Vault’s Verdict

Vivaldi’s positioning as a highly innovative, mid-sized boutique in the branding space sets it apart from most of the rest of the consulting industry—and likely helps it to attract both employees and a highly impressive array of clients. As such, it’s clearly a place that will appeal to those seeking exposure to a variety of projects at big names across a wide range of industries.

As an employer, the firm seems to act somewhere between a traditional professional services outfit and a startup. While insiders note that they are encouraged to act entrepreneurially, there is still a decent amount of formal training and career development. Hours can tend towards the longer end—although not out of the ordinary for consulting as a whole—but are offset somewhat by a very flexible approach to location. Compensation is comparable to other firms and complemented by a strong benefits program.

Firm Culture

“Being mid-sized fosters a closer-knit team culture and the intellectual capital gained across teams and projects can be more easily shared.”

“No one-size-fits-all approach, we're actually committed to our clients and manage to deliver high-quality, disruptive work every time.”

“The employee-first focus and commitment to thoughtfully developing each member of the team. This allows everyone to contribute, learn, and grow, and means we can do better work for our clients and ourselves.”

“The firm's collaborative, welcoming, and playful culture is unparalleled. Everyone wants to see you succeed, everyone at every level is available to provide guidance, the teams enjoy each other's company, and the firm fosters a playful environment that makes work enjoyable. You would be hard-pressed to find something similar anywhere else.”

“Vivaldi is fantastic at providing junior level employees with so much exposure, skill-building, and client-facing opportunities. You grow so incredibly fast at Vivaldi and are instilled with so much confidence in yourself and your work from the second you walk in the door.”

Quality of Life

“Best aspect is that we are offered a hybrid work environment so we can choose to work from home or from the office. Of course we do gather at the office if there is a client workshop or prep that can't be done at home.

Taking time off is no issue, we just need to clear it with our managers to make sure that any work that needs to be delivered is complete or can be taken over by the rest of the team.”

“It is consulting—so usually long hours, however, due to understaffing projects tend to be a big load on all members. They do try to do a good job of balancing projects and encourage you to take time off between assignments. Understaffing is due to growing pains and a competitive recruiting environment. 

Due to COVID, the travel requirements have substantially decreased, usually in-person meetings with the client might happen once or twice in a project if needed.”

“The hours can be long, but we get plenty of PTO days and the firm consistently reminds us to take time for ourselves to support the hard work we do.”

“Vivaldi has a very vibrant and lively culture, and everyone is very passionate about the work that we do. We also have a very flexible working style that makes it much more accommodating for team members to go to doctor's appointments, take a quick trip home to see family, and so on.”

Compensation

“A PTO policy that has above-average flexibility than other American companies.”

“Best are the benefits, including wellness, training and WFH setups to use.”

“Best: competitive compensation packages. Worst: lack of transparency across regions.”

“Salary progression is not great, salaries have not been adjusted for inflation, even the standard yearly 2%. Promotions don't come with a competitive salary increase. Overall salaries are not aligned to market standards and no bonuses are given.”

“We have very competitive salaries compared to other agencies.”

Career Development

“Best - Vivaldi is very committed to its people. We undergo extensive training and are provided with educational opportunities to advance our knowledge in different areas. We also get access to personal development & career development funds.

Worst - Promotion timeline can be a bit more extended compared to other consulting firms.”

“Best part is access to a broad range of talented people. The distance from the top to the bottom is very narrow, like a network. Access to the latest thinking and thought leadership in our area.”

“Best: We are assigned a career mentor as well as a general mentor to help guide us professionally as well as support us externally on anything we may need. All feedback is VERY actionable and in-depth providing you with goals and steps to improve in every aspect. There is a set-in-stone process for promotions so as long as you work on growing/towards your goals you know when you'll be moving up. Have offered access to free courses for skill development, and every member of the company, from CEO to intern, is accessible, easy to talk to, and encourages you to reach out. I found that this helps immensely with networking, as I'm able to connect with partners previous colleagues despite only just joining the team. Everyone wants to lift everyone with them to succeed together. The company takes feedback seriously and wants to improve their process so that you're able to improve as well.

