Vault’s Verdict

At Strategy&, insiders paint a picture of a vibrant firm culture, defined by collaboration and employees’ mutual dedication to helping each other grow, both personally and professionally. The firm offers strong training and mentorship opportunities, fast-track promotions for high performers, and improving work-life balance.

However, insiders also have a few concerns. They report that Strategy& needs to update its compensation package to account for inflation, and they say that its processes for bonuses and promotions lack clarity. The firm’s administrative processes can also be slower than expected, largely due to its ties to PwC.

However, those ties to PwC also pay massive dividends. Strategy& consultants say its ties to its parent firm enable it to provide offerings that the competition can’t. They also believe the firm has a strong business outlook, which makes the firm an excellent option to consider for your consulting career.

Employee Reviews

Firm Culture

• “We have a very amicable and collaborative work environment.”
• “Strategy& has a very pragmatic culture: You don't have to do anything, with very flexible work and travel arrangements (unless client requires it), and no one here is working just to show off the fact that they’re working.”
• “We have a culture that is open to different backgrounds and facilitates a strong team dynamic.”
• “We're like a family and we all push each other to become better people on both the professional and personal levels.”

Quality of Life

• “The firm has an easy and accommodating time off policy. We generally have a high workload, but a very nice team atmosphere.”
• “Even though our hours are getting better relative to consulting, the hours are still a lot. The best thing, though, is that Strategy& is now highly focused on quality of life and offers a lot of programs and support for consultants.”
• “The weekly travel, driven by client requirements, is much better than it used to be but it’s still a major challenge for families with young children.”
• “The firm’s way of communicating and treating others is awesome, and this differentiates us from other firms. The hours are relatively fair, especially because, apart from client work, we have maximum flexibility.”

Career Development

• “The senior and junior mentorship programs, combined with the opportunity to work in different industries, are awesome. However, the firm has you specialize relatively late, which makes industry exit opportunities for management positions less attractive.”
• “The promotion process is quite fair, but only once a year. However, exceptions are possible.”
• “Training provided by the firm is interesting and engaging, but most offerings related to core consulting skills are remote. However, the promotion policies are not necessarily transparent and relatable.”
• “Career progression is quite slow compared to top competitors, but no up-or-out policy definitely helps the culture.”

Compensation

• “The compensation package for employees includes a fixed salary and several types of bonuses: spot bonuses, project bonuses, and annual performance bonuses. Equity partners get net income distribution, in which the firm distributes income based on each partner’s equity points.”
• “We have not had changes to the salary packages in years despite inflation.”
• “The firm has offered a very solid payout throughout the years, but there’s not a big difference in compensation between top and bottom performers.”
• “The firm offers dietitian and routine physiologist visits, full meditation app membership, access to counseling, insurance that includes physical and mental health checkups, and fertility and egg freezing coverage.”

Community Engagement

• “Strategy& has a great culture of inclusion, with an increasingly diverse group of individuals at all levels. Gender remains a weak point, as it does for consulting in general, and we should do more—especially at senior levels.”
• “The firm has a dedicated DEI department that focuses on inclusion, unconscious bias training, and providing an open challenge of communication about discrimination cases. We also have recurring presentations about inclusion, an International Women’s Day event, and a lunch celebration for every country’s national day or independence day.”
• “The firm makes lots of efforts on DEI, with limited results.”
• “We take the easy way out on DEI. The firm puts a lot of effort into including women, which is great, but not much else. Working in regions where the LGBTQ+ community is less accepted should be a reason to double down on supporting them, not a reason to disregard the problem.”

Business Outlook

• “We have great people working on the right topics. Our market traction is reasonably good.   However, we can be strategically short-sighted. For example, we have had cycles of cancelling hiring efforts, finding that we need more staff because we don’t have the right people, and then over-hiring again to correct.”
• “We are well positioned to continue expanding our business in the region, given our rate of recurring clients and the level of satisfaction with our work.”
• “We have a very strong pipeline because we can offer many services at once, but we’re playing catchup in a few important topics.”
• “We have strong leaders, with a lot of former Booz people still around in important positions.”

Hiring Process

• “The firm has a high-intensity interview and callback process that leaves candidates very satisfied.”
• “The process includes a pre-interview call with other applicants, then one day of interviewing with up to four potential colleagues. Candidates get a result right away.”
• “The ideal candidate is a strong problem solver, quantitatively focused, and understands the culture of the region.”
• “They are seeking candidates who showcase good case cracking skills and fit with company values.”

Interview Questions

• “Expect to see normal market sizing and market entry cases, with minimal questions about fit.”
• “Estimate the economic contribution of a sports event to a country’s GDP. A government has data on how citizens use its services, and they would like to use technology to enhance the experience. How would you go about looking at the opportunities?”
• “Interview questions largely depend on your CV. They ask about why you made your decisions and why you want to work in consulting.”
• “Tell me something that is not on your CV and that you did not share in earlier interviews.”