Vault’s Verdict

Simon-Kucher’s recent run of growth seems to have extended throughout 2022, with the firm once again looking set to post around 20% gains over the previous year’s revenue. That’s an indication not just of an economy rebounding in the post-pandemic era, but of the value that the firm delivers to clients in its home market, where its top-line growth strategies are well-known and respected.

How the firm fares in 2023—particularly if predictions of an economic contraction come to pass—will be very interesting to watch; not least because of the firm’s commitment to helping clients find new market opportunities, rather than cutting their way to profitability.

On a day to day basis, insiders note that SKP is an open, equitable and welcoming firm, where collegiality and cooperation are more important than raw ambition. As such, this is a firm where younger employees tend to form strong bonds with their cohorts while being exposed to pricing and revenue-related work from early in their tenure. All told, a very strong choice for those who want to build a career on the sunny side of the consulting industry.

Firm Culture

“A firm with a great culture and a kind and comprehensive management team that trusts the employees and give them autonomy and room for proactivity.”

“Excellent start into the consulting world. Very supportive, tons of opportunities to learn and develop valuable skills as well as on the job training. Lots of feedback.”

“Great team, great work, great outlook. If you are interested in driving a better, more sustainable type of growth in an environment of smart but nice colleagues, you have found the perfect match.”

“I think we are the only consulting firm to propose such data driven missions. We are perceived as experts by our clients and not as consultants, and we have strong impacts on their profit and revenues in the short/medium term. This approach gives us a lot of credibility and, even if it is still a niche, I guess we will get a lot of prestige with that approach.”

“SKP might not be as prestigious as other consulting firms, yet. However, it is a firm where you are happy to go to work. The atmosphere is highly collegial and solidary. This makes the whole world of difference. And because of that, people tend to be emotionally tied to it, stay longer and be more motivated. This is why the company is growing as fast as it does. I believe it is bound to grow even more in the years to come.”

Quality of Life

“A company that is extremely attentive to possible personal difficulties and eager to find an ad hoc solution that best suits your needs.”

“I believe Simon-Kucher is one of the best strategy consulting firms on work/life balance. We work long hours only when necessary. It is in the firm culture and mindset to work in an efficient way. We are not at the office to do ‘presenteeism’. It is okay to leave earlier when we don't have any work to be done. Everyone is able to manage their time as they want. When we stay late at work, the effort and involvement of each colleague is acknowledged by top management and taken into consideration for upcoming staffings/evaluations.”

“The best is that there is no culture of staying late if not absolutely necessary. The worst is the low hybrid working flexibility for interns.”

“The culture at Simon-Kucher is unique and the firm's top management does their best to further promote it. This includes practice / division off-site meetings, summer and winter outings, and different opportunities to meet in-person both in and outside of the office. 

In general, working hours have increased due to post-COVID order entry, but partners are very mindful and flexible when it comes to taking time off. 

Travel requirements depend largely on the project and can vary from 3-4 days to fully office or remote work.”

“Work/life balance is a high priority for Simon-Kucher - travelling is much more limited compared to pre-Covid and there are increased efforts in providing the right work environment for parents. It is generally easy to raise quality of life issues and the partners/directors take concrete actions to alleviate the workload when issues are identified.”

Compensation

“Industry standard compensation package, no complaints.”

“New benefit packages were introduced this year and compensation packages were also reviewed at the beginning of the year. However, there has been no salary increase to compensate for inflation. This is supposed to happen only in the beginning of next year.”

“Salary progression is great compared to industry standards but could be a bit steeper (higher for project leaders and above) compared to real tier 1 companies. However, it is a bit different model as a much larger share of people actually reach higher tiers due to better work/life balance and it is a job in which you could even get old as the specialization allows better working hours so overall package is great.”

“The salary progression is amazing because it keeps you totally engaged. If your performance is good, you'll have an upgrade almost each year.”

“We still only do what is average and expected from a player in this industry. Still need to become better. Money is not everything - we need to concentrate more on flexible hours, possibilities to take 2-3 months off every year, secure time for trainings, in general: improve to healthier hours. Otherwise, I fear we lose the war on talent.”

Career Development

“Career progression is well balanced at Simon-Kucher, providing opportunities for fast-track promotions. Each new level is linked to increased project and business development responsibilities.”

“Excellent training opportunities, very supportive and open culture. Promotion processes seem longer than advertised.” 

“I love working here because of the environment. Managers are very motivated and know perfectly how to transfer this feeling to the entire team. The worst could be the visibility of the firm in Spain, because if you're not close to strategy firms or you know somebody who works here it's likely you'll never know its existence.”

“One of the things I like most about SKP is that you are given responsibility right from the beginning, of course with lots of guidance. Personally, this helps me maintain a steep learning curve, and get fast-tracked promotion!”

