Vault’s Verdict

Boasting a youthful, vibrant culture and a global presence, CBPartners is an appealing proposition for anyone seeking to launch a career in the healthcare consulting space. While work-life balance can be a challenge, insiders love the growth opportunities and sense of constant challenge, as well as the close-knit, collegial environment.

Those seeking an employer that takes diversity seriously should note that CBPartners insiders tend to speak highly of the firm’s approach. Equal treatment seems to apply when it comes to compensation too, with the only complaint about this aspect of life at the firm being that there is a certain amount of rigidity when it comes to remuneration. This aside, the firm largely gets approving comments from its employees and seems set to be one to watch in the healthcare sector.

Firm Culture

• “CBPartners is a firm where you are asked to learn new things and build new skills every day. Our teams work closely with each other and with clients, including across our global offices. If you have a passion for challenges facing the healthcare world and want to work in a team-based environment, then it can be the right place for you.”
• “Engaging work in a team-focused environment on key issues facing healthcare systems around the world.”
• “Great culture and team with intellectually stimulating work that will keep you engaged and interested.”
• “I think at our firm, every employee feels recognized. We are small enough to all be able to know each other and make an impact on the firm as a whole, and our cohesive and collaborative nature is extremely unique.”
• “The small firm culture and ability to learn about the healthcare industry if you take the opportunity are the best parts of CBPartners.”
• “This is not a coasting role -- go to a big name if you want to sit on the beach or be siloed in a single competency. If you're willing to work hard, you will succeed at CBPartners.”
• “Try to gain experience in pharmaceutical consulting prior to applying for a job (e.g., through an internship) to maximise your employment opportunities and ensure it is a good fit for you.”
• “We are a hard-working and nimble group that works to meet and exceed our clients’ needs as they pertain to identifying and finding solutions to their challenges in bringing innovative medicines to the marketplace.”

Quality of Life

• “CBPartners has a H&W initiative to encourage team bonding through different types of events (e.g., happy hours, fitness events), in addition to $75 reimbursement for gym membership. However, the events are based on the H&W committee's choice and do not include the office's input. The gym reimbursement does not allow for reimbursement of exercise materials…”
• “CBPartners is very understanding with respect to vacation time and encourages its people to take it as long as proper notice is given to help with staffing. I appreciate that our firm also pays its consultants out at the end of the year for any vacation time not used.…With regards to working during PTO, project teams are understanding to not bother coworkers on PTO except at the more senior level where managers - principals may have to review material while on vacation.”
• “Company offers unlimited PTO time for Managers and above which is very flexible so I enjoy being able to create a half-day here and there when project work allows. Longer PTO requests are usually uninterrupted which is nice as well.”
• “Large amount of effort with dedicated team that plans health and wellness events ranging from fitness activities to happy hours…”
• “Our firm is incredibly accommodating with vacation time, offering a very generous package and regularly encouraging employees to use our given time.”
• “Working at a global firm with a range of clients across time zones can be demanding. However the work is very interesting and there is a high level of client engagement and collaboration. A number of resources are available to help maintain work-life harmony. Policies such as flexible time off and numerous health and wellness activities contribute to overall quality of life.”

Career Development

• “CBPartners has an excellent culture of teaching, training, and mentorship that build strong critical thinkers from the bottom-up. As a growing firm, the company encourages and rewards high performers, while ensuring consultants are well-supported as they grow into new project-types, business questions, and in-scope geographies.”
• “Firm is very equitable and all promotions are merit-based rather than time-based as in other consultancies. Boutique environment means people dip their toes in all aspects of project delivery and are not siloed; thus, they have strong background to move on to other opportunities. Time to promotion at junior levels is very fast comparatively.”
• “…Career development at the firm is excellent due to willingness of senior team to loop in everyone on business development initiatives and firm growth.”
• “Opportunity to work on a lot of different projects and hence learn multiple skills. The workforce is from a diverse background and is activity looking to increase its diversity. More formal training could be employed at some levels.”
• “The environment is very entrepreneurial, individuals are able to pursue their passions as it relates to areas of expertise, firm building, cultural initiatives, etc. The firm is always willing to put resources behind people in moving these forward if they are willing to put forth the time and effort to shape them. The firm's culture values self-improvement and continuous learning, which enhances our work and culture but also keeps expectations high.”
• “Very transparent communication - able to engage and discuss opportunities with all levels of the firm very easily and have been able to see results. Opportunities to travel / work in the US (from the UK) and vice versa.

