Trust local reviews: experience varies by market - Senior Consultant Slalom Employee Review

3.0
Dec 15, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I haven't met a consultant I did not enjoy as a person. Everyone is kind, a team player, and committed to working hard. There are a strong set of firm values that the organization uses regularly to drive culture. This provides an anchor for explaining decisions, delivering feedback (mostly positive, sometimes constructive), and evaluating performance. If you're in a market with great leadership, there are good opportunities to explore, innovate, grow, and advance. If you're not...

Cons

Corporate leadership evaluates market performance first by utilization--not revenues. That translates to a "just get them staffed" mentality, creating some of the shortcomings referenced in other reviews: -Focus on billing hours, as opposed to doing what's right for the client Little concerted investment in product/service innovation -Pressure on those who want to move up to do bill 40 and then do the job above them to prove themselves -A broken performance management system that rewards hours--not revenues. These experiences are not universal; read the reviews and you'll see that average ratings and NPS scores vary by market. The senior leadership team of each market has autonomy to run their business as they see fit. As a team member within the market, there's almost 0 opportunity to provide feedback/ open conversations about negative patterns/behaviors at that SLT level in a safe way. I'm not sure if its a product of my market's SLT (which is a black box when it comes to decision-making) or the firm, but I've been told by many that moving up will require that you demonstrate you can do the job you want while also hitting the targets for the job you have. So, bill 40 hours per week to meet your utilization target (it's 87.5% and PTO counts against you, so don't take vacation or spend any time on the bench!), sell a few high-value engagements (with little sales support to open doors), contribute to internal initiatives, then "tell a compelling story." Then maybe you can get that next role. Or maybe you can continue to work 50 to 60 (or more) hours a week hoping for better luck next year... Bottom line, work-life balance only exists for those who don't want to move up and promotions are not guaranteed even if you came with significant experience in sales/practice leadership before joining. So, don't come in as a consultant unless you want to stay there or you have the foresight to negotiate a promotion timeline when you take the job. I hope this explanation of how different markets operates helps explain the variability in reviews. I don't believe those negative reviewers are necessarily disgruntled employees; they're probably in a market with leadership challenges, not receiving opportunities to do work that is impactful or challenging, have no clear growth path, and/or are not in a high-visibility clique (as one reviewer described). I feel those things some days and it's rough.

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Slalom Response
5y
This is John Tobin. I think what you are describing in your last paragraph is part of the process to look at people getting to the next level. I think it is healthy when looking at promotion to have people try out certain parts of the responsibilities AND consider their aptitude. This is similar to what I have seen in other organizations both in consulting and industry. I think we also, very much take into account what you have done outside of Slalom, but we arguably honor and consider what you have done at Slalom a little more. The main part of the new CDF though is to get more consistent in all these practices and this will be a continual journey - which this roll out is really step 1. Regarding your point on emphasis on utilization, this is probably fair and we hyper focused on this in 2020 due to COVID and really protecting our people and our business. I believe we have and are seeing continual amazing true transformational work, however, so there are a lot of great things happening. I'd be happy to talk to you further regarding your specific circumstances, simply email me at johnt@slalom.com to set up a time to talk. Alternatively, if you’d like to share more feedback anonymously, please consider doing so via this survey: http://slalom.ws/anonsurvey.

Explore other reviews about Slalom

5.0
Apr 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great place to work and life balance

Cons

Not a great palce to work

2.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

•There is an impressive budget, especially for high-level events, ancillary experiences, client giveaways, and premium swag. Management does not hesitate to fund top-notch brand experiences when needed. •The company offers a highly competitive benefits and perks package that remains a strong selling point.

Cons

•The "fiercely human" core value does not match daily operations. Collaboration is routinely replaced by a self-service model of training videos and help articles. •These recurring shifts are designed to manufacture the appearance of fiscal stability for the benefit of external stakeholders and clients, while leaving core operational deficits unaddressed. •Organizational maturity is low. Teams operate in deep silos, the internal tech stack is outdated, and there is a distinct lack of adequate project and event management software.

2
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