Flat-out miserable benefits. Not the best insurance. Terrible PTO structure. Having a child? Forget Maternity or Paternity. Pay for it yourself, use up your PTO, and then lose money. 401k or other investments? Poor selection and one of the lowest company contributions I've ever had in 18 years. If you're at the managing director level you are allowed to invest in the company's private growth - i.e. shares. Not atypical to need to invest $100K of your own capital. This is absurd! I understand the reasons for wanting that cash infusion based on the equity structure, but many of the best places competing for talent give substantial options/equity at a fraction of that cost, and only have very short vesting times. Employees working for more innovative companies see a MUCH higher upside when it comes to employee equity. I've experienced it myself. Management is hit or miss. Some are very misleading. Some are very collaborative and helpful. I think they all care, just not about you or your success. I suppose this happens everywhere. However Slalom advertises how different they are, and it just isn't. Very Anderson-Accenture like. You can rock the heck out of a project and a client can rave about you, but if a certain PAD or MD has hesitations for any reason or has a favorite, you're getting nailed. I've been in the reviews, I've seen and heard it. The culture and drinking fest is not optional. You don't show up to enough of them, it is career suicide. If you're in management and you don't show up, you're frowned upon. These are great for networking, but honestly, it has turned into more of a role-call in a way. Constantly shifting or moving standards to measure people. Even when you think you've got it down, it can change based on someone's perceptions. Look I loved my time for what it's worth, but there are MUCH better alternatives for smart people wanting to stretch themselves and do great work. Many people here talk like they chose Slalom over McKinsey or other awesome startups or big players like Facebook or Apple or Boston Consulting Group. The people here just are not there. They're good but they're not that upper crust capable or the amazing that is present in these top companies.