Compensation

• “Annual bonuses are paid out consistently and at a high rate. Compensation packages are bench-marked against the industry to ensure competitiveness.”
• “Excellent pay equity at the firm, very good bonus structure. There could be more pay incentives such as profit sharing/commission from proposals that successfully win new business.”
• “Some unique benefits include a fixed monthly gym reimbursement that can be used for any wellness-related activity or course, generous mobile device and usage stipend, and very regular cultural events throughout the year.”
• “I think we make a fair compensation with incentive to perform and gain promotions. My favorite benefits include full reimbursement of gym memberships and cell phone bills, as well as regular reimbursement of any meals/rideshare that became necessary due to after-hours work.”

Diversity

• “CBPartners strongly fosters and invests in a diverse work environment. With a strong female leader, we can be confident that career development is equal for everyone and there are senior members from multiple backgrounds / genders / etc. to stand as role models for consultants of all types.”
• “CBPride and Women@CBP programs are both taken very seriously and each program runs well-attended, impactful events throughout the year. Good diversity within the firm's senior leadership, and the company is woman-owned and -directed, which is encouraging.”
• “Firm is very diverse -- a mosaic of 20+ cultures, native languages, etc. in a company of ~80 is impressive. High female representation (~65%). All employees at each level are compensated equitably, according to merit and experience in role.”
• “Our firm initiated several internal teams in support of generally overlooked communities (women, LGBTQ+, minorities) in order to increase visibility internally and externally toward important issues in today's society. Our leadership team is fairly diverse, which creates a welcoming environment at the office level.”
• “Firm is very diverse and views work product for what it is, without discounting or stereotyping people based on their background.”

Outlook

• “CBPartners encourages its workers to keep up to date with current news and tackle any firm-building initiatives. The team is very open to new ideas and is constantly working on internal initiatives to stay up to date with the industry and the world. If a team member identifies a potential opportunity to help the firm, senior team strongly encourages and provides resources for the consultants to pursue it.”
• “I think our most recent recognition of societal issues and quick reaction to initiate some internal change is positioning us well in a shifting climate. I also think we are very quick to adopt new areas of expertise to align ourselves with the direction the industry is heading.”
• “Issues addressed by the firm's work such as affordability of medicines continue to increase in their importance to the healthcare industry and society as a whole. While our clients (pharma and biotech) may face challenges, the need for our support is likely to increase.”
• “"The company is doing very well. We have a strong mix of legacy clients at large pharma/biotech [companies], in addition to substantial number of smaller biotechs and medtechs that are looking to understand how to commercialize, price, and position in a changing healthcare landscape. The firm continues to grow year-over-year, and projects are consistently becoming more diverse, higher profile, and more strategic. The company is continuously pushing consultants to and adding capacity to meet client needs, and it retains a startup feel even as the firm grows."

Hiring Process

• “Candidates go through one-to-one interviews either virtually or on-campus before proceeding to a 4-5 hour interview where they meet team members across a range of levels. There are three case interviews of various formats that evaluate analysis, critical thinking, and communication skills. We are generally looking for anyone passionate about healthcare (through their studies or extracurricular activities) and have strong critical thinking, organization, and communication skills.”
• “Hard-working with strong critical thinking skills. A good fit with company culture is also a must.”
• “Our firm is seeking an individual from a top tier university that is specifically interested in joining CBPartners. The most important aspect in screening candidates is whether or not their cover letter demonstrates a clear interest in joining our team, as opposed to a template letter for any healthcare consultancy.”
• “The interview process consisted of an initial round of interviews with a manager, followed by another round of interviews with different employees and a case study presentation.”
• “We aim to reply to all candidates in process within 2 weeks. Pipeline candidates are contacted if they are selected to move forward. We run semi-annual on-campus recruitment events at 20+ schools in the US and UK.”

Interview Questions

• “A great deal of focus on understanding how healthcare systems work.”
• “First round interview consists of a fit interview and a quantitative case. The second round interview consists of multiple fit interviews and a qualitative case.”
• “The case study has been revamped and better reflects the project work done at CBPartners to test critical thinking skills. There is both a quantitative and qualitative case.”
• “Questions are asked to understand an individual's skills in critical thinking, ability to work in teams, and interest in healthcare issues. Case studies that have been designed by the firm are unique (i.e., not based on Case in Point) in allowing them to analyze data and draw conclusions in a way that is more similar to our day-to-day work.”
• “Typical fitness interview by phone with a qualitative case study. In person super day includes a quantitative case study and presentation. Final interview is typically by the Managing Director or another senior team member.”