Vault’s Verdict

A people-centric firm, Eagle Hill Consulting garners top marks from its employees for a familial culture and caring, approachable leadership. Particular emphasis is placed on proactive diversity and inclusion initiatives and the proportion of women to men in leadership (including a female CEO) that makes this place feel like one of opportunity. Consultants at Eagle Hill Consulting seem genuinely fulfilled by the culture and opportunities their firm affords them.

Prior to Covid-19, Eagle Hill was certainly in a growth-stage, and while this created myriad exciting opportunities, the growing pains and rapid changes do prove to be challenging for some. This is a firm for those who thrive amidst change and growth. Many survey respondents do feel the firm is poised for growth in the mid-to-long-term future, although these projections are tempered by a certain pragmatism surrounding the fallout of the pandemic. Still, despite moderation of optimism, any trepidation that employees feel seems to be mitigated by a strong, close-knit culture that makes weathering the storm that much easier.

Firm Culture

• “The culture and people are fantastic and I believe this uniquely separates Eagle Hill from other competitors.  Our clients tell us they can feel a difference in the way we listen and collaborate with them, which is why they continue to work with us.  And as an employee, I feel energized and engaged by the people I get to work with every day -- not only are they smart, but bring really interesting, diverse backgrounds and perspectives to the table, they're genuinely fun and nice, and seeking to work collaboratively together in a way I haven't experienced in other professional (or client) environments.”
• “Although Eagle Hill Consulting might not hold a name in the Big Four, I am incredibly glad that I chose to work at Eagle Hill. I feel cared for as a person by my coworkers, other employees, and even the CEO. Everyone at Eagle Hill makes an effort to get to know you as a person. You'll be given opportunities that are catered to your skill set and you can get involved within the firm to strengthen your other skills. Eagle Hill has a strong culture seen throughout all employees and are so much more than just four words on a wall. Our culture guides business decisions and is what makes Eagle Hill such a great place.”
• “If you truly want to find a consulting firm, where access [to] leadership face time is important to you or [to] gain opportunities to participate in projects, tasks or engagements, much earlier than you might in a larger Big 4 firm; and truly customize your career growth, then EHC would be an ideal firm for you.”
• “Our people take care of each other. Our culture allows for multiple people to be promoted and succeed and reach their goals. Instead of turning people against each other, we work with each other to lift everyone up collectively.”
• “The firm operates as a family, not numbers on a roster. If you are looking to join a close and welcoming culture, this is a great place to work. The training is excellent, and the compensation is competitive. You meet with the CEO weekly, which is rarely done at other firms.”
• “If you want to experience family-based work culture and collaborative working environment, come join Eagle Hill Consulting. Bring your knowledge and skills along with a learning mindset and willingness to dive right in alongside your fellow colleagues to develop valuable solutions that solve our clients' business challenges in innovative ways. Oh, and don't forget to think about what hobbies and interests you'd like to pursue when working for a firm that values work/life balance.”

Quality of Life

• “Eagle Hill is incredibly generous with vacation and flex time. Colleagues understand that when you're out of the office, someone will need to cover your work, so people generally respect boundaries and won't reach out with questions or emails.”
• “Firm leaders will ALWAYS engage in a conversation to help a team member figure out how to produce value for the firm while managing the rest of life. The leadership team takes a problem-solving approach rather than applying a set of policies to each situation.”
• “Eagle Hill takes great pride in its Family Culture, which means a strict work/life balance. It is encouraged to take time off and to get your work done during business hours so that you are able to enjoy life. They also provide a flex schedule, so employees with children can adapt their schedule to allow for a balance that works for them.”
• “We have a dedicated internal Wellness Team that shares resources with employees on a regular basis. E.g., virtual and in-person workout options, guest speakers, mental and financial health, etc. Healthcare policy deductibles are covered/ paid 100% for employee plus their families.”
• “In addition to fully paid healthcare for employees and their dependents, the firm offers opportunities for staff to share healthy practices, such as meditation and mindfulness.”

