A few smart people, (too) many free riders
What I like about the employer
There are a few fun social events, and quite a few smart people that are fun to work with.
What I dislike about the employer
When things get dicey, nobody takes a stand. No matter what kind of track record you have, it's rare for people to stand up for other people. Instead, everyone prefers to look out for themselves.
In addition to internal communication, transparency is also subterranean. If this is important to you, please give Deloitte Consulting a wide berth. Already during the pandemic, the head of HR at the time (who has since moved on to next hot thing: Sustainability) promised that “big things are coming” with regard to salary transparency. But nothing has happened over the years. Multiple inquiries were ignored. So today still, neither salary bands nor many of the internal processes are transparent.
The waves of redundancies in recent months and years have not been communicated either. On the contrary, specifically in the Human Capital team, the team was told by the Lead Partner from a German speaking country, not to worry and that all is fine, while people were being let go at the same time.
What about the affected people? It was not communicated or explained to them why they were made redundant. The firm needs some restructuring, okay, but how do they select the people that need to leave? What are the criteria? They simply ended up on a secret list and nothing more could be said. Imagine that: After multiple years of working for Deloitte, you sit in a room where you are surprisingly being let go, and neither your Talent Partner nor HR explains to you the reason why you were chosen. This happened to many people from my network. Professionalism and leadership? Maybe towards the client, but definitely not internally.
Suggestions for improvement
Finally muck out. There are too many free riders who have no idea but are good at talking (and sometimes not even that). This starts with the management team at Human Capital Consulting and extends to the executive board, where a former Human Capital Consulting Partner from South America sits. This person can't give a clear answer to a simple question, but gets caught up in “consulting slang”. It really is fascinating if you witness that behavior in person. In fact, it's hard to witness that and not burst out: "You are not making any sense at all!".
It's no surprise that similar people like that get promoted. They love the spotlight and speaking in front of people, but when you actually listen and see them work on a project, it's mind-boggling: How does nobody see the bullshitting going on? Why is nobody acting on this?
The firm could be so much more efficient and effective. But as long as there are people from the executive board to the team level like the ones described above, it's hard.
Working atmosphere
Depends on the project you are working on.
Image
The image is pretty spot on: you are just a number in a very big business.
Work-Life Balance
Depends on your project, your leader as well as your personal boundaries.
Salary/Social benefits
Below average especially when you compare your salary to the hours you work.
Environmental and social responsibility
Business travels were reduced with Covid. Besides that it's mostly green washing.
There is a dedicated team focusing on sustainability, which isn't bad, but it's still hypocritical when you look at Deloitte's client list - some of which are not sustainable at all.
Leadership behavior
The partners in the Human Capital team are not worthy of the title. If you look left and right in other consulting teams, you quickly realize what good leadership would be and how easy it could be.
Communication
The top-down communication is subterranean. Especially in the Human Capital Consulting team, who should actually know better. Beating around the bush, promising all is good and everyone is happy, while at the same time some people in the team are being let go, is just one example.
Interesting tasks
Depends again on your project and what you actively focus on.