This is a place where politics drive everything, not intelligence nor performance, to the contrary of what's typically said. Harassment (yes Harassment in every form) is constant and obvious in so many ways. Though people do not report it and colleagues ignore it because they know HR will not help, to the contrary, they will take whatever it is needed to protect the good name of the company (well I guess that true in most companies anyway). The difference at BCG and other companies is that if you bring ANY type of issue to management or HR you can be certain they will retaliate, sooner or later, sometimes much later, which almost always end with a departure, voluntary or non-voluntary (lack of promotion for many years along the way...). Every employee that has been at BCG for more than couple months know this, it's no secret, this is why anyone is extremely reluctant to report anything or to corroborate colleagues' abuses.
Why is BCG always so well rated, one would ask? Because they made you sign a few contracts from the day you start to the day you leave to not -EVER- disclose anything negative to the world about them. And of course, no one wants to have to deal legally with such powerful company (even attorneys are reluctant to take cases)... So, this leaves us with only people that had a good experience (BCG pays well and having BCG on your resume never hurts of course), because yes, there are some of course. BCG is such a big employment manufacturer; they hire and fir
ProsFree food for the hungry ones, great learning opportunities, smart people
ConsLong work hours, lack of respect, contant retaliation, constant discrimination (especially towards females and non white people)
• VRM – Performed Vendor Risk Management – Vendor Assessment – Infrastructure Risk Assessment
• Capturing vendor assessment demand and completion of scoping calls with key stakeholders
to understand the service details and data managed by the vendor
• Developed self-assessment questionnaires relevant to the service scope, data managed, data
location and legal/jurisdictional requirements
• Collecting and archival of required artifacts supporting the completion of due diligence efforts on BCG's vendor base
• Reviewing, analyzing and writing risk-based reports derived from the completion of self- assessment questionnaires and review of provided artifacts
• Reviewed Info-Security Pre-Assessment Questionnaire, Identify IT Security Risks, communicated Findings and seek timely resolution. Prepared Full Executive Summary Report on Vendors and determine if compliant with BCG Minimum Security Requirements.
• Created IT Security Score Card and bench mark against Industry standards.
• Reviewed Third party DR test plan and ensured that the Incident Response plan was effectively monitored and any issues were resolved within 72 hours as per DR /Incident Response planning and complied with BCG minimum security requirements
I transitioned to BCG from a large, publicy-owned consulting firm where I was also in a strategy consulting role.
Virtually everything about BCG is concretely better than my experience at my previous employer. The two most visible differences to me are (1) how strongly the firm's values are demonstrated and how openly leadership discusses both their successes and where they're still working to improve, and (2) the willingness for projects to pay for reports or services to avoid grunt work and emphasize the "thinking" side of consulting. Both of these stand in sharp contrast to my prior role.
The current staffing model for North America is the only drawback I've seen, as not all staffers do their part of the job very effectively. That said, I have every confidence that feedback on this is being heard and that things will improve.
ProsGenerally interesting projects, management, great pay, great benefits, great offices...etc...
ConsCulture varies a lot office to office, staffing model change is a hopefully-temporary hiccup, hours can be aggressive but no more so than other firms
5.0
Assistant General Manager | Missouri | May 13, 2016
This is my best professional experience
the pace is very rapid.
I star by having breakfast at the cafeteria, we were really spoiled, having everything we may want for breakfast. it doesn' t take long though, but it delights our day.
I start the day by going over my emails and my boss s ones, organize, archive some answer or dispatch some. I follow up very closely the calendar, which is an important task to do. organize meetings that may include dozens of people fro different countries with different time zones and try to find a suitable time for everyone which can be impossible sometimes, but we make it happen.
I also organize marketing events starting by the invitations, the catering and also the venue. it s so rewarding when a marketing event meets big success.
I had wonderful boss, hard working, serious organized, and knows exactly what he wants and on the top of that very human.
I really enjoyed working at BCG.
Prosvery good trainings, free meals, nice team building trips
BCG is of course the world renown management consulting firm founded by Bruce Henderson. It has been widely credited for founding business strategy as a discipline, not least because of the pioneering work done by Bruce in the early years of the firm.
I was recruited by the firm in Australia, having completed my MBA on a full scholarship. I chose to join the Hong Kong office as I would like to take part in the firm's growth there. It was a great experience working with some of the largest and most innovative corporations in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan to participate in the strategy re-orientation of those corporate giants to take advantage of China's WTO entry and e-commerce.
BCG has a truly collegiate and open work atmosphere. Every one of the consultants was encouraged to make their views known. We worked very hard but also very happily as there was tremendous learning from one another.
Boston Consulting Group makes a crazy amount of money and margins that any business today would want to have. However, it comes at a cost to most employees who cycle through the company. The "up or out" culture is baked in and daily someone from your region in the company says their good-byes. Imagine if BCG tried to retain talent.
Unfortunately, that baked in culture translates to employees who did not sign on to the consulting practices.
If you like an always-on, rat-race culture, this is the place for you. If you're lucky and get assigned the right gig with the right senior people, you'll do fine. At least you'll meet some very bright people, build a solid network in the areas you work, and probably land on your feet when it's time for you to go and go you will.
ProsFree meals, Free snacks and beverages, open-space work environment
A typical day for me at BCG started with hearing about any urgent issues from my coworkers and/or checking my emails for any tickets or issues. Every day was a little different, one day I might be re-imaging laptops the next I might be doing inventory for supply orders, or providing onsite support at a meeting. Day to day varied quite a bit. Having IT support in the office, when most of the office is traveling frequently, means having to balance between office and online support. For me it was great because I enjoy fast pace work and providing customer service. A great group of people both personal and professional. Management very supportive and fair. I enjoyed my coworkers the most, they were the best part of my day.
ProsAmazing benefits, Forbes Best Place to Work #2 three times in the last 5 years, catered lunch on Fridays, and great people
I joined the Boston Consulting Group as a contractor (less than a year). Co-workers were a global team from all parts of the world, friendly and very supportive in all aspects of the work.
I have to say that BCG is one of the best consulting firms I've had the privilege of working for. It was a pleasure going to work each day and being part of a beautiful and progressive office, while working with amazing people.
It is one of the few companies that provides some fun perks with collaborative workspaces; encourages a healthy environment with a treadmill, a ping pong table, and free healthy snacks for everyone to enjoy. Everyone in this office space works hard, and has a fun and enjoyable place to work in.
ProsGreat people to work with, work/life balance, collaborative workspaces, and fun events
ConsNothing
4.0
Administrative Assistant | Atlanta, GA | Aug 29, 2021
Great benefits, but pay is low for a business support role
Great benefits like $5 co-pays with company paying all premiums for you and all dependents 100% but the pay is low for a administrative assistant role. The benefits seem like golden handcuffs.
But I think it has best work life balance compared to other admin or EA roles at other companies. It depends on who you support though.
Pros$5 copay and no deductible and paid premiums for health, vision, and dental, lots of learning opportunity, free LinkedIn learning, nice coworkers
ConsThere is a divide in treatment of consultants vs business support staff. Getting better during Covid, but still there are benefits to be on the consulting side, admins severely underpaid for the amount of work they get, management is not really transparent about decisions and promotion track etc
Great culture and benefits, but slow moving and tough for career advancement
I work in a support function, not as a consultant, so my experience is different. The people are great, the culture is respectful and supportive. The work can be interesting but can be boring, it depends on the project and the stakeholder. Career advancement in support functions is really tough. They tend to hire externally instead of promoting from within. It's very common for people to work at BCG, leave, and come back just to move into a higher role. The work/life balance can be tough at times. The people are for sure the best part of the company. Great culture.
ProsAmazing benefits, free health care, good parental leave, kind and supportive people
ConsLack of career advancement, tough work/life balance
Ambiente de trabajo exigente sin perspectiva de carrera pero con café gratis
BCG es una empresa de fama mundial, y que todo el mundo en el sector conoce, pero pocos saben como es por dentro.
Desde dentro existe una diferencia abismal entre consultores y equipo de servicios (BST), donde no solo se aprecia brecha salarial, sino también en trato, servicios, facilidades de promoción y carrera o movilidad.
Personalmente y tras un tiempo allí, solo le recomiendo BCG como lugar de trabajo a quien busque dar un salto rápido en su carrera, entrando como consultor y con la vista puesta de su salida en 2-3 años, donde se puede saltar a un gran puesto en casi cualquier empresa. Nada recomendado para todo lo que no sea un puesto de consultor, ya que no es un buen sitio para trabajar en ningún aspecto, y apenas existe proyección de carrera. Hay gente que lleva 20+ años en el mismo puesto y sin subidas salariales apenas.
ProsPara consultores es el espacio perfecto
ConsSe me ocurren demasiados como para enumerarlos en tan poco espacio
intelligent people
Access to ideas and frameworks
Free coke in a cafe
Some interesting travel
Good formal trainings and continuing professional development available
Cons
Limited interest in any purpose other than quarterly share-holder return for client
Poor work-life balance
Juniors and partners very good; middle management less impressive. Project managers don't have incentives to really develop their employees
Advice to Management
Sometimes there is a tension between creativity and efficiency and BCG prioritises the latter.
Middle managers are often bad people developers. Some project leaders showed excellence in this area but left, whereas others were very poor and still kept their jobs / got promoted.
Work-life balance remains a problem. The problem for many is not the number of hours but the amount of uncertainty about hours - there could be more forward-planning and guardrails on this.
Questions And Answers about Boston Consulting Group
What benefits does Boston Consulting Group offer?
Asked Sep 7, 2016
Complete my task and achive companies Goals
Answered Jun 10, 2017
Health, dental, vision, life, short term disability insurance for free. 3 weeks vacation, 11 holidays, unlimited sick time. Profit sharing. Merit bonuses.
Answered May 4, 2017
What is the most stressful part about working at Boston Consulting Group?
Asked Jul 31, 2019
Some internal groups haven't scaled at the speed of the business growth, resulting in a long period of change, as well as team and individual capacity being stretched extremely thin
Answered Feb 6, 2020
No respect for the individual, unrealistic workloads, and a culture built on criticism
Answered Aug 1, 2019
How often do raises occur at Boston Consulting Group?
Asked Apr 6, 2017
Raises will occur typically annually, as well as promotions
Answered Aug 26, 2017
Annually, according to inflation
At promotion steps
Answered May 7, 2017
How long does it take to get hired from start to finish at Boston Consulting Group? What are the steps along the way?
Asked Mar 23, 2017
It depends but usually from 1 to 3 weeks
Answered Sep 21, 2017
About 1 month. 2 rounds of 2 interviews
Answered Aug 26, 2017
Is Boston Consulting Group hiring new workers during the COVID-19 outbreak?
Asked May 7, 2021
Yes, BCG continues to hire new workers.
Answered Jun 4, 2021
Yes, they are doing so. Quite a bit of hiring now!