“While the consultants have many international opportunities, it does not seem like there are many rotation possibilities for central functions, nor is there a set career ladder for these positions.”

Community Engagement

“D&I initiatives are present (D&I conferences and recruiting networking sessions), however the structure is still pyramidal (most of partners are male where it is balanced at consultant/manager level).”

“Firm has ramped up D&I initiatives considerably in the past years. Consultants are only assessed on quality of work when considering promotions.”

“It is not very present in the firm's communication plan and branding, so I was very surprised when I saw it was the most diverse workplace I have ever been.”

“Obviously many firms in the industry struggle with diversity. For us it's also a key focus topic to focus on making the work floor a more pleasant environment for women and other ethnicities. For women specifically, think of initiatives like workgroups with women, and external female role models, to discuss maternity, behavior at the office, at the client, etc.”

“Strong D&I efforts including corresponding hires, groups for exchange and focus on these in promotions. Compared to most other comparable consultancies, we have a significantly larger share of women (could come from marketing focus) and more diversity with regards to race/ethnicity esp. in the US. Staffing and promotions are equal which is also transparently communicated within the company.”

“We have minority groups to support and develop minorities in the company and enhance diversity. In principle everyone has access to high-quality work and promotions, but we need to work on the mindset for hiring so we don't measure everyone to the same standard and skills.”

Business Outlook

“Business outlook is very good. A very good rate of business entries. A lot of business proposals throughout the year & solicitation from our clients. Also, a great number of clients ‘calling us back’ to do some more projects (good rate of recurrent clients). Great growth rate: around 20% vs. last year.”

“Generally, still achieving incredible growth numbers. Amsterdam office specifically growing double digits every year still, even during COVID-pandemic. Main issue globally in some specific regions (e.g., Asia), is that the brand awareness is still low and can be improved significantly. In Europe, and US also more and more, we are competing with the household names like MBB.”

“Simon-Kucher has been steadily growing by 15-20% for the past 30 years and it keeps going. Demand for our expertise is high and growing with the new partners we elect every year. There is really a positive vibe working here, knowing that we constantly push the boundaries, work with new clients, get more recognition year over year.”

“Strong specialization with a right to win in our areas. Focus on life sciences, tech, etc. allows strong growth as those will be the sectors with high resilience even in a potential downturn. Employee morale is - therefore - great. In light of current growth of ~20%, it is a great environment to grow. With even more push on adjacent topics next to our core competencies, I see a ton of room to grow.”

“Well positioned to grow further, with good prospects in the industry. feedback from clients has always been positive to my knowledge, indicated by the fact that good portion of business is from repeat customers currently.”

Hiring Process

“Fit within our Simon Kucher culture is key during recruiting, this is the only reason why the firm is able to maintain its company culture over the years.”

“I did the interviews before the process changed. For me it was 5 interviews: 1 round with 3 interviews with managers/senior consultants and then one final round with 2 interviews with a director and a partner. After the first interview there was a 10-minute feedback call with HR and after the 2nd round the answer was given on the day after.”

“Perfect candidate would be someone with passion for consulting and great motivation to work at the firm. Of course, business capabilities and previous experience and knowledge are always considered but the personal fit is the main driver. Depending on the role, candidates have 3-4 interviews with business case (numerical and strategic) and personal fit interview.”

“Process can go quite fast and recruiters are efficient in calling back candidates (either to say yes or no), and are always giving constructive feedbacks. Ideal candidate is someone that has clear & relevant motivations for strategy consulting and especially for SKP with a great focus on growth topics. Someone curious that is willing to learn a lot & fast, in any growth-related topics and any industries (no specialization when joining as entry-level). With its entrepreneurial mindset, the firm is emphasizing a lot on understanding the candidate's personality to make sure it fits its values & culture (creative, easy and pleasant to work with, curious, positive attitude, going extra miles & above own scope of responsibilities...).”

“We discuss the candidate's interview performance immediately after the candidate leaves the building. I personally call back on the next day, so they don't have to wait anxiously for so long (hated it back in the day when you had to wait for a week to get called). I even know some colleagues call on the day itself, and it is appreciated by candidates.”

Interview Questions

“Although we need to improve and align internally to build a better recruitment process, the interviews conducted by the consultants are high level and hiring needs are covered.”

“Can you explain price elasticity in a simple manner?”

“Given the current market situation and company's X innovative healthcare product please assess the feasibility of market access and suggest a suitable price for the product.”

“Top line business cases (revenue growth). No bottom line-oriented cases.”

“What will be the top 3 developments in your division in the next 5-10 years? Please present an example of a clever pricing / market access strategy and explain why you find it clever.”