Worst: My major wasn't related to 98% of what the firm does so I felt very lost in the beginning with my lack of knowledge and the lack of formal training. Reading other reviews of the company before I joined, I expected this, however the company turned it into a PRO and took this feedback and developed workshops on the most important aspects of company work ranging from client interaction- to public speaking- to slide development and excel hacks. These workshops were incredibly valuable, however they were in quick succession and each one took multiple hours, so I feel that we weren't able to absorb as much as would have been possible if the information for individual programs was more spaced out throughout the day or if the sessions were spaced out over weeks. (As a giant Pro: Post workshops, the company asked for detailed feedback on the sessions and for any other skills we would like to learn. I believe there are further sessions in the works to teach suggested skills).”

“Had a week of onboarding and was included in new hire training - some of the training came a bit later down the line, but still great nonetheless. This firm promotes taking classes to further your area's expertise as well as delve into other areas you may be interested in and offer avenues to make that happen.”

“Vivaldi is great for personal development because your training is truly to learn by doing, and learn by example. Our projects span such an array of disciplines and focus areas, all with very different end goals depending on the client and the particular problem to solve. Therefore, there is really no one way to do things, and you are constantly bending and expanding your strategic thinking skills to various scenarios. Additionally, our leadership has such an array of industry experience and wisdom that they relay to junior level employees, making every manager both a boss, and also a built-in mentor.”

Community Engagement

“I definitely believe that all consultants at my firm have equal access to interesting/high-quality work and promotion opportunities.”

“The firm is beginning to invest more in these areas. In spite of efforts, there are still only 3 female partners out of 14. There is receptiveness but the work needs to be active rather than passive. I have seen positive responses to these types of requests.”

“The office recognizes D&I months/weeks/days, supporting organizations and individual employee efforts to make a difference. Employees have participated in races and other events to raise money for specific groups/causes and Vivaldi actively supports and encourages this. Within the firm there is equal access for all employees to the same opportunities.”

“There has been a renewed effort to educate the company and leaders on the latest in D&I topics. The company is very supportive overall, and is making strides to remedy diversity concerns throughout the org.”

“We are a very diverse team with offices in the US, UK, Germany, Zurich and Singapore with an amazing mix of races, ethnicities, and orientations. All of whom have equal access to high-quality work opportunities and promotions.”

Business Outlook

“It's been great to see us win clients, employee morale is always great, and we're working on a newsletter to share industry news and trends.”

“Strengths: Projects are tailored and not one-size-fits-all. We focus on coming up with innovative solutions and always delivering a fresh, consumer-focused perspective to clients which differentiate us from competitors.” 

“The exciting thing about working for this company is the delving into such things as the metaverse, NFTs and other areas that are advancing in technology and how this affects our clients and how we approach certain projects.”

“The firm is well positioned for new opportunities and in the services we can offer clients. It's exciting to be a part of.”

Hiring Process

“Amazing interview process - so communicative, so transparent, was very pleased compared to other firms I was interviewing with.”

“Introductory call with team members discussing experience and interest. A second interview with a case study was involved. Third interview with a senior team member.”

“Our process has recently been revamped to be more efficient and effective. The ideal candidate has had professional services experience and is ready to grow and tackle new challenges in an entrepreneurial environment.”

"The questions tend to be very open ended.  They clearly communicated what stood out to them and if you were moving to the next round of interviews promptly after each call. The case study was challenging but acted as a fantastic gauge of numerous skill sets that they look for in candidates.”

“When I was interviewing, they were very considerate in letting me know how much they enjoyed speaking with me and that they would reach out with next steps shortly, which they did. There was not a huge lag between one interview to the next, which was very soothing as the entire process can be stressful. I believe they are looking for someone that can add to and be a part of a team. Someone that is willing to learn and also to teach.”

Interview Questions

“Gave us a PDF full of data and gave us 1.5 hours live to create a story out of the information and create a 30-minute deck presentation.”

“Long interviews.”

“What excites you about working at Vivaldi?”