AWR Lloyd

Vault’s Verdict

Having prospered throughout the pandemic, AWR Lloyd finds itself operating from a position of strength in several of its key markets as the world comes to terms with a post-covid economy. Which is great news for the firm’s consultants, who are keen to help turn this regional boutique into a more established player within the APAC region and beyond.

To get there, insiders realize that a lot of work will be required—a situation that translates to longer hours than at some firms, but with the benefit of gaining great, and early, exposure to senior members of client organizations. For those seeking a true boutique experience with a firm that doesn’t just know the region, but has lived it—AWR Lloyd is well worth checking out further.

Firm Culture

“A boutique firm with multinational offices full of young professionals with support from highly experienced senior advisors.”

“AWR LLoyd has people at the heart of its operations. As an employee, you will feel empowered to make decisions and speak openly to top level management. Participating actively in the growth of the firm gives a sense of responsibility and ownership to all involved. For those starting out in this field, the positivity and encouragement from seniors can go a long way in building one's career in the right direction.”

“I am amazed about the number of diverse subjects we encounter during our projects. There is never a dull moment, and it requires you to challenge yourself, learn quickly, produce and keep standards high. Our team will guide you through the challenges and don't be afraid to speak up.”

“The people and culture are truly incredible. We're a diverse team that work together extremely well to produce high-quality work that actually challenges and excites. There is no boring day here!”

“We are an agile firm that is always ready to adapt to changes, giving employees the opportunity to step-up and take on new responsibilities. The firm is also focused on catalysing sustainability transformation in the Indo-Pacific region, meaning all teams will have this mandate moving forward.”

Quality of Life

“Being a boutique consulting firm, the competition is cut-throat. AWR Lloyd promotes a 'work smarter, not harder' culture, however, it requires a tremendous amount of dedication, patience, and perseverance to be working in a boutique with ambitious targets. The hours one puts in are definitely rewarded - not just in terms of remuneration but also in recognition, which adds great value in terms of career growth.”

“Great bonding and lots of firm activities organized. Difficult to take time off. No harsh travel requirements. Decent hours but could be better. Could improve flexibility in terms of location and hours.”

“Hours may be longer depending on how busy the firm is. It is relatively easy to take time off as long as it is reasonable. Remote working arrangements are also flexible.”

“Our firm operates in several regions globally, hence it is required to operate outside usual working hours. Additionally, our clients expect our presence during important situations. This sometimes creates challenging work-life situations, especially when last-minute. Being a (paid) consultant limits our ability to say ‘no’ sometimes, hence careful planning and mitigation both at work and home requires attention.” 

“Supervisor relationships and trust make it easy to take time off when needed, with the ability to work at your own pace and where you're comfortable, as long as assignments/projects are done at a high-quality level and on time. The worst aspects definitely are the long hours that come at certain periods of work, where it can be a few days in a row with over 10-12 hours of work. However, with that there is also flexibility in the sense that once those days are over, you are able to take your time and settle in again back to normal hours. This further promotes the fact that the firm culture is welcoming, understanding, and supportive of its employees.”

Compensation

“Good salary progression but could include higher reward-based compensation. Few perks and benefits.”

“Remuneration is generous, with salary progression and promotions given periodically depending on performance.”

“Remunerations are fair across the board - and there is no 'pay-gap' in terms of diversity or gender. You know what you are signing up for when joining the firm, and the management is open to discussions and suggestions regarding salary progressions.”

“The best I aspect is simply the remuneration. Considering the hours and the pressure that comes with the job, I think AWR Lloyd's remuneration is comparable to the likes of MBB and superior to the likes of Big 4.

The worst aspect is lack of benefits/perks. I personally do not find it bad because it is better to just get the cash and manage my own finances, esp. related to tertiary needs such as gym membership, parking subscription, or free food/beverage. But I think AWR Lloyd could improve its health insurance benefits to have a wider coverage and a higher limit.”

“Worst: challenging to provide basic salaries competitive with mainstream strategy consulting firms like McKinsey.

Best: big discretionary bonus potential for more junior and mid-level staff (up to 24 months) plus for more senior staff get big commission potential (up to 50% of top-line) and equity incentive scheme.”

Career Development

“AWR Lloyd is for go-getters. If you take the initiative here, anything is possible - whether that is accelerated promotions, client-facing opportunities, high-stakes challenges normally reserved for senior folks, venturing into uncharted territory, or professional and personal development.”

“Best aspect: On-the job training opportunities with highly experienced mentors, challenging tasks and responsibilities, cross-functional work opportunities between different teams, performance-based promotion policies, and effective training materials to upskill employees (e.g., valuation training course, knowledge hub etc.)

Worst aspect: Limited internal mobility given the nature of boutique firms.”

“Each employee has a clear indication of where one is placed when joining AWR Lloyd, what one's role is in the ecosystem and what it takes to move up the ranks. You find an excellent mix of 'learning by doing' and mentorship/apprenticeship whereby each member of the firm is constantly learning from each other. Being part of a boutique consulting firm, one never feels like 'a small fish in a big pond', but rather every contribution by every individual is seen to have an impact on the firm's strategy and growth.”