Career Development

• “There are consistent opportunities for career development within the firm. The firm promotes diversity and training opportunities at all levels. The employees are engaged and volunteer to facilitate these opportunities. The promotion process is clear and I feel rewarded for exceptional work.”
• “I believe that Eagle Hill Consulting has some of the best career development opportunities. There are a variety of ways in the firm to strengthen your career through a Career Adviser, Smart60 Programs, or getting involved within the firm. Additionally, there are opportunities to attend conferences throughout the year. I think that one of Eagle Hill's strengths could be seen as an aspect of weakness--the organization is flat, which could provide less "title promotions". I enjoy the flatness of the organization because it leads to an openness and transparency within the company.”
• “Eagle Hill offers a range of informal and formal opportunities. On the less formal side, there are "SMART60" presentations that are hour-long briefings on…everything from meeting management to difficult conversations to project planning to organizational design. SMART60s are useful for new consultants and experienced ones alike, since they draw upon real situations that others have encountered in their work. More formally, the firm encourages all to pursue a range of courses, seminars, and certifications that can later be reimbursed. Managers also work one-on-one with their employees to talk through what route is best for them, and will work to create flexibility in project work schedules to carve out the time for you.”
• “Eagle Hill provides excellent resources for soft-skill development, but I think it could improve its technical skill development programs and workshops. As with many places, you can learn a lot if you are proactive, and that will apply to promotions as well. Eagle Hill has a fairly strict criteria for transitioning from a Sr. Associate to a Manager, but there are not necessarily many resources or opportunities to meet those criteria unless you actively seek them.”
• “For a company of our size, Eagle Hill provides many professional development opportunities to build soft skills and more technical skills. Right now, we do not have many internal trainings related to our services and offerings, but I know that's an area where our company is starting to invest so I think we're headed in the right direction. For now, we do have the opportunity to seek external trainings and get reimbursed.”

Compensation

• “Simply put, Eagle Hill's compensation strategy recognizes and awards strong performance. Leadership is very transparent about how raises and bonuses are structured, and this transparency generates motivation to perform well. In my experience, my strong performance has been rewarded, which has been incredibly fulfilling and has kept me happy with my role and the firm.”
• "The best aspect is the fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance.  They also have a reasonable bonus structure, based on both individual and firm performance. Base salaries may not be as competitive as larger firms but the insurance benefits help to offset that.”
• “Compensation is decent and they are transparent about promotions and pay. They take the steps necessary to ensure that there is pay equality across the firm. However, there are no signing bonuses and end of year bonuses are relatively small.”
• “While I would be paid more at one of the bigger firms, I would be working 50% more than I do now; I have quite a few interests outside of work, so I'm not sure that trade-off would be worth it. It's very nice not to have to worry about paying a health premium.”
• “Best: The firm covers our health insurance and provides 401(k) matching. Worst: The salaries are lower than many consultancies…”
• “I feel the salary and bonuses are fair, and the health benefits are excellent.  EHC [pays for] training programs [which is] also generous…paid maternity leave was only 12 weeks…but they have extended paid leave to the full 3 months allowed by FMLA.”

Diversity

• “Eagle Hill does a fantastic job at promoting diversity within the organization, and I believe that they are constantly looking for ways to continue to diversify their staff.”
• Eagle Hill empowers women, as evidenced by a women-majority leadership team and a female CEO. Beyond that, Eagle Hill as a culture is very accepting and open to all lifestyles, not just in terms of inherent traits such as gender, race, ethnicity and backgrounds, but also the way people live their lives. The flexible work schedule and emphasis on work/life balance enables the company to attract a range of people, from working parents to weekend warriors to amateur photographers. Eagle Hill is unique in that it facilitates balancing a high-powered consulting career with other interests, whatever those may be, and this results in a genuinely interesting and diverse workforce.”
• “I believe Eagle Hill takes great pride in our strength recruiting and hiring minorities with fully equal access to promotion opportunities and compensation, at all levels…”
• “The Eagle Hill employee base is very diverse and leadership is actively engaged in promoting Diversity and Inclusion in all aspects of the firm's operations.”
• “This company very openly prides itself on being a woman-owned and led organization. Most of our employees are female and that has helped us strive towards diversity and a balance of backgrounds in our firm.”
• “We have some very strong employees that are big champions of cultivating a diverse and inclusionary environment. Executive leadership is 110% supportive of nurturing a strong identity for EHC. That said, as an organization we need to do a better job of ensuring that the timeline of such efforts and strategies do not get [put on the back burner] due to competing priorities.”

