Vault’s Verdict

Across Roland Berger’s EMEA locations, insiders say the firm’s culture closely reflects its core values of excellence, entrepreneurship, and empathy. The firm empowers consultants, even at junior levels, to interact with clients and share ideas. Teams work collaboratively and the firm hosts regular social events, promoting camaraderie and lasting friendships among staff. Insiders describe the environment as open, inclusive, and positive.

One of the firm’s strengths is its excellent platform for developing a career. New hires attend a two-week onboarding program and then go to international bootcamps each time they earn a promotion. The firm assigns each employee a dedicated mentor, and partners make themselves approachable and provide on-the-job coaching. Insiders especially like the firm’s willingness to sponsor MBAs or PhDs, secondments at NGOs, or even paid leave to focus on entrepreneurial projects. High performers can also participate in its Challenge Club, a group that provides access to additional mentoring and coaching.

Hours tend to be challenging at times, but insiders say the firm’s “New Ways of Working” initiative has made a substantial impact on making them more manageable. The firm actively monitors workloads to step in if they creep too high, promotes shorter visits to client sites where possible, and actively tracks employee burnout and other feedback. Special perks, such as mobility packages, a dedicated wellness budget, and firm-sponsored sporting events also help. Together with a compensation package near the top of the consulting market—with a generous base salary and performance-based bonus—the firm offers an attractive overall experience.

Employee Reviews

Firm Culture

• “Strong corporate culture around three values: excellence, entrepreneurship, and empathy. Nine pledges of Roland Berger to foster focus on people. Close client cooperation but also employee engagement surveys. New Ways of Working initiative to implement better working modus.”
• “Both within the firm and in its external relations, Roland Berger consistently lives up to its core values of Excellence, Entrepreneurship, and Empathy. From my own experience, if you have an idea and want to make an impact, your voice will be heard and you are encouraged to take ownership of your initiatives, such as diversity or community projects, reflecting a culture that is genuinely driven by its people.”
• “Early responsibility and exposure to clients even on entry or intern level. Balancing workload is supported by many initiatives and there is a lot of flexibility. Great culture of cooperation in international teams and ability to work abroad if you want.”
• “Roland Berger’s culture is genuinely inclusive in every aspect. Here, we are not just colleagues but friends, and we enjoy spending time together even outside the office! To me, one of the best aspects of this company is its perfect blend of career development opportunities, the chance to engage with smart, inspiring people who stimulate my personal growth, and the excitement of tackling clients’ most challenging problems.”

Quality of Life

• “Weekends are typically protected, and Fridays tend to be shorter workdays. Vacations can be scheduled with confidence.”
• “Roland Berger puts serious effort into ensuring a truly sustainable work-life balance, supported by a clear and structured system for all consultants. I honestly don’t think it could get any better at a top strategy consultancy offering this level of exposure. A regular employee survey highlights areas for improvement and even the firm’s top management takes the feedback seriously, responding to it anonymously and constructively.”
• “Tracking working hours and taking countermeasures if workload is too high. Promoting ‘new ways of working’ (e.g., remote weeks, being at client site three instead of four days a week).”
• “Options for flexible hours and understanding around personal commitments. Friendly colleagues, approachable managers, and a generally positive atmosphere. Comfortable workspace, good location, and amenities (e.g., specialty coffee, fresh snacks, ergonomic set-ups). Wellness initiatives exist but are underutilized. Sometimes last-minute changes or tight deadlines that add stress.”

Career Development

• “Roland Berger offers a broad range of opportunities to develop yourself, both professionally as well as on a personal level. Examples of this are: an extensive training program, a mentor from leadership level, sponsored MBAs, Social Fellowships (secondment at an NGO), and Entrepreneurial Fellowships (paid leave to focus on entrepreneurial ambitions).”
• “Great training program with international bootcamps for all steps in the development and many optional trainings, either on site or virtual. Options to use individual coaching or open learning platforms like Coursera. You have the opportunity to take part in social or entrepreneurial fellowship programs to support an NGO or drive an own business idea.”
• “Each consultant is assigned a dedicated mentor responsible for their training and development at Roland Berger. Consultants can actively request specific projects or opportunities they would like to pursue, and mentors make every effort to accommodate these preferences. Within Europe, the firm offers strong mobility, allowing consultants to take on diverse projects if they are willing to pursue them. In addition, there are opportunities to collaborate with group functions such as HR, Finance and Controlling, or Internal Strategy, providing exposure to the firm’s operations from a different perspective.”
• “Roland Berger provides a very steep learning curve, with early client exposure and responsibility from the start. The promotion process is transparent and merit-based, with clear criteria at each level. Formal training is excellent, from onboarding to bootcamps and advanced seminars, complemented by strong informal coaching on projects. Mentoring and programs such as the Challenge Club add genuine depth to career development.”

Compensation

• “Salary progression is very nice. Pay equality, many special programs, and networking events for female consultants. My favorite benefit (and a bit unusual vs. the others) is that I take private language classes to be able to integrate better in a country where I live as well as use it in my job in the future.”
• “Roland Berger’s compensation package is highly competitive. Entry-level salaries are strong enough to support a comfortable lifestyle, even in expensive European cities. In addition, there is a clear and rewarding salary progression linked to promotions, along with performance-based bonuses. The package also includes a wide range of additional benefits, such as meal vouchers, health insurance, gym memberships, and reimbursement programs for public transportation and utility bills.”
• “Compensation at Roland Berger is competitive with clear, structured salary progression and transparent promotion-linked increases. Pay equity across levels is ensured, and bonuses reflect both individual performance and firm results. While overall competitive, compensation remains in line with the consulting industry rather than significantly above it.”
• “At Roland Berger and as part of the B&Me initiative, we offer valuable education perks, such as tuition reimbursement, including Master/MBA sponsorship and PhD support. Additionally, we provide lease cars and mobility packages tailored to our employees’ needs. We prioritize health and wellness by providing a wellbeing budget, fitness offerings, and access to fitness and meditation apps, ensuring our team can maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle.”

