Vault’s Verdict

A firm that has been growing intentionally despite the challenging macro environment, ScottMadden stands out for its strong commitment to its people and values, particularly evident in its support for diverse young professionals.

Insiders highlight the firm's focus on work-life balance, with flexible policies accommodating personal commitments and a hybrid work model. However, as is the case in much of the industry, individual experiences may vary across specific projects and managers.

In terms of career growth, the firm offers close mentorship and high interaction with senior leaders, coupled with both formal training and hands-on learning opportunities. As such, the firm is a great choice for anyone seeking growth opportunities—both personal and at the firm level—in a growing mid-size outfit, particularly if you’re looking to specialize in energy and/or utilities.

Employee Reviews

Firm Culture

• “Authentic culture—ScottMadden is a small mid-sized firm that has been growing in recent years but is very intentional about keeping its culture and values as they grow. I genuinely have enjoyed working with all of my project team members so far and everyone is so inclusive.”
• “Culture is strong, and employees have excellent relationships. Performance is highly valued and consultants have every opportunity to advance.”
• “Focus on steady and sustainable growth. Many other firms have clearly overgrown themselves at an unsustainable pace, evidenced by recent layoffs and delayed hirings. Our firm is dedicated to its members and does not want to be put in the position of having to break commitments to its people.”
• “ScottMadden is an amazing place and if you want to contribute, collaborate, are self-driven, and take personal accountability, it will be a great place for you.”
• “We don't try to force off the shelf solutions to the clients, we spend time resolving client-specific issues and building relations.”

Quality of Life

• “At ScottMadden, we do work hard and many hours compared to a traditional 9-5 job, but I think they do a good job at prioritizing work/life balance. The leaders understand that we have lives outside of work and are very flexible when we have doctor’s appointment, vet appointments, family emergencies, etc. I wish we had more PTO days, but when we are on PTO it is nice that generally we do not have to do any work while we are out of the office.”
• “I personally wish there were more travel projects available for me to work on, given where I am in my life and wanting to travel for work. I was on a travel project for a year and a half, and even if the location was not great, I loved it. Unfortunately, the model for the industry as a whole is shifting and I do not think it will be going back to the way it was. However, ScottMadden's firm culture more than makes up for the lack of travel opportunities available to me.”
• “My firm does an impressive job of always putting the client first in a way that never requires individuals to prioritize the client over their families or personal well-being. The firm has a close-knit, supportive, and highly skilled community where you can feel safe in asking for help while also being confident that the quality of work will be maintained should you need assistance.”
• “Overall, I believe ScottMadden values work/life balance. Many partners will work with you to ensure you are happy and not completely overworked. Teams are understanding and encouraging of you to take time off. I also think ScottMadden does a great job of planning fun activities for consultants and staff as well. Since COVID, we also haven't been traveling every week (travel is more dependent now on specific project/client needs), which has increased my work/life balance, personally.”
• “We have fully adopted a hybrid work model. Unless there is a client expectation for you to be onsite, our leadership allows consultants to work in the location that best supports their productivity (office, home, remote location).”

Career Development

• “Best: As a smaller firm, ScottMadden really embraces high levels of touch between more junior consultants and directors/partners. I'm learning a ton organically just from the fact that I have multiple touchpoints per week with the partner on my project.
  Worst: I'd like to see more specific external trainings on relevant tools.”
• “Low partner to consultant ratios and a 'working partner' model means lots of individual mentorship and development on projects. The worst aspects are some early career decisions have longer term implications - (i.e., early project experience can direct a consultants later career options).”
• “The best aspect of ScottMadden career development is the hands-on experience guided by a formal sponsorship model and partner mentorship. The worst aspect is that promotion timelines are usually a bit longer, since it is a flatter organization.”
• “Promotion processes are fair and transparent. The competencies and skills required to be promoted are clearly stated, and it seems the firm will promote once these competencies are met. There is also plenty of opportunity to be as involved as you'd like in high-visibility firm initiatives from day one. The environment is very collaborative and most people in the firm want to see you succeed and will help you get there. Partners are accessible and willing to spend time helping with career development at every level.”
• “There is little transparency to the promotion process. The quality of the mentoring program depends on the mentor. Some mentors take the time to make the most out of the program while others make little to no effort.”

Compensation

• “Base salary does not change very frequently; it stayed consistent for years. Recent attention to market and compensation analyses are getting more attention and validation.”
• “Compensation is heavily tied to utilization. Fortunately, the firm is very busy and staffs appropriately. The top performers are compensated very fairly as well.”
• “Positive—utilization and quarterly bonus payments. Generous bonuses. Equal pay across every level regardless of gender or time in role—keeps it fair. Very transparent levels and roles (6 levels from entry level through partner).”
• “The compensation package can be tough if you have a project that wraps around a quarter and you don't get picked up immediately. That impacts your utilization bonus. In addition, taking vacation hurts your utilization, so it disincentives people to use their vacation.”
• “We have relatively lower bases but significantly higher quarterly bonuses. This helps mitigate the risk and prevent massive layoffs when times get a little rough. It is a catch-22 but has helped with the ups and downs of the economy. When the economy is good we all win!”

Community Engagement

• “Actively recruits at National Black, HBCUs, black student organizations, and more. Very good with military veterans. Still needs improvement on diversity from gender and ethnicity/race, especially in leadership.”
• “Awesome focus on hiring military veterans in addition to support for other groups.”
• “I have noticed a wide range of diversity while working at ScottMadden. It's reflected in their recruiting efforts and continues in their use of employee resources groups such as the Women's Employee Resource Group or the Veteran's Employee Resource Group.”
• “ScottMadden has three employee resource groups to help military veterans, women, and working parents/caregivers. Employees are encouraged to come to work as ‘their authentic self.’”
• “We have a DE&I committee. Women are treated and paid the same. Also, LBGTQ employees bring their partners to firm events, and that is the most normal thing to do. We can be open towards our clients as well, no restrictions the company is putting on us.”

Business Outlook

• “As is true for many, our firm's outlook is tied closely to the world economy which has been uncertain, sensitive, and volatile.”
• “Extremely well positioned and stable due to conservative growth and utility consulting remaining strong. Much better positioned than many major consulting firms that are experiencing layoffs, delayed new hires, and consultants without billable work.”
• “ScottMadden has two primary practice areas: Energy and Corporate & Shared Services. Each area has partners with deep expertise. I feel very confident in the firm's ability to maintain its strengths in each of these practice areas. We are always looking at ways to add value to our existing and potential clients and believe the firm has a bright future.”
• “The best part is that our firm has always been very intentional with our growth strategy. We keep in mind culture and employee morale as we grow. We grow at a steady impressive rate that is sustainable which is much appreciated. We do not have a culture of hiring a large volume of consultants at an unsustainable rate. Our growth is very targeted.”
• “We are a consulting company and are dependent upon the economy. However, we are diversified in where we consult so that we have the ability to ride the waves of the economy better than some others that only consult in a set industry or area.”

Hiring Process

• “Fair process outlined by multiple interviews evaluating different qualities. The ideal candidate is one that has knowledge of the firm and the work that is performed and wishes to be part of the firm and its culture.”
• “General management consultants interview on campus or virtually. We have MBA callbacks that include a presentation.”
• “I was impressed with how quickly ScottMadden communicated their decisions to me during the interview process. I received an invitation to the second round the day after my first interview, and I received a full-time offer three days after the final round. I believe that ScottMadden is seeking a candidate who is motivated to work hard and make a difference in their work. This is true in the energy practice as well as their other practices.”
• “The firm is very responsive and direct in the interview and callback process which is different from other (particularly larger) firms that take much longer or never respond. The ideal candidate demonstrates strong interpersonal and presentation skills (both verbally and written), the ability to talk through problems and proactively address questions, and a strong desire to receive feedback that will lead to quick improvement.”
• “We want people who are passionate about problems and lead with that in their everyday work. Be smart. Be focused. Be willing to get the job done right.”

Interview Questions

• “Behavioral interview for analysts and MBAs plus a presentation for MBAs.  Experienced hires also perform a case requiring about ~8 hours analytical work and a presentation of results.”
• “How do you prioritize aspects of a project? How do you motivate your team? How do you obtain buy-in from external customers?”
• “Standard behavioral questions. Cases are in-depth and based on an actual written case for presentation.”
• “Take-home case that is open-ended or a take-home case that is self-contained with provided data.”
• “Tell me about times when you (a) failed miserably and (b) what you did about it. Tell me how you would use AI as a tool as a consultant.”