Outlook

• “COVID 19 pandemic and the recession it will cause makes assessing our prospects challenging. The good news is that our leadership team is actively engaged in scenario planning, making judicious financial decisions, and engaging the entire firm in a relevant go-to market strategy for our time. Firm employees at all levels are participating in the planning and design, and our leadership provides updates weekly.”
• “Eagle Hill's internal innovation engine has been fantastic, developing solutions, new approaches, and thought leadership that we bring to prospective and current clients.  Our "Living Lab" is a forum for us to test solutions, and many of those have been successfully applied across projects.  Our firm's executive leadership is excellent and continues to spark innovation, growth, and business health.  As we grow, there remains future room for client/industry/ geography diversification, which will be critical to achieving our ambitious plans.”
• “I think EHC is very nimble, and willing to change their approach based on feedback or industry trends.  I also think EHC has a very strong strategic approach to growing the company that gives me a lot of faith in its future.”
• “The firm has a good diversity of portfolio for the area we're in (80% federal, 20% commercial). This really helps us in economic situation like now...”
• “Our CEO is always looking to the future and encouraging employees to think about how to innovate to best meet the needs of our clients. An example of this is the work we are doing around change management--holding firm-wide ideation sessions to draw from everyone's thinking.”
• “Eagle Hill is growing quickly, which is exciting and brings some challenges. Leadership is focused on maintaining our culture and being transparent with employees. We are investing in our services, including innovation, to bring new ideas to clients and compete in the market.”

Hiring Process

• "Eagle Hill uses the Top Grading method of interviewing; they require a detailed professional history questionnaire to be completed prior to being asked to interview. The interview process is very extensive, asking questions about successes and challenges from each chapter of your career, going all the way back to high school.  This provides them with an in-depth understanding of each candidate's strengths and qualifications.  The ideal candidate has some consulting or work experience, ideally with a larger consulting firm.”
• “Eagle Hill evaluates candidates using a scorecard that contains a dozen competency areas, which when combined attract candidates that are incredibly well-rounded, adaptable, humble and ambitious. The fine-tuned criteria really allows Eagle Hill to maintain a professional "brand" and vibe across its consultant pool, which leads to high client satisfaction scores and comment praise for consistency in delivery.”
• “Our use of the Top Grading system is a refreshing change from the ineffective grading methods that accompany traditional case studies. Instead of focusing on mental math and hypothetical scenarios, if focuses on the candidates real life experiences and gives them a change to explain all their successes and failures in an honest fashion. The candidate my firm seeks is a curious, intelligent, and empathetic individual who can truly connect to our clients’ needs and concerns in a way that will allow them to pursue genuine solutions to their problems. Candidates must also be collaborative, as we never try to solve problems solo or without the feedback of peer. This works as a quality-check on everyone's ideas as well as creating a community of learning from each other.”
• “The firm uses Top Grading interview process for hiring. This requires the candidate to paint a narrative about his/her background and is designed to weed out inconsistencies and fabrication in resumes and application responses. The ideal candidate is someone who can speak to his/her past life experiences with confidence and humility.”
• “The recruiting process is extremely pleasant and organized. Topgrading is tough but you really feel like the recruiter is on your side throughout the process and does a separate phone call with you to tell you what to expect.”
• “We follow Top Grading. It involves multiple phases of interview. Phone screen for basic fit and competency. An in-person interview with two interviewers for three hours going through resume to identify trends and track record. A two-hour competency interview. Ideal candidate is someone who has high emotional intelligence, wants to represent EHC at all time, able to work in a team, learn quickly and is committed to excellence in all they do.”

Interview Questions

• “We follow the Topgrading methodology. It’s a systematic, chronological interview covering the education years, then all jobs, and more. For every job the candidate is asked for important successes, failures, decisions and relationships, and how their managers would rate them.”
• “The firm utilizes a top-grade approach to recruitment. This is a unique interviewing process where they ask more questions pertaining to your experience in life and you as an individual. For example: Describe your favorite memory from high school.”
• “We use Top Grading which ensures consistency in the process for all new hires.  Candidates are asked to share specific information about all jobs they've had since high school, including their successes and failures in each role.”
• “Can you please elaborate on your greatest achievements and success in your last position? What were your greatest failures and shortcomings? How did you learn from those experiences?”
• “High/Low moments during high school and college, mentors during these times. Strengths/failings during employment.”
• “How do you rate your managers (a real [indication] of the leadership someone sees in others)? What was your biggest failure in your past job? Ability to identify failure and learn from it is a skill.”