Vault’s Verdict

OUR SURVEY SAYS

Vault Verdict: With a decade of existence and one serious recession behind it, West Monroe Partners is a firm that has done a lot of growing—and growing up—in a short space of time. Better yet, the firm seems to have bright future ahead of it as well, with a strong client reputation likely to result in continued demand for West Monroe's services. The one limitation the firm faces is in gaining more visibility in the market; if it can acquire that, then there's no telling where the firm could be at the close of its next decade.

Insiders report that the West Monroe culture is built around employees. Accordingly, time off is both generous and easy to utilize, while opportunities to try new things and take on stretch roles are backed by supportive colleagues who are ready to help out if necessary. Flexible scheduling is another part of the West Monroe experience that consultants cite as a bonus, with the caveat that there is a slight trade-off when it comes to monetary compensation: while good, higher salaries can be had elsewhere in the industry.

Firm Culture 

"West Monroe Partners has built an amazing culture and firm in its first ten years—and the next ten look even brighter." 

"Going above and beyond for our clients is the norm. Settling for less-than perfect work due to time constraints is never an option." 

"West Monroe, though experienced on many fronts and in many industries, does not come to the marketplace telling clients what we can do to them or for them. Instead, we work with clients to outline their success criteria and collaboratively work with them to achieve the goals have developed." 

"Our focus on our people that extends all the way down to entry level where if you work hard you can take your career where you want to." 

"Growing and thriving, but still maintains that familial and energetic feel of a smaller firm. Very vibrant—not super corporate." 

"I can call anybody in the firm, regardless of division or practice, and know that they will do their best to help me with whatever I need. That alone really sets us apart from any firm I've ever heard of. No internal politics." 

"The opportunities for leadership you receive will outweigh the low compensation." 

"Take some time and really read the website. There is a lot of information on there about what we believe in and how we operate. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that it is true. It isn't fluff or BS. It's real. This is a company where the CEO will genuinely lend you his ear if you feel you need some time with him and the same goes for every other member of the company." 

"This place may not be for everyone, but for those that really believe in the stated values, this organization lives up to them every day better than any organization I've worked at."

Quality of Life

"My co-workers are my best friends in the city. This is a combination of the people who are here and the firm devoting a lot of resources to maintain this level of culture between its employees. The hardest part of the job is knowing when to step away and maintain a life independent of work and co-workers." 

"I think my firm does an amazing job encouraging work-life balance but this is consulting—so you do have to travel and work longer hours than a normal job. People who don't like this have a problem with consulting, not West Monroe. West Monroe works hard and plays hard. I have no complaints in this department." 

"For people who take their career seriously and want the challenge of consulting for clients, there is an expectation of some longer hours and travel. You can't grow in your career and provide great client service by working the minimal amount of hours per week. West Monroe is very flexible, comes up with creative travel schedules, and focuses on career equity, which includes making time for vacation and family. No consulting firm I have worked for is as focused on work-life balance and creating a great work environment and culture as West Monroe."

"West Monroe is very flexible and accommodating towards its employees' wishes. While many people do travel, there is no requirement to do so, and I am always able to request local projects." 

"Very flexible schedule. Ability to control schedule, for the most part." 

"Leadership is consistently focused on and worried about consultants becoming burnt out and leaving. There is a real focus on building a consulting firm full of consultants who are well rounded and have long careers at West Monroe." 

"Work-life balance is outstanding at West Monroe. The firm has created a sustainable culture where people want to stay and work for many years. There is no 'burn and churn' and they are conscious of giving people the time they need to enjoy a healthy life outside of work. For example, entry-level consultants are given four weeks of vacation plus all holidays in their first year." 

"The best aspect of the firm's quality of life is the culture. Looking forward to going into work because of the people you work with has no equal. The worst part about the quality of life is being expected to always be plugged in, every night, every weekend, etc. The only time you actually get a 100 percent worry free break is on your PTO."

Career Development 

"We have a very open door policy and I feel very supported by people in my practice area and around the firm in my career development. Recently, our formal training programs have really kicked into high gear and there are also many opportunities to attend informal peer-to-peer knowledge transfer sessions which are very helpful/informative." 

"I believe that the informal training opportunities are fantastic at WMP. These are better, in my opinion, than the formal training opportunities because one gets to maintain a personal relationship with another co-worker or mentor. On the same line, this is a way to switch between groups: one simply has to reach out to another individual willing to help them, and that sets the ball in motion." 

