our people—both men and women—have the tools to address it, to verbalize it and bring it  from unconscious to conscious in the conversations. And I have seen that make a significant difference, especially in these important meetings where we're selecting leaders for particular roles, so that we always have the diversity lens on those important moments." "For example, we do promotions on an annual basis for the senior levels. And we take a look at 'what does this promotion slate look like?' 'What is the percentage of men versus women that is represented in this promotion slate?' And again, we put that diversity lens on it. We say, 'hey, are there some top talent women? Are there some top talent, African Americans or other groups that we're overlooking?' and we have a conversation about it. We do the same for recruiting. We don't put quotas on ourselves. We just ask ourselves to reconsider the slate of talent that we are reviewing and can we introduce more diversity into that slate?" The benefits of having that be a conscious process, says Goforth, is that it removes a lot of the awkwardness, and takes the onus off of specific individuals to advocate for inclusion: "One benefit is just being able to have those conversations without people feeling like 'Oh, Trish is just throwing out the woman card again,'" said Goforth. "Instead of that, it's a welcome conversation. It's not an uncomfortable topic; it's very much a business-oriented topic and people are receptive to having the conversation. So does this work? It's too early to make a definitive call about whether Booz Allen has cracked the code, or what kind of effect these programs will have on its business. But here's what we do know: in addition to the five hires that came out of its return-to-work program (a better-than-70% success rate), this is a company that is walking the walk on putting women into senior positions within the company. Yes: the CEO, Horacio Rozanski, is male. But, as Goforth told me, the next level down will soon be dominated by female leaders:  "Our fiscal year starts in April and going into this next fiscal year, three of our five group leaders—aka direct reports to our CEO—are women. The leader of our defense group, the leader of our civil group and the leader of our strategic innovation group are women." That kind of visibility alone is more inspiration for younger female workers in STEM fields than most companies can offer right now. Couple it with the other programs, however, and it seems like genuine progress—perhaps even a blueprint for other companies to follow—is emerging in an industry that badly needs it. /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/women-tech-consulting-booz-allen/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/women-tech-consulting-booz-allen/ Tue, 27 March 2018 17:11:00 /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/how-one-consulting-firm-turns-students-into-software-developers/#detailed_comment Allen Tuggle has been a Software Engineer for 20 years. Since 2016, he has been working for Excella where, among his responsibilities, he mentors the next generation of developers at the firm. We've previously covered Excella's mentorship program and Extension Center  here on Vault, and were excited to learn more about Allen's role, and to get his perspective on how Excella's program for new developers helps the firm to attract, train and retain talent for the long term.  Allen: Two things I aspire to are: a) To be the best at what I do, and b) To give back. The Extension Center helps me do both.  I'm encouraged to stay on top of technology so I can teach it to the students. Teaching new technologies to the students helps me gain a deeper understanding of technology. This also becomes a great practice in learning technologies that provide the largest return on investment. I really enjoy hearing stories about students impressing our clients during and after their stay here at the Extension Center—that's something that happens a lot!"  Vault: And how do you feel it helps the company meet its goals in terms of hiring and building firm culture? Allen: "It's exciting, because Excella likes to hire industry leaders, or people who will become leaders. Here at the Extension Center we excel at hiring students with the potential to become leaders and provide them with the tools for that. Specifically we give them a foundation of base technologies and, more importantly, we teach/mentor them on how to learn new technologies that set them apart from others in the industry."  "The top qualities we're looking for in candidates are a demonstrated desire to do software development—they've taken a programming class and liked it—and a strong desire to learn. We can teach the skills if they have that desire."  Vault: What does the process for finding/identifying those candidates look like? Allen: "We recruit by attending different job fairs and through word of mouth from our current interns! Once they apply, we have a multi-step interview process—we take students from any major if they succeed in our interview process."  Vault: What does a typical project look like for one of the people you mentor? Allen: The typical project is a "Full Stack" Web Application. We use Agile Scrum/Kanban methodologies. The interns work with clients and write production-ready code; review other developers' work and have their own work reviewed; and work from the same backlog of assignments that other full time employees work from. They get experience in every aspect of the job as if they were a full-time employee.  Vault: What is the typical experience level of someone coming into the program? Allen: Most of our interns entering our program have very little experience! All we expect is that they have taken a programming class and truly enjoyed it.   Vault: And how does that compare with where they are when they complete the program? Allen: " We push our students to learn multiple technologies before they graduate. We accomplish this by having them work on different projects during their tenure with us.  Specifically they will have a deep understanding of the following: Agile software development practices; git source control; how to work on a team and communicate with the client; how to develop a full stack web application in one or more technologies."  Vault: What is your typical level of involvement with a mentee? Allen: " We have daily contact with our students, because they are working on a real project and communication in the team is done on a daily basis. When the students have questions, the mentor will analyze the question and decide if they should spend more time figuring it out on their own or if we should mentor them through a best practice."   Vault: What qualities does one of your mentees have to show in order to stand out as a potential full-time hire? Allen: " They need to demonstrate the skills we are mentoring them to have. Specifically, we look for the following qualities: Good communication skills with their team and the client The ability to code on the project they have been assigned to, including problem solving if something goes wrong on their computer or their programming environment. (Initially we will coach/mentor them through all this and we expect them to pick this up as demonstrated.)  Vault: Do you have any favorite stories or moments as a mentor? Allen: "A current student, while working on a team in Arlington for the summer, reached out to me to say “thank you” for taking the time to work them through a best practice known as Dependency Inversion.  Her advance knowledge of this practice helped accelerate the team’s progress and productivity."  "The most rewarding part of the job comes when working with new students—instead of telling them the answer to the problem, I try to ensure they gain a better understanding of the project, task and the technology they are using. When they figure out what they were missing, their excitement, because they figured it out on their own, is priceless." /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/how-one-consulting-firm-turns-students-into-software-developers/ /blog/consult-this-consulting-careers-news-and-views/how-one-consulting-firm-turns-students-into-software-developers/ Mon, 05 March 2018 16:14:00