“Since AWR Lloyd is a boutique firm, your performance (good or bad) is really transparent and hence is fairly reflected in your career progress and remuneration. I have been with the firm for 5+ years now and I think the management has been fair in this regard.

In addition, the seniors have always been eager to groom the juniors. I have great mentors when I first joined and I aspire to be a great mentor to others now that I am more senior.

The worst aspect is relatively minimal formal training compared to industry standard. I think the firm has been improving on this subject in the past couple of years though. The onboarding process has become much more sophisticated compared to when I first joined 5+ years ago.”

“The firm is very open for employees to have their goal for training that they think is helpful for their career or in their interests. Even though it's difficult to transfer to other areas within the firm because of boutique size, the leadership will always listen to comments and willing to be as flexible and dynamic.”

Community Engagement

“All consultants have equal promotion and working opportunities. Diverse firm with people from various backgrounds. Great inclusion.”

“AWR Lloyd has a very international culture, owing to the different offices the firm has, and the integration of teams across these different places. This therefore ensures that everyone has equal access to all opportunities and work experiences.”

“From what I experienced so far, AWR Lloyd does not have any prejudice. We have a lot of different nationals working for us and believe men-women ratio is around 50-50. I do not know any LGBTQ+ers, but strongly believe this is not due to anything other than capabilities. We hire based on capabilities and experience and don't judge based on any prejudice as far as I have experienced.”

“The firm embraces diversity e.g., consisting of people of several ethnicities and backgrounds. Everyone also has equal access to work and promotion opportunities.”

“We do have a lot of women in our firm and most of us here are people of color from different backgrounds, so I would say our firm is extremely diverse. Although I'm a person with a disability, this has not affected my relationship with my colleagues or manager in any way. Moreover, I do believe that all consultants here have an equal access to interesting and high-quality work.”

Business Outlook

“As a boutique firm, we have always been trying to be innovative and be ahead of the curve. Because we have to be first to stand out among the flock. Otherwise, we would not be able to compete with the likes of MBB and Big 4 that have an army of consultants to deploy. For example, we launched some of our services, e.g. Covid-19 management, carbon venture, sustainability transformation, even before the likes of MBB and the Big 4. So, that's the best aspect.

The worst aspect is that as a boutique firm, we don't have really strong branding, which could be driven by writing more thought leadership reports. I have been pushing this for some time now.”

“Employee engagement and commitment is very high, hence I believe we operate as a team. There is a lot of volatility in the market, however, our strength is to adapt to situations, similar to what we did during COVID where we created a service to provide to our clients. We are experts in adjusting to situations and serving our clients accordingly. Hence, I believe we will continue our growth.”

“The best aspect is the firm is adaptive to changing trends and business landscape. We managed to thrive despite the pandemic during the past years. However, we are small and have not had any strong niche/focused segments which places us in a less favorable position compared to other larger consulting firms.” 

“Very agile and innovative firm. During the time of Covid, AWR Lloyd came up with a new service called Covid-19 resilience to ensure project continuity, mitigate risks, and be resilient.”

“With AWR Lloyd being a bespoke consulting firm, there is high competition, especially when clients expect an 'MBB' level service. But the fact that we do have clients who are big players concludes the fact that we our bespoke solutions are extremely favorable to our clients. This gives employees the push to do better and work harder to increase our presence and get more players to work with in different sectors. AWR Lloyd has transformed over the years to include sustainability as its core strength internally and as a service to clients; because of which, we are excited for more opportunities to work for our current and new clients' sustainability transformation.”

Hiring Process

“Effective interview and quick callback. Strong hiring team. Ideal candidate should match with firm culture, skills are picked up on the job.”

“Interview and callback process was relatively quick based on my experience. Personally, I think the firm is looking for anyone with growth mindset, can-do ability. Even though candidates with business, finance, or consulting background are usually preferred, the firm is also open to people from other backgrounds.”

“The candidates are interviewed directly by the team's manager and needs to go through a written test to examine their financial analysis abilities. The ideal candidate the our firm might be seeking is someone who is a self-starter and is keen to learn. Moreover, they should have good work ethics and strong communication and computer skills.”

“The firm is really responsive to interview queries and ensures that callback processes are done fairly quickly for interviewees. Because of the firm's culture, the ideal candidate has to be someone who is hardworking, brings high quality ideas to the table, open-minded, and progressive--to always being open to new opportunities and experiences that the firm offers.”

“We have several rounds of interviews, experts and managers alike. We are seeking someone who has expertise but is willing to adjust and go the extra mile, away from just expediting their already available skills.”

Interview Questions

“Financial questions regarding a firm’s ratios and multiples, mergers and acquisitions, financial formulae, and definitions.”

“Case study question relating to company profiling - What is the important information that should be included in a one slide summary of a company.”

“Example of a case interview question: Estimate the number of gas stations in Thailand.”

“We both test on analytical thinking and strategic thinking. There is not a typical question, but depending on the required position, we request the applicant to undertake a case study to determine their strengths and weaknesses. We also interview on social skills by just having a personal conversation and encouraging to express personal preferences. Especially in Asia this is required, as people do not share much, but it's a great way to get to know people and how they will fit our team.”

“We have an aptitude test, a personality test, a comprehension test and a financial test to check that candidates are up to par. Candidates are normally interviewed by 2-3 people including their potential future supervisor.”