Pros
•Nexight's approach to "employee reviews" places greater focus on individual career development and personal goals than job performance. The principals developed and continually update a guidance document known as the "Career Roadmap" which helps employees identify which types of consulting skills to advance in alignment with their career advancement needs. •Another Nexight-developed career development initiative, the "Mentorship Program," is a semi-annual colleague-pairing program that provides employees with the opportunity to speak privately about non-HR topics such as managing complex client dynamics, ideas for improving company offerings, or general career advice. Employees are strongly encouraged to meet for coffee or lunch on the company's dime. •Although the typical workday is 8:30 to 5, Nexight Group is extremely reasonable about coordinating with its employees to set flexible work schedules. All employees are provided with the necessary resources to work remotely during extreme weather events or unusual travel conditions that may cause nasty traffic jams. •Nexight's principals are amenable to its employees' suggestions for new company initiatives and activities—especially if they have a positive societal impact. One such idea led to the creation of a community service program in which the company allows employees to charge a determinate number of hours to participate in community service activities such as making and serving meals at a children's hospital or volunteering at a community donation center. •The employees organize semi-frequent (and often food-centric) events including bagel days, waffle days, and pot-lucks that boost company morale and camaraderie. They recently started a monthly after-hours board game night, and they sometimes end the week socializing in the kitchen over beer and wine. •My co-workers are caring, thoughtful, conscientious, and intellectually curious individuals.
Cons
•Year after year, Nexight Group's principals set goals to address the needs of employees and make the company a better place to work. Because of that, I find it difficult to identify downsides of working at Nexight Group. Here are some aspects of Nexight that may be unsuitable for certain individuals: •Nexight Group has an open layout and occupies an entire building floor--no walled cubicles. There are some private spaces to temporarily work or make quick phone calls. Most people are generally quiet and respectful throughout the day, but the open layout may not be compatible to everyone's needs in a work environment. •The pantry and refrigerator regularly hold alcohol brought by employees for voluntary events and activities. The employees are well-behaved, respectful, and responsible about alcohol consumption in the office and firmly recognize it as a privilege. This work environment may not be preferable for those who are uncomfortable with the presence of alcohol. •Your job function may feel ambiguous at times. Nexight is small and requires you "wear a lot of hats" unlike working for large companies which typically expect you to perform a specific job function and "stay in your lane." Most Nexight employees do not have formal training in consulting (perhaps with the exception of project management professionals), but this is the nature of consulting: it is challenging, confusing, and discouraging. Working at Nexight requires you to become comfortable with feeling uncomfortable about the direction of any given project. Still, I prefer it over working for a large company.