"There is a great focus on formal training with the soft skills required in consulting. There is also an emphasis on technical experts to share knowledge through lunch and learns with other team members." 

"We have the freedom to seek out new challenges and define our own career path. There is a clear culture of if you want to do something—form your idea, develop a business case for it, and the firm will support its execution." 

"I came from another consulting firm and the training opportunities at West Monroe are head and shoulders above what I had at my previous firm. There are regular optional training opportunities and I love that I'm afforded the chance to be a part of them. I find my job to be challenging in a good way. I am asked to play a significant role in business development and improving our practice and offerings in addition to my client project responsibilities. I like having this range of responsibility as it makes my job interesting and increases my set of skills and tools." 

"Career equity program is excellent! Take control of one's career, aspirations, and being able to talk about it and share it with the firm." 

"The Career Equity program at West Monroe Partners is really giving everyone the opportunity to talk about their long-term career and life goals and objectives. By changing to a long-term rather than a project or annual perspective, our people and the firm are thinking about developing and investing in careers with a much longer horizon—and making us more aligned with how our people want to grow." 

"West Monroe Partners prides itself on retaining a highly skilled talent pool. Being an entry-level member of the team, I am constantly attending training programs and reaching out to my team members for advice and information. The culture allows for a huge amount of professional growth within the company. I have learned more in my three months with the firm than I have in years. I am consistently challenged to broaden my skill set and increase my understanding of the technologies involved with our practice." 

"Best: it's a meritocracy, meaning West Monroe promotes on defined professional milestones, not years of employment. Worst: meritocracy does not apply as readily to compensation."

Compensation

"The base salary is for the most part competitive; however, I am aware of a number of other firms that do pay more in base and bonuses. The 401(k) match and ESOP options are both benefits that not every other company can enjoy/offer to its employees." 

"There are several things that make West Monroe Partners a great firm to work for as far as compensation is concerned. They have extremely competitive vacation time, starting out at 4 weeks fresh out of college. Next, they are very flexible with the working hours & telecommuting. I personally have had a lot of personal appointments that I have had to take because of my health and the management and company has been extremely supportive and flexible. I can start work later/early and work from home, with very little notice too." 

"Absolutely nothing I do not like. Our 401(k )match is incredible, we get FOUR WEEKS paid vacation time plus holidays off, our benefits are great, and we have an extremely affordable gym in the building with free drinks and food at the office." 

"The compensation structure is heavily weighted towards base compensation. This is both good and bad. I think I would prefer more incentive based pay where a bonus based on my performance and the firm's performance were a bigger piece of the overall compensation." 

"Too much rides on collective performance rather than individual performance. Good for culture, bad for top individual contributors." 

"I'm very happy overall with our firm's compensation. I would like to be able to work remotely (telecommute) a touch more than allowed now but this is a very minor item and West Monroe Partners is quite flexible." 

"I think the compensation matches the training and career development opportunities well. I agree with the application of bonus, which is not with individual measure. Individual excellence is rewarded with raises and promotions." 

"Starting salary is a little low compared to other consulting firms, but the newfound ESOP plan should provide a good amount of financial value, especially for entry-level consultants who stick with the company. Bonuses and profit-sharing is pretty fair and extensive as well."

Outlook 

"I have the utmost confidence in our firm's leaders. They've proven time and time again that they're always looking for new opportunities for the organization and are open minded to new ideas. They constantly communicate with all our employees so we feel informed of our direction/strategy and work to achieve the goals they set, further deepening trust with all our employees." 

"I am very confident in WMP's growth plan over the next few years. Employee morale is very high and leadership is strong and transparent with all of us at every level (contributing to this is the fact that we are employee owned). We are focusing on innovation and the fact that senior leaders are discussing this is exciting and encouraging." 

"Employee morale is extremely high. Leadership is extremely focused on maintaining a high level of productivity while strategically scaling to not burn out employees. While presently an initiative, we are still developing and refining our innovation methodology." 

"Strong growth potential for the company as a whole. Our past history is a strong indicator." 

"West Monroe has a diverse set of clients so were able to weather the recession and are now in a great strategic position to assist clients on large transformational projects." 

