Bain & Company is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with 63 offices in 38 countries around the world. It is one of the three first-tier consulting firms, collectively known as MBB (McKinsey, BCG and Bain). These three companies are the most prestigious management consulting firms to work for. However, there are several other major consulting firms that can give a real boost to a professional career.
McKinsey is widely considered to be one of the best options for developing a high-powered career. It has an academic culture focused on continuous improvement and intellectual rigor. Feedback is frequent and expected across the organization. Entrepreneurs who don't need concrete, rigorously enforced rules tend to thrive at McKinsey.
Diversity at McKinsey is affected to some extent by the preference for candidates from target universities, such as Oxford, Harvard, Stanford or Yale. Boston Consulting Group has a bottom-up approach to customer and employee engagement, attracting those who enjoy collaboration. This consulting firm's culture focuses more on creative and innovative thinking than many of its main rivals. Post-merger integration, project management offices and transformation are areas of expertise.
While Boston Consulting Group has a harmonious and positive work environment, consultants have little to say in hours. The work-life balance at Bain is comparable to that of Boston Consulting Group or McKinsey. Schedules, although flexible, can be long, and trips are a weekly reality. The schedule and workload can be unpredictable depending on the needs of individual commitments.
A deep-seated mentoring culture supports diversity throughout the organization. With five main affinity groups, Bain scored perfectly in the Human Rights Campaign for 12 years and was named “Best Place to Work for Equality Among LGBTQ People”.Accenture Strategy is your wing, focused on senior management consulting. About 95% of companies on the Fortune Global 100 list use Accenture services. It has a strong presence in the United States, India and the Philippines.
Work-life balance is a challenge for Accenture. Flexible hours and remote work options are increasingly popular, but they have not yet become widespread in culture. Opportunities vary greatly depending on individual projects.Oliver Wyman continues to grow with a lot of exciting global perspectives. Work-life balance may be affected as a result of the consulting firm's success.
Their focus on financial services can make the work environment intense. More than 90% of employees surveyed on Glassdoor would recommend Oliver Wyman to their friends; 98% approve of the CEO. Consultants praise the “intelligent”, realistic and “genuine” workforce, which creates a collaborative and supportive atmosphere. Career progression is linear, with a focus on developing young talent at Oliver Wyman. Many former employees report great exit opportunities and limited internal growth, leading to increased turnover.
The typical progression may cover 8 to 9 roles. Work-life balance is relatively strong at Booz Allen Hamilton because they focus on federal consulting. Consultants don't have to travel as much as they do at other consulting firms; however, other factors such as deadlines, billable hour targets and demanding customers are similar to those of the competition. So which one is the #1 consulting firm? It depends on what you're looking for in terms of career development opportunities, work-life balance and diversity policies. McKinsey offers excellent learning and networking opportunities but tends to have an intense lifestyle with lots of travel, face-to-face commitments and long hours as a result. Boston Consulting Group has a harmonious and positive work environment but consultants have little say in hours; it also has several programs focused on diversity and inclusion.
Bain has an academic culture focused on continuous improvement with frequent feedback expected across the organization; it also scored perfectly in the Human Rights Campaign for 12 years for its diversity policies. Accenture Strategy offers great opportunities to develop key skills especially in areas with a lot of technology; it also has flexible hours and remote work options that are becoming increasingly popular but not yet widespread in culture. Oliver Wyman has a fun collegial environment in lower categories but consultants must work hard to get noticed; it also has great exit opportunities with limited internal growth leading to increased turnover due to its performance-based model that highly values past experience and current performance compared to time spent in a given position. At the end of the day, it's up to you to decide which one is best for you based on your own needs and preferences.
