1) People: Some of the people in the business are complete nightmare to work with! (I’d love to use stronger language here to detail my personal experiences). All I will say is I’ve worked with a current Associate Director and Director from IAFA and it’s been absolute torture and would not wish this on anyone, even my worst enemies!
With regards to the AD, this person never takes accountability on projects and always plays the blame game for anything that goes awry. Also, every minor mistake you make is picked up during the project… even the time you forgot to wash your hands after using the toilet. Elite Micro Manager.
Then we have the Director… he loves to stress you out and invites himself to other peoples weddings. A personal highlight involves discussing how to bill the client at 7/8pm on a Friday.. yes FRIDAY.. TWO WEEKS IN A ROW! The absolute cheek. I could provide a ton more anecdotes for these two but I'm sure you catch the gist.
Its common knowledge that these individuals are protected by HR so complaining about them does nothing but make you out to be a ‘moaner’. The issue is you cant avoid them on future engagements so its essentially a ticking time bomb. Better to suffer in silence! There needs to be greater oversight from the MD’s on projects to ensure the team dynamic is working effectively. If there is an unhealthy relationship, it needs to be nipped in the bud early doors so it does not fester… un (or fortunately), it was too late in my case!
2) Promotion: It has never been a meritocracy. Some of the latest promotions are a clear example of this (I wont name names). There are always office favourites who specialise in the art of brown nosing and excel at shouting from the rooftops about how they are working on multiple projects when in reality, they are just doing their job (we know who you are!). Its also become clear post pandemic, that if you are coming into the office regularly, you’ll be seen favourably by the Leadership Team over those that prefer to work from home. Be warned!
3) Feedback: The feedback system is completely broken. You will soon start to realise senior management are happy to dish out lots of improvement opportunities but there is zero opportunity to provide feedback on their management style of a project. If you do provide any sort of feedback to senior management, there is no impact to their reputation during Talent Day or HR discussions so what is the actual point? The truth is the feedback system is completely rigged. The feedback given to someone senior is never given the same significance as when it is given to someone junior – after all, senior management are always right, aren’t they? WRONG!
4) Little to no work life balance: You will find yourself working crazy hours on some engagements (60 – 70-hour weeks) and still be expected to charge 40 hours a week despite what your Engagement Manager says. You’d also like to think that this effort would be appreciated by the wider team but there is no recognition of your efforts so what is the actual point? Also, when you aren’t on chargeable work (i.e. being on the bench), you will be working on some mind numbing tasks like Request for Proposals (RFPs) – with people who are too busy to give you any real direction on what needs to be done yet are happy to complain afterwards after seeing your work (another Associate Director who thought she was Ms Perfect).
5) Flexibility: It used to be a positive aspect of working for the firm but recently, the exec leadership have now been pushing employees to be in the office as much as possible. Laughable terms like ‘anchor days’ are now being used to force people back into the office while ignoring the fact that there is a current cost of living crisis. Also, if things worked out well during the pandemic, why is there a need to change it now? Just because other companies are doing it, doesn’t mean Protiviti need to follow suit like sheep.
6) Weak Culture: The firm are very good at appearing to put in place initiatives to present a positive culture to the outside world, ultimately these are not practiced. A good example of this is during the height of the pandemic, staff were advised that we would be able to purchase office equipment (chair, monitor stand etc) to help with working from home but they soon decided to pull the plug on this promise, probably because it would cost too much. Back-breaking stuff (literally).
7) Office politics: There are lots of internal politics going on, which makes for a toxic atmosphere. You will notice that there is a lot of churn recently, a lot of the MD’s have now left (some forced into it) because it’s always been a boys club. They have a cushty role, where they get paid handsomely for doing next to nothing (apart from 11 rounds on the golf course). You’ll also notice a trend where the same people are on our bigger engagements which demonstrates that there are huge cliques at the firm.
8) Lack of leadership and direction: Directors and MD’s are very inconsistent regarding their quality and calibre. In my experience, only 1-2 have stepped up and actively attempted to reach out to their teams and have made them feel like their work is valued/appreciated. The vast majority do not deserve their titles and are honestly in cloud cuckoo land. Its honestly a lucky dip what D/MD you get!
9) Too much emphasis on selling: The roles are becoming more sales focussed & target driven and less about doing a great job. What is more important? This probably ties in with the fact that the firm are struggling financially so are expecting everyone to sell their souls to win work. NO THANKS!
10) Compensation: The pay is average at best, certainly compared to its competitors. The last few years have seen a shambolic increase in pay due to inflation, which has probably resulted in a lot of people moving on. Also, because a large element of your bonus is linked to chargeability (60%), it is unfair when you get a lame bonus pay out when chargeability is out of your hands and dictated by what work the firm brings in. By the time your bonus arrives and is taxed, your blood, sweat and tears were probably not worth it.
