EY

Employee - Manager

Excellent brand recognition

Employee - Manager

Leading company in audit service and consultancy. Dinamic, international, young, talented people

Employee - Manager

Great place to work

Employee

Very inclusive enviroment. Flat organization, where everyone can realize is potential

Employee - Manager

Not every Exec. is a role person...

Employee - Principal/VP/Director

respectable, knowledgeable

Employee - Senior Associate/Consultant

Not consistent pay structure across levels

Employee - Senior Associate/Consultant

Career wise - Good to shift between other 3 of the big four or boutique consulting firms Business wise - Always secondary to the big consulting firms e.g. BCG, Mckinsey, Accenture etc. and industry usually gives low value added work. Respect for EY as firm is always present in the industry

Employee - Senior Associate/Consultant

Hierarchy. There's a clear line of service between leadership and the functions of the lower levels and ranks.

Employee - Senior Associate/Consultant

Culture is emphasizing teaming, strong communication, always a focus on self-improvement and at the end of the day socializing on large projects. What was reinforced over and over was the value of networking, of finding your own projects and making your own deals, and not being afraid to: 1. talk globally with the EY members of the community 2. share information freely with the team in order to have a solid team and 3. network with EY members because they're the strongest connection to having control over your future. The thing I would emphasize most is the diversity, which was something initially I didn't care about. Now I realize it has a value add, which is hard to measure, but definitely a worthwhile contribution. What I did like about the firm was the on-the-job training and the ability to jump into a leadership role on seemingly every project. It was quite amazing how much I learned while in the field, and if was far better than taking a classroom lecture. The firm definitely practiced a global mindset and they did emphasize entrepreneurship. A sense of highly connected individuals. The strongest word to describe the EY value system, would be integrity. That really hits me on a personal level, and something I really strongly appreciate in myself. Values were strongly emphasized, always doing the right thing. There was a strong indication about the strength of the team, that competing was really more about a collaborative effort than a solo mission. And the challenges were really all about dealing with different personalities, balancing personal life and rewarding goals such as being home with family. The culture at the end of the day prepared me well to be a leader, to take chances for myself. To believe in myself 1000% more and to really commit to what it is I said I was going to do. It was always a pleasure working with the firm, and politically it was not about politics, but rather was a really deeply personal journey. Culture-wise I only remember one personality conflict quite strongly, and I believe the firm intentionally places bad managers in spots in order to test their employees. This is a bullshit practice, it was one of the things I saw echoed over and over again. Simply stated, nobody likes to be tested. The culture of the consultants very much did show several positive aspects of the business, such as how to act with class, being professional in tough situations and how to travel both as an individual as well as with a party. Dressing the part of a high-powered and extremely well-deserving consultant with a mindset of success and the desire to go beyond to satisfy the needs of the client. There was never a mention of being cocky, or partying while on the road, rather it was a good for emphasizing core values. Counseling I felt was very well done, yet at the same time a cursory experience for building relationships. I never really felt truly connected to the teams, and when I really needed something I remember that it was hard to get the information I needed. The other thing to be mindful was, I came from an acquisition. I did not feel that EY as a culture was strong in technology implementation. Instead, I felt that they did some of the process work, some of the managerial work, but I would say as Technology implementation, that was their weakest aspect. I also felt that I was allowed to do all these wonderful and great ideas, yet at the end of the day I felt neglected, and my Service Delivery Approach I did on Data Warehouses was not even looked at. Perhaps the worst part about the EY was the Counseling. I found it subpar, too high level, and when things got tough, it was definitely not enough to keep me at the firm. There was far less emphasis on selecting the right projects, and too much emphasis on sticking it out because that's what you signed up for. There was definitely doing projects that you weren't the best fit for, and that really bothered me, because it diluted my experience as a Technical consultant. Regarding the Center of Excellence, I really wanted to work on projects that integrated regions together. And regarding a pharma company, I found a great opportunity and really wanted to go after a large project, and felt I wasn't supported. The thing that hurt the most was having the partner of my old firm tell me that I should leave the firm if I wasn't happy. There wasn't any discussion of career path, of growth or placing me onto a project that I was happy with. From working with the partner at my old firm, when he was the CEO I found him to be very approachable and if there was any issue, I could talk with him. The culture at the firm turned him into a robot, and I really disliked that. He was there, but his message, his tone and his being personable with his people changed. I will never forget, he hired me in April of 2011, and it was his mission to personally hire every single person that worked for him. He said he had to look people in the eye to get a good judge of character. In the end, I felt very hurt, frustrated and confused, angry and completely out of communication with the old CEO. It caused me to really re-think how I felt about the firm, it definitely was one of the darker parts of consulting in my life. This really was important in my own growth, it helped me to define my own consulting group and pick up where I felt the old CEO had failed. I took the courage to do something way out of my comfort zone, yet I felt the calling to do it in my heart. I realized how hard it was to do a company, and I failed over and over, until I realized that that's actually the secret to success. I still have this partner as a reference, and come to think of it, I don't know why I really do. That's not a good reference or a relationship I want. In fact, it is just more of a title, someone with blind power. That's now how I want my relationships to be. Last, the firm really did emphasize staying in contact with people. It was important, for instance, to stay in touch with people at they transitioned to other consulting groups. As they left the firm. It was interesting, the boomerang approach, as they say. The sporting events. Say something about that... the EY culture does have tickets for things. I am not a sports fan, but I would have loved to meet up with my girlfriend at a sporting event, have the company pay to fly her out and visit me, sort of a surprise visit. I couldn't being to describe how happy that would have made me feel. Probably the most impactful feeling I have from the culture is being empowered just to do something you believe is in your heart. It starts as a seed, and that idea grows, and it is one of the best feelings, is believing you can do something. It really is about exploring all the options, getting way out of your comfort zone, and trying something new. Not with the blind faith and endless courage to succeed, but realizing for the first time you're really working on something you want to do, that's the result of a personal transformation. For the most part I've forgotten about all the little pedantic politics, the