Vault’s Verdict

Publicis Sapient is steadily building its reputation as a premiere provider of solutions related to digital transformation—and is growing both its book of business and headcount as a result. Unsurprisingly, insiders love that state of affairs, and never seem to run out of positive things to say about their firm. From a culture that treats everyone as adults—you can work from wherever you like, provided you get the work done—to good work-life balance and compensation that is close to the top of the market, there really isn’t an area where this firms seems to be lacking. Definitely one to consider if digital strategy is your thing.

Firm Culture

“It's tough to find a firm with more high-end digital transformation/strategy work where you'll be treated and paid better.”

“Multi-lens approach across strategy, product, engineering, experience and data. No other strategy firm can do this for their clients.”

“Openness is at the core of every person at this firm, which enables inclusive collaboration that results in truly impactful work for our clients.”

“Through our SPEED capability approach - Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data, we help our clients transform into digital businesses that drives not only business value but also positively impacting humanity. We take Now to Next pushing forward with innovation that keeps businesses ready for the velocity of change.”

“What makes Publicis Sapient unique is our entire focus globally on helping our clients transform into digital businesses that positively impact people's lives. For us, this means our success is not about the ability to implement a program or tool; it’s inextricably linked to the ability to drive specific business outcomes and evolve products, services, and experiences over time so that the business can be ever relevant with their increasingly digital consumers.”

Quality of Life

“Best: My time is my own to manage as I see fit to balance work requirements with personal schedule. 

Worst: Because we are international, there are often calls/ meetings at off hours to accommodate all parties. That said, I don't mind as I know that I can carve out time during my regular hours for personal matters.”

“Firm is very conscious of promoting good work/life balance. We perform very similar work to other management consulting firms, but focus on providing consultants a better balance than other firms. 

This balance is much better than most competitors, but it can be inconsistent. Hours are often very good, but it can vary significantly depending on the MD and P you're working with.”

"I think the best aspects of working for Publicis Sapient is that the people are very understanding and supportive. They go above and beyond the rest of the folks at the firm if needed. Sometimes that is the best when considering work life balance.”

“Not tied to any location. I have seen some folks work abroad for weeks, as long as they can get the work done and are available during work hours. Really solid work life balance for top-tier consulting projects. Hours between 30-60, with 40-50 being typical. A far cry from my last firm.”

“Publicis Sapient is the most 'human' consulting firm that I have worked for. Leaders genuinely care about the well-being of employees and understand that consulting can be a real grind sometimes. I am given the discretion to work flexibly across both time and location, and leaders are as respectful as possible of afterhours and weekends.”

Compensation

“A signing bonus would be ideal but the bonus structure is very favorable and more than most of my colleagues in a similar position.”

“In terms of equality, Publicis Sapient is committed to reduce the gender pay gap and the company has made some steady progress. One of the main reasons for the gender pay gap is that men are more likely to be in the consulting and technology sector and the lower representation of female leaders in senior roles.”

“PS continues to lead in addressing the gender pay gap. Pay within a role is normalized, ensuring parity within a role. However, because there are disproportionately more men in certain roles, aggregated data may reflect deficiencies. Publicis Sapient continues to address this by searching for top talent, providing equitable training and mentorship programs, and consistent review of policies, promotions and hiring through a DEI lens.”

“PS has committed to lowering the gender wage gap. We have strong female representation at every level of our MC arm, including the ‘top dog.’”

“The Canadian team members are working the same projects, the same hours but their compensation are not in sync with those in USA. Cost of living is almost the same but salary should not be based off of where you live but rather the work you do and the level you are at and the quality you deliver.”

Career Development

“Amazing hands-on training with stretch roles given our high growth digital strategy practice.”

“At Publicis Sapient, career development is not a 'contest' as it is at some other firms, but rather a collaboration. Coaches and leaders are committed to helping team members learn and grow in every dimension, but are also transparent about your strengths and weaknesses as well as expectations to meet for promotion.”

“Formal process is not super developed but clear and fair. Much better than it was a few years ago and more progress is definitely coming. The informal training/coaching/mentoring that we have is very good. Our culture is extremely open to developing multiple 'unofficial' mentoring/coaching relationships.”

“The firm has a Fellowship in Leadership Transformation which brings together rising stars from across the firm's diverse practice areas and trains them in core business, technology, experience and leadership skills over 12 months.” 

Community Engagement

“All candidates are interviewed by a diverse panel of interviewers and job postings are on diverse sites.”

“Business Resource Groups promote activities that support different communities and groups. For example, Pride for LGBTQ + community, PAC for Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities, Women’s Leadership Network, EnAble for people with disabilities, Travelers for people who relocate, etc.” 

“I think our company is very D&I positive, there are numerous employee groups that are catered towards the LBTQIA+, different ethnicities and races. So overall, I believe that all of the employees are treated equally.” 

“Project Mosaic is an initiative designed to attract and retain diverse talent into our executive and Management Consulting practices. Our Talent Acquisition and DEI functions partner to build the strategy for diversity and recruitment at these levels.”

“The firm is doing everything possible to attract, train, and promote diverse candidates. We also have a zero tolerance for any questionable behavior - whether from internal or external (clients) actors.”

Business Outlook

“Best - Innovative work and outperforming client expectations is a constant driver of business expansion.

Worst - Economic uncertainty external to our business performance. However, I feel that we are very well positioned in the event of a declining economic environment.”

“Experienced remarkable growth from a new strategy consulting practice 3-4 years ago to a thriving business where we've struggled to keep up recruiting new consultants to keep up with demand.”

“I think Publicis Sapient is doing exceptionally well in acquiring clients, in fact we have added numerous new capabilities and high profile clients which makes it extremely exciting for us to continue working hard and reaping the benefits.”

“Our leadership team is very transparent with their strategies and goals and the health of the company. It is refreshing to be ‘brought into the room’ and I have full confidence in the folks leading the charge. We have had some great new business wins recently which have been motivating!”

“Publicis Sapient is uniquely positioned to lead clients through digital business transformation from strategy to execution. All firms say that, but PS has the staff, experience, and expertise to back it up.”

Hiring Process

“For technology strategy consulting, we have three interviews that screen for tech strategy experience (domain interview), strategic thinking (case study), and alignment with our values (fit), as well as an optional final interview to allow both PS and the candidate to evaluate fit.”

“Regardless of outcome, we make it a point to provide frequent updates to all candidates as each and every person matters, whether they are a fit for us or not. The ideal candidate is someone who thinks outside the box and has a diverse background. We believe that the broadest range of people provide the broadest range of ideas and insight for our clients.”

“The callback process was incredibly efficient and seamless.”

“We are seeking folks that are curious, great problem solvers, and most of all entrepreneurial and passionate about helping clients transform.”

Interview Questions

“3-5 hours of interviews with 2-3 cases and 2-3 fit interviews.”

“Cases are typical management consulting case interviews with a client situation, sharing various bits of data and information and asking for insights, implications and conclusions.”

“In our technology strategy team, we screen for experience & expertise within select tech strategy fields, superior strategic problem-solving skills, and fit with our company's core values, including ability to both lead and collaborate with team members and clients at all levels.”

“Two case interviews and two behavioral. I loved how conversational it was and the level of comfort I had leaving.”

“Typical strategy cases and behavioral questions like you might see at other top firms. nothing too technical or specialized.”