Vault’s Verdict

Acquired by U.K. consultancy Elixirr in late 2023, Insigniam is undergoing a period of change. According to insiders, most of those changes are positive from a business perspective. With Elixirr being traded on the London Stock Exchange, the acquisition has provided Insigniam with additional resources and access to experts that complement its pre-existing services.

Despite the acquisition, many aspects of life at Insigniam remain unchanged from previous years’ rankings. Insiders applaud the firm’s best-in-class training, but still find its promotion criteria difficult to meet—even if they’re spelled out very clearly. The job still typically requires dedication beyond standard work hours, and insiders still appreciate firm leadership’s commitment to direct, candid feedback.

The only place where Insigniam insiders seem to be split is compensation. While some feel that their comp package is at the top of the market, with an excellent bonus structure, others see it as middling. However, insiders have traditional had favorable reviews of the firm’s compensation plan in these rankings.

Employee Reviews

Firm Culture

“Insigniam has an intentional culture with practices that support and promote quality of life. It is explicit and intentional.”

“We have a culture that takes care of people. Sometimes the feedback is harsh, but to be fair, it's honest and straightforward and people always know where they stand with leadership.”

“The firm encourages us to use our vacation days and to balance the time we work with the time we spend with our friends and family. It's a family-friendly and humanistic culture.”

“At Insigniam, family and health come first. The firm is flexible with attending to these needs.”

Quality of Life

“The best aspect is that, technically, we have a 4.5-day work week. Conversely, I am personally unable to complete my work in less than six full workdays, or at least 50-60 hours of work. That appears to be the case for half of my colleagues, and the other half appear to get all their work done in a 4.5 day work week.”

“We don’t have the most flexible work hours, but we have a hybrid work environment and an excellent sick day policy.”

“The job includes lots of travel, which is taxing for people with children.”

“I travel two to three nights a week for about two weeks a month.”

Career Development

“Insigniam makes an extensive and expensive investment in its consultants’ career development and business skills. It is more than I have ever seen at any other firm where I have worked.  However, my firm also has very strict, difficult, and extensive requirements for promotion, even though the requirements are clear.”

“The firm has a very rigid tier structure and few opportunities to grow into management and leadership, but outstanding training and development for all consultants.”

“The firm invests heavily in training and development, both formal and informal. The requirements to advance are black-and-white. While objective and spelled out, the requirements for advancement are not easy.”

“Our training is state of the art. Our roles don’t allow for job transfers, and that is not a problem for me.”

Compensation

“We are paid in the 50th percentile and there is a possible bonus. However, the most important bonus is tied to company achievement and if the entire company does not achieve at least 75 percent of our stated targets, then no one receives the most important bonuses even if you were a high- or over-achiever in that calendar year.”

“We get raises, but our salary is lower than that of larger consulting firms, which is what one would expect.”

“Our salaries are in the median of the market; our bonuses are in the 90th percentile.”

“The firm offers good health and dental plans. We also have stock options and investment plans.”

Community Engagement/DEI

“The firm is committed to DEI. Even if it can still do better. I feel it's a meritocracy with equal access to work and opportunities for everyone.”

“I don’t experience any lack of diversity in our efforts with respect to hiring. I think we place a higher importance on diversity regarding women and military veterans than ethnicity, disability, or LGBTQ+.”

“The company’s management is constantly working on equity in hiring and the distribution of projects.”

“They could make more of an effort on DEI.”

Business Outlook

“We were acquired by a public company on the London Stock Exchange last year. This gave us a much larger visibility and a global business consulting presence.  This also changed our focus from sales to revenue and it takes time to re-orient the business culture towards being a publicly traded company. Other than myself, I don't think that any of my coworkers have ever worked in a public company environment, and that just changes the game of how your manage and run your business.”

“We are the leaders in organizational transformation; we invented the business discipline of organizational transformation. After being acquired by Elixirr, we have a wide range of client services. We have had zero turnover this year. There seems to be some softening in demand for strategy consulting.”

“We just were acquired by a larger consulting firm in the U.K. that has experts in the areas where we do not have any core competencies. It's a great match, and we're set up to grow now.”

“While we have achieved success through referrals and our proprietary methodology, building a stronger sales and marketing strategy will be crucial to scaling more rapidly and capturing a larger share of the market.”

Hiring Process

“We have a very competitive hiring process, meaning that only the elite of the elite make it into our company. We require writing samples, case studies, video introductions, and other interview requirements from our candidates that most firms do not even consider in their interview process.”

“We keep full communication with our candidates. We have an entire mapped-out candidate journey, and we explain that very well to every candidate in the hiring process. The process and requirements are very clear for anyone being interviewed. The ideal candidate must be able to come to work with a beginner’s mindset no matter what stage they are at in their career. This can be challenging for some mid-career people.”

“The interview process is thorough. A diverse representation of the firm interviews the candidate, then then meets to share how they rate the candidate. An ideal candidate is a self-starter, a good communicator, coachable, curious, a team player, service-oriented to customers, and open to the world.”

“The ideal candidate has graduated from a good university or college and has several years of business experience, with a genuine appreciation for business. We interview for creativity, curiosity, and integrity.”

Interview Questions

“Tell me about something you generated, created, or started within your role.”

“We ask applicants to complete a video explaining why they want to come to Insigniam. We also ask for two writing samples. The process is not fast but yields great candidates.”

“What are you proud of from your last job? What do you regret? If we called your former boss, what would they say about you?”

“Tell us about a time when you failed and how you handled that situation. Tell us about a project or situation in which you applied leadership. What did you do and what happened? Do you work best as a team or individual?”