Inclusion

• “Diversity & Inclusion is still high priority for management. DEI Leadership Council acts globally as the link to diversity groups from platforms, global, and local management. Equal pay and promotion on merit based with equal promotion cycles. Several internal initiatives: JustBe (queer), Women@RolandBerger, Black@RolandBerger, Ability, Parenting, etc. JustBe with several firm-wide actions: global office pride week, global personal meetings, recruiting events, awareness sessions, cooperation with Prout@Work, Trans*Identity guild.”
• “Diversity & Inclusion has a high priority for Roland Berger’s management. At Roland Berger, all employees are treated equally, with no distinction. One of our core values, empathy, guides the consultants, the staff and the management in fostering an open environment in which everyone feels empowered to be their most authentic selves.”
• “Diversity & Inclusion is a top priority for our leadership and represents a key pillar of our corporate strategy, firmly embedded in our management KPIs. We have a global DEI council that ensures strengthening the topic across the world. Employees are invited to training (e.g., about unconscious bias). Several affinity groups like Women@Roland Berger, JustBe (our LGBTQ+) community, or your Ability@Roland Berger group (just to name a few) raise awareness around the topics, support colleagues and celebrate diversity within in the firm.”
• “We have a separate DEI Council covering Diversity and Inclusion topics. They organize chimney talks, offline meetings, offer help as needed, and much more. Increasing diversity is also a company commitment, which is considered in a recruiting process. There are internal groups for different communities (Parents, Black, Ability, etc.).”

Business Outlook

• “Despite global volatile business, Roland Berger continues to grow above the market. We successfully acquired and integrated boutique consulting firms (e.g., Polarix, Amane) and created new consulting offerings for interim management (e.g., Impex). Strong new business is created from focus areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Transformation, and national infrastructure programs.”
• “Roland Berger is exceptionally well-positioned globally, leveraging its strong European roots. Demand is rapidly increasing, in Europe, Asia and even in the U.S., where clients often seek independent perspectives rather than relying solely on American competitors.”
• “Growth path both in topline and margin for the Group. International development. Recent acquisition of large customers. Successful acquisition of consulting firms in various geographies. Innovation. However, we face market volatility and fierce competition.”
• “Great business outlook despite market development. Roland Berger’s well-diversified portfolio compensates for down phases.”

Hiring Process

• “Screening is performed by the Talent Acquisition Manager, and three to six interviews are led directly by consultants (project Manager level and above). Turndown feedbacks are directly shared by the consultants, to maximize their effectiveness.”
• “From my experience, the interview and callback process are best described by professionalism and transparency. The process was quick and clear, making it very easy to understand how the company operates. I believe the ideal candidate would be some who has a genuine curiosity in business and strategy issues, who is passionate about the business environment. At the same time, the ideal candidate would need to be highly diligent, attentive to details and willing to try multiple avenues in order to address tasks/issues.”
• “At Roland Berger, authenticity is central to the interview process. The firm places strong emphasis on understanding a candidate’s personality and values the unique perspectives and ideas they bring. This aligns with the firm’s overall belief that people should ‘Be the Original You.’ and that diverse teams, with a range of perspectives and viewpoints, drive the greatest impact.”
• “The firm seeks individuals who embody its core values, possessing strong and authentic personalities, an entrepreneurial mindset, and a determination to drive success for the company’s clients, and hence, for the firm itself. From my personal experience, the process was smooth and transparent, with interviewers from both the HR and consulting teams readily available to answer my questions and satisfy my curiosity.”

Interview Questions

• “Market sizing (e.g., estimate the market size for chocolate bars in country X), profitability (e.g., how profitable would it be to open a business in X), structured cases.”
• “Some typical questions in Roland Berger's recruiting process include what you do in your free time, why you have made the choices you have made and the motivations behind them, structured business cases that still require logical reasoning, as well as questions designed to test your logic and critical thinking skills.”
• “Roland Berger uses a consulting case format that includes both traditional cases (e.g., profitability, market entry) and non-traditional ones. For example, you might be asked how you would organize an Olympic-level event and what key considerations you would take into account. The emphasis is placed less on the right answer and more on the candidate’s methodology, structured thinking, and problem-solving approach.”
• “Tips and tricks: The business case is relevant, but most importantly we look for brilliant and motivated people. Try to share with the interview who you are as an individual first. Interviewers might be stiff in the conversation. Don't take it personally, they are just testing you. Regarding the business case, the journey is much more important than the destination. Share the path you have in mind and clearly disclose your ideas, especially in remote interviews.”

Uppers

• “Firm culture, colleagues, mentoring program, early responsibility, and client interaction.”
• “The open and engaging culture, which genuinely empowers people to be themselves and supports their journey to become the very best version of themselves.”
• “Authentic relationships built with my colleagues (both top-down and bottom-up) and the continuous improvement.”
• “Environment, compensation, attention to personal needs.”

Downers

• “I cannot always choose the projects I would like to work on.”
• “It is a high-pace environment, and work-life balance can be demanding. If this is a concern to you, then it is probably not the right environment for you.”
• “I believe that, while the company does a very good job at working with current frameworks and projects, there is space to be explored in innovation and moving, from a business perspective, outside of the comfort zone.”
• “You need to be a real team player here, otherwise consulting and Roland Berger is not your dream job.”