Vault’s Verdict

Sia insiders find their firm offers a balance of scale and intimacy, with the resources of an established company but with the entrepreneurial spirit of a start-up. Consultants work closely alongside partners and senior leaders on flat teams, and the firm welcomes their ideas for executing projects and growing the business alike. Mentoring relationships develop naturally, and the firm has recently added to its formal training by introducing a new leadership development program. 

Insiders at Sia describe a day-to-day work environment that balances high expectations with personal flexibility. The outcome-focused firm lets consultants work remotely whenever clients allow, and taking time off is easy. Most insiders say they have a reasonable work-life balance but must rise to expectations to work late nights around deadlines on occasion. Travel is limited.

The firm’s brand is well-known in Europe but still growing in North America. However, insiders say they believe the firm has shown continued growth and positioned itself well to follow recent technology trends such as AI adoption. Although base salaries trend toward the lower side for consulting, insiders appreciate the personal sales bonuses the firm offers for closing deals. Additionally, executives qualify for a deferred compensation program.

Employee Reviews

Firm Culture

• “Sia is entrepreneurial in nature. We are empowered to explore and learn so we can grow and make a bigger impact internally and with our clients—on a global scale!”
• “Sia is a fun place to work, grow, and make a meaningful impact! We focus on outcomes and are empowered to make decisions.”
• “There is a good atmosphere and culture at work, and cordial relations among people that make coming to work fun. At my level (executive) there is a lot to do and it requires lots of hours, but it is possible to balance it better than how I do it, I’m sure.”
• “Your voice is heard, and the hierarchy is flat enough where you have access to speak to senior management regardless of your role in the firm.”

Quality of Life

• “Work from home is flexible, as are work hours. There is an unwritten understanding that we can finish at 4 when we have no work, but we will finish at 11 if it’s required. Overall, it’s a bell curve, most days I work until 6, but some I finish early or late.”
• “Hours are reasonable for me, travel is not a requirement in my role, flexibility with working in office vs. at home is reasonable, and it is relatively easy to take time off.”
• “Remote work is available if we’d like and follows the same criteria as the client we are working with. In my case, this is three days per week in the office, which is very efficient and accommodating.”

Career Development

• “As a growing, private, firm we continually look for ways to improve our workforce training capabilities. In the last year, we’ve rolled out formal leadership development training for partners and director level employees. Next year, we’ll roll out more formal training and career development opportunities to the core workforce.”
• “The formal processes in place as well as the informal ones for training and mentoring are wonderful; employees of all levels, from associates to partners, are available and open to talking. Internal mobility can be a little bit difficult, in that due to the small size of the firm, it makes more sense to stick to where you are most experienced.”
• “Good delivery here usually gets recognized and appreciated, resulting in promotions.”
• “There are multiple paths that support professional development. We are supported formally and informally, and our firm has a three-year leadership training program to support growth.”

Compensation

• “Base compensation could be higher. It is a bit below other management consulting firms. The best aspect of compensation is the personal sales bonuses that come from closing sales. They are measured and very well defined and always clearly articulated.”
• “Everyone’s salary is based on level of experience and education. The criteria is quite clear, which makes me believe that the pay equality is fair.”
• “Sia has an opportunity to consider deferred compensation programs for executive leaders. All other comp programs are in line with industry standards.”
• “Sia invests in programs supporting healthy lifecycles, fitness and food. Moreover, our local offices sponsor community wellness initiatives open to all employees.”

Inclusion

• “For more than a decade, Sia has invested in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging programs. We value diverse perspectives and experiences and believe those people and ideas make us stronger.”
• “Internal chapters and teams exist to allow for diversity and inclusion within the workplace.”
• “Our firm is extremely diverse with respect to race/ethnicity, women, LGBTQ+, disabilities, and military veterans. I have encountered and work with all of the above and have not witnessed any differences in how they are treated or the opportunities available to them.”
• “There are a lot of forums and efforts made to be inclusive.”

Business Outlook

• “Constantly creating new projects, working with new trends in the industry. Despite a relatively slow time for our sector, the teams I work with have been succeeding.”
• “While others are laying off people, we are hiring and growing the business. Our sales outlooks are high because of the business strategy we have deployed. The weakness for us is our name brand in North America. Our brand is much stronger in Europe.”
• “The firm has been positioning itself to capitalize on the market trends in AI as more clients and companies invest in this technology. As firms face the growing pains of adopting AI solutions and technology into their ecosystems, Sia is positioned as a thought leader, solutions provider, transformational change facilitator, and trusted partner.”
• “I think the firm is growing in the right direction, and we have very knowledgeable leaders that understand future challenges and business opportunities.”

Hiring Process

• “The firm aims for a fast but thorough interview process. It usually include three to four rounds. The ideal candidate is a candidate that combines industry knowledge and technical skills, driven by curiosity and eagerness to constantly provide added value to any of their engagements.”
• “Usually, candidates have a first personality interview, then a case, and then an interview with the partner. Cases are usually referring to a real mandate.”
• “The ideal candidate is an expert in their field and equally fits with our company and regional culture. We have a multi-stage interview and callback process that enables candidates to learn about our firm at the same time that we learn about the candidate.”
• “The ideal candidate is a go-getter that can see this firm as an established company but still kind of like a start-up. If you have an idea of how we can serve our clients or a solution, you are free to build it out and discuss it with partners (who are easily accessible). It is a lot more likely you can control your career here than other consulting firms I have worked for.”

Interview Questions

• “You must organize a two-hour workshop on topic X with client stakeholders. Who do you invite, what is the workshop agenda you propose, and what tools will you use?”
• “Provide a six-month project plan for a given situation/problem. Estimate size of X market.”
• “Provide an example of a related project you managed end-to-end. What level of business value and proof of innovation can you demonstrate?”
• “They would state a problem in plain English and ask me how I would solve it using AI, walking them through all the steps without having to write any code.”

Uppers

• “There is an entrepreneurial spirit, and your voice/ideas are heard by top management.”
• “Great projects, opportunities for development, leadership, work-life balance, good culture.”
• “Culture of collaboration and innovation. Strong client base with interesting opportunities.”
• “Focused on growth and have strong technical capabilities.”

Downers

• “You cannot always choose the clients you wish to work on.”
• “Lack of name recognition may hurt in obtaining some clients.”
• “Compensation could be better.”
• “For me, the lack of team interaction because I remote.”