- A corporate climate that has now devolved into almost satirical territory, where miserable staff wait for their days (and lives) to end. An inefficient bureaucratic structure permeates, and 'high-level' senior management is trotted out once a quarter to give rambling, nonsensical PowerPoint presentations that consist primarily of MBA jargon (e.g. best practices, centers of excellence, performance management, value-added, etc) to justify their over-inflated salaries.
- Salaries for professional staff that are considerably below market rate, with the thinking that a depressed economic climate and the opportunity to work on 'sexy' projects should be sufficient. The idea that staff should 'be lucky to have a job' (said often by a number of principals) is outright offensive, and in 2012, actually no longer the case.
- Many promotions and advancements are doled out based on favoritism and/or how willing you are to be your boss' lapdog. In many instances, promotions do not come with any salary adjustments, so are now just pathetic ways to placate employees for a while longer.
- A company that has become overly obsessed with short-term financial results, at the expense of
of creating a great company. A constant threat to be 100 percent billable has effectively disallowed to opportunity to engage in marketing efforts, training opportunities, team-building activities, etc. At this rate, bathroom breaks and sneezing will need to be billed to the client. Minimal conference fees are now routinely denied.
- The dwindling lack of talent within the company, particularly at the more senior level, is now seriously affecting project work. Many principals who had something to offer have left for greener pastures, thereby leaving those without the deep skill sets to produce high-quality deliverables or the social capabilities to build a client base or motivate staff.
- A company that bills itself as 'international' and 'collaborative' is anything but. Interaction across offices is minimal because the business structure disincentivizes it. The idea that many people have the opportunity to work on 'high profile' projects is unfounded, as these projects are hogged by principals who want the glory and the ability to expense foreign dinners on their corporate AmEx.
- Unsurprisingly, a company that feeds out negativity from the top ends up creating corrosive office environments at the ground level, and the existing atmosphere feels like a high school cafeteria, where trash-talking others is the norm and backstabbing happens regularly. This is particularly sad, as the one supposed benefit of consulting is to be in a supportive team atmosphere.
- After spending countless time and money on a 'rebranding' effort (which apparently is where everyone's bonus went), the company is still unable to cohesively present what it stands for and what it actually does. The idea that it is committed to 'sustainable environments' is hypocritical considering it actively pursues projects that are socially, economically and environmentally damaging to many communities.