"I feel very confident about our outlook and am seeing more initiative grooming our future leaders, growth strategies, and innovation. However, innovation is probably our weaker point and largely because there isn't enough time from our people to nurture a large number of ideas to completion." 

"The firm has done a good job creating specific and targeted offerings for each of the solution lines/verticals that will spur growth." 

"We continue to grow and our profitability and rates are rising too. I think we are diverse enough from an industry and practice perspective that we are truly trending toward balance that is not tied to any one industry moving up or down."

Hiring Process 

"The college recruiting process here is prompt, and direct. There is no grey space, which is great for candidates. Callbacks are done quickly and decisions are made quickly also. I believe that they ideal candidate is someone who is intelligent, educated, outgoing, upbeat, energetic, gregarious, and willing to take on new types of roles and/or projects outside of their expertise." 

"West Monroe Partners interview process is pretty standard and fair. It is not overly challenging, but does a good job of filtering through unqualified candidates." 

"As with any company, it typically takes around one or two weeks to hear back with an offer in hand if you pass the interview process and get the job." 

"All interviewers for a candidate meet within 24 hours and with an HR moderator, make a consensus decision about the individual. Response to candidates is always prompt throughout the process." 

"Our successful candidates fit our culture. We are upbeat, aggressive and all contribute to the company's success." 

"The firm places a huge importance on referral recruiting. I myself was recommended by a current employee. Initially I was interviewed for a more on site client-facing role, and knowing that I come from an internal background, it wasn't a particularly good fit. However, as a position opened up in a more fitting centrally managed server side role they reached out to me again and aggressively set up interviews and meetings with the team to introduce me to the practice." 

"A typical interview starts with a phone screening. If the candidate passes the phone screen then an onsite interview usually consists of at least four separate interviews where each focuses on a case study, behavior, firm fit, and so on. The ideal candidate shows the aptitude to learn, is highly social, and demonstrates strong self-motivation. If experienced, the ideal candidate also has a history of success in his/her field." 

"Focus on a good fit between the candidate and firm." 

"The interview process was incredible. Highly communicative and always let me know where I stood in the process."

Interview Tips and Questions 

"We interview with standard CBI, fit and case interviews. Case interviews all deal with real-life client situations and each solution area writes its own case to ensure they are able to ask candidates questions relevant to the expertise required." 

"West Monroe spends a lot of time evaluating clients on their technical knowledge, critical behavior, culture fit, and each candidate interviews with a minimum of three to five employees prior to receiving an offer." 

"The case questions are derived from projects that a candidate may be staffed on in the future. For example, one question focuses on making candidates conduct software selection methodology—figuring out the stakeholders and the business requirements needed while considering timing and cost."

Diversity and Social Responsibility 

"The attitude toward diversity is not forced at West Monroe - everyone is treated equally and it's just a fact that we all respect one another. We are very committed to green initiatives and our office is LEED Gold certified. Our charity committee is very active and the firm's policy on charity in respect to time and donations is progressive." 

"The firm has a clear internal culture of gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, and military service having zero impact on your hiring, promotion, and mentoring. Everyone gets the same opportunities and your performance drives your evaluation." 

"West Monroe takes philanthropy very seriously, a great deal of effort goes into coordinating and delivering our charitable activities for a wide range of causes." 

"Our charity committee activities and donations on Fridays for wearing casual clothes are all commendable. West Monroe has a great commitment to charity." 

"West Monroe added Social Responsibility as a core value a couple years ago and is living it out on a daily basis. Our new office space achieved LEED Gold certification and West Monroe is committed to sustainability for our own practice and our clients. Also, West Monroe Partners has a Green Team that promotes "green" activities and volunteer programs for employees." 

"I've never worked at a firm more dedicated to giving back locally to charitable organizations—and creating policies that enable people to do more to give back on their own time. " 

"We encourage our employees to donate one percent of their time and money to the community." 

"Not a lot of women in the workforce in responsible managerial positions. Only a limited number, and recent, at the Director level." 

"West Monroe has a women's committee to promote women within the firm and also within the business workplace in general. Our charity committee and sustainability committees are working extensively to promote green initiatives." 

"The best part about the diversity practices are that whoever deserves the job the most gets it, regardless of any color, gender, or orientation. The worst part about the diversity is that because the nature of the business some [groups of] people are less likely to apply in the first place."