Boutique firm that needs to abolish its silo structure and strengthen transparency to enable further growth
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
- Office location
- Technical equipment
- Reliable internal functions (HR/ IT)
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
- Lack of transparency
- Internal silo structure
- For a company this size, team spirit should be better
Verbesserungsvorschläge
- Tear down the "Chinese walls" wherever possible - encourage knowledge sharing also and especially across teams
- Centralise time tracking to increase transparency and reduce internal politics
- Diversification is good - IF you can back it up --> Hire senior ranks with proven credibility if you want to venture into new areas/ client sections
- Do no be shy about your core strengths: If you are strong in automotive and have experience - clients will expect you to show it. "Game theory" may often sound too academic and far away from their daily work to spur their interest
Arbeitsatmosphäre
The clear division between client teams fosters a clique culture - either you are in or you are out. Pressure is mounting from the top, especially in uneasy times. Oftentimes you will have the feeling you are on your own - despite efforts to display a team spirit, which then in many cases remains superficial.
Image
As a boutique consultancy, if people have heard of it, the brand has a good recognition and a positive image. Yet if they don't, there will be a lot of explaining to do. Game theory sounds fancy to some ears, so it may be a selling point.
Work-Life-Balance
As mentioned before, work hours are rather fair for a consultancy. However, peaks can be very high and there also will be lows. This could be eased by better resource management, yet a significant lack of transparency between and even within teams on hours worked/ billable hours/ capacity (despite several competing but inefficient tracking efforts) hinders this.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
As a boutique, the firm is rather specialised, which limits exit options (especially if you have stayed around for a while). Within the firm, there are quite some trainings for every hierarchy level and the firm is willing to invest in this area, however it would help if some of these trainings were more hands-on.
Gehalt/Benefits
The company tries to be in touch with top-tier competition. It is unclear, however, whether the market sees them as providing the same quality of service (thus justifying individuals' pay packages). This could be a profitability risk.
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
There is way less travel then there used to be, however whether this is driven by environmental concerns is not clear. However, carbon emissions caused by air travel were offset on an annual basis via one of the usual schemes and there is a policy in place which should encourage electric rental car use.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
Again - there is and there is not. Within your own client team, if you are lucky, you will find a good morale and mutual support. This however normally does not extend to other client teams, as the firm often appears to be made up of several sub-firms that only share the name.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
As consultancies go, the more senior colleagues sit at the top. So naturally this scores high.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
It depends. There are no absolute no-gos, however the hierarchy is strong and the distance between levels signficant. The company often appears to believe in the concept of "trickle-down-knowledge", where all knowledge sits at the top and will hopefully feed down the ranks somehow if intended (or not at all if not).
Arbeitsbedingungen
The main office is new, central, and state of the art (if yet a bit cold atmosphere-wise). Other offices tend to be in shared office buildings due to the company size.
Kommunikation
There is communication from the top on whether the firm is doing well or rather not so well on a regular basis. However, little insight is given when it comes to the details. Many colleagues come and go, however as for the reasons of departures, clarity is rarely given and information only feeds through the office grapevine (if at all).
Gleichberechtigung
The equality focus is strong with transparent reporting at the annual meeting.
Interessante Aufgaben
There are varied tasks, the core product however is quite standardised. The company still believes all hail lies in Excel and thereby fails to see that the market (both competitors and clients) has evolved beyond that. The sparse collaboration across hierarchy ranks will lead to individuals oftentimes having to sort out project questions on their own with little to no involvement from senior ranks. Those in turn then cannot intervene/ help, if required, since they are not involved on a continued basis. Business development is almost exclusively done by senior ranks with little to no involvement from juniors, even in preparation, which does not appear to be wise from a resource and training point of view.