•Promotion unclear. Yes - I understand that slalom is "unique" - that everyone climbs the ranks at a different speed, and that they don't want to set time frames to get to SA, for example, as this would be an oversimplification. I agree with this in principle. What I don't agree with - is really the lack of understanding and communication regarding promotion. Others may not agree with me, but I don't agree with the ITP process. If Slalom is going to continue to be "leaner" than other consulting firms, continue to be more "personable" - I don't think this archaic form of promotion works, and can create a feeling of opacity and confusion in those that want to get promoted.
Additionally - it seems to me that the way that you really get promoted is by building partnerships with clients and selling more work - not really the delivery aspect. Which can be very disheartening for a consultant, in my perspective. You get rewarded and promoted for selling work (not saying this is bad), but it can be very hard to get recognition even if you are giving it your all and doing great work individually.
•Pay structure. I understand that a lot of companies do this - but when I was brought on to the position, they told me that I was at the "maximum" of the range for the consultant level - that there was no flexibility at all. However, as soon as you talk about potentially leaving - they promise to put you on a fast track to whatever the next level or pay grade may be. It just seemed like a lot of smoke and mirrors to me, and this lack of clarity made me not want to stay. Also, in general, pay seems to be lower than industry standards. This would be fine if you are working less hours than your consulting competitors - however - see my next point.
•Hours. Now I believe this depends on what practice you are in - but many, many people have to work the 50-60 hr weeks that contradict the "45 hour max" that Slalom swears by. Not a lot to comment on here regarding hours.
•"Interesting work" - There's a promise that you will work on interesting work the majority of the time - that the team actually turns down work that seems too boring. This may be true, but you still see people working on work that they would not consider to be challenging or related to how they want to grow their career.
•Summary - At the end of the day - Slalom wants to be the golden consulting company that is different from the rest - but ends up being identical to its Big 4 competitors. I think the people are truly great that I worked with, but people/culture can only go so far when you are dealing with clients and are measured on how much work you can help sell.
