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Alpha Financial Markets Consulting

Engaged employer

Alpha Financial Markets Consulting Reviews

3.7

68% would recommend to a friend

(220 total reviews)
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Luc Baqué

87% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Alpha Financial Markets Consulting has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 220 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Alpha Financial Markets Consulting employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Management and consulting industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

220 reviews
1.0
21 Jan 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Social life used to be very good (pre-COVID) Generous expense policy (not that there is anything to expense anymore!) Lots of intelligent people

Cons

COVID support has been poor Working longer hours in WFH environment than ever before Little opportunity to move projects Low morale - in junior workforce especially Very poor pension (3% contribution!) Senior mgmt. have little time for development and place enormous pressure on junior staff HR only there to protect firm, no real support for employees Salaries used to be above average (they still think they are) but easily possible to earn more at Big4 / industry now etc.

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Alpha Financial Markets Consulting Response
5y
Having an active social life and inclusive, open culture is something that Alpha has always prioritised. Although we can't currently hold the in-person socials that have always brought Alpha together as a community, we are continuing to work on this remotely with, for example, a number of virtual events that were hosted in Summer 2020, and a programme of social touchpoints in the works for 2021. More detail on this can be found in our external and internal communications - and of course we continue to encourage all employees to come forward with any suggestions. Alpha prides itself on providing open forums for discussion / debate, and any suggestions from the team are reviewed with sincerity. We of course recognise that it has been an incredibly emotionally and mentally challenging year for all, given the global pandemic. It has brought a change of lifestyle, as well as increased wellbeing challenges for some - and we have implemented changes and frameworks to support our teams through this. In particular, shortly after our UK offices closed, we launched a remote working programme focussing on the pillars of wellbeing, productivity, technology and community. We also provided funding to enable our workforce to equip themselves to work in a comfortable and safe home environment. In recent months, we have supplemented earlier measures by publishing guidelines to enable employees to work flexibly and sustainably in their home environment. These apply to both client and internal roles and activities. I'm sorry to hear that you have not felt supported by our team and the range of mechanisms we have put in place. Alpha employees have a number of avenues open to them to raise any concerns or challenges related to mental or physical wellbeing. From your post I can see that you are a current employee - so it is worth highlighting that a full list of the support options available can be found in the 'Employee Feedback Framework' available on the HR portal. These include speaking to our internal 'Wellbeing Champions', engaging with HR, reaching out to your 'mentor' and/or raising concerns anonymously through our 'anonbot' on Slack. We also offer access to an external helpline, which anyone can call at any time for support. With respect to moving projects: as you will no doubt know, consulting by its nature is project-based; some projects are short term, whilst others run for longer - and we hear positive feedback from our team about the variety of project duration and focus available at Alpha. We have policies in place to ensure that employees on long term projects are supported and given opportunities to develop; there is also an opportunity to review project assignments (typically after 12 months, or sooner depending on the drivers for the request). If this has not been your experience I would like to encourage you to reach out to me or someone in the HR team directly, so we can understand where we could have addressed this better. Remuneration is determined by conducting an annual salary benchmarking exercise, and we remain confident that Alpha's package of base pay plus benefits remain competitive. Progression and development remains a priority for Alpha - we have adapted our internal training curriculum to a remote environment, to ensure that everyone in the team continues to have the opportunity to develop. The annual performance framework has also continued through this remote environment, to ensure everyone has the chance to get 1-1 support for career development throughout the year. I realise there is a lot of information in this reply, but I felt it was important to respond to each of your concerns in some detail. However, I would strongly encourage you to reach out to someone in the team (HR, leadership, mentor etc.) to discuss this further, and allow us the opportunity to better support you and learn from your experiences. Stuart McNulty, Global Chief Client Officer & Head of UK AWM
5.0
16 Nov 2018

Great Consulting Firm

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I really enjoy working here - it's not always easy but when it's good, it's fantastic. The team are talented and fun to work with. It's consulting, so the work isn't always predictable, but I've also had some amazing opportunities for personal and professional development. I can really 'be myself' here too, which is nice.

Cons

Most people work extremely hard, which makes work/life balance a challenge. Management do have some helpful guidelines in place (e.g. no expectation to stay connected after 7pm, weekends or holidays) but still the workload can be a lot and it's hard to push back when everybody is in the same boat. I also think the business operations staff, while individually excellent, seem over-stretched.

1.0
1 Feb 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Like any MC firm, have an 'okay' entertainment expenses given to staff although not sure if anything changes now

Cons

Unfair treatment as mgmt plays favouritism which explains the turnover rate. To anyone joining the firm, be wary of politics and toxic culture. When things hit the fence, don't be surprised if you are thrown under the bus. You have been warned...

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Alpha Financial Markets Consulting Response
4y
I am very sorry to hear that you do not have a positive view about your time at Alpha. It is incredibly important to Alpha as an employer that our people feel motivated, satisfied and happy in the working environment. I and my colleagues in the management team care deeply about the experiences of everyone working at Alpha. Alpha’s culture puts people at the heart of the business and we aim to provide a meritocratic, sociable and supportive environment at all times and for all grades. Success at Alpha is based on a fair and comprehensive assessment of individual merit, talent and performance. I believe that our low turnover rates reflect our very hard work to protect these values and to allow our employees to thrive. I am unable to ascertain what sort of situation you are describing in "things hit the fence" - but I’m very sorry to hear that you have not felt supported by our team and the range of mechanisms that we have in place. On delivery projects, we have governance in place to ensure that employees are overseen by a senior member of the consulting team and given opportunities to flag any concerns, challenges or issues. Beyond that, we have a support framework that includes HR, ones mentor, all members of the director team and the ability to raise concerns anonymously through our “anonbot”. If this has not been your experience, I would like to encourage you to reach out to me so that I can understand where we could have addressed your situation better. I am pleased that you were happy with Alpha’s entertainment expense. I am unsure as to what you mean by "entertainment expenses potentially changing". Having an active and inclusive social life is something that Alpha has always prioritised; although, in the past year or so, given the pandemic, we haven’t been able to hold as many in-person socials as we would normally do. However, we have continued to work on our social touchpoints remotely and in-person wherever possible - and we are looking forward to bringing our Alpha teams back together as a community. Your review contains a number of comments that I would really like to understand in detail and, as well, it sounds to me that you would like people to learn from your experiences. Therefore, to reiterate: I would really welcome the opportunity to connect and discuss these matters with you. Sarah Peacock (Managing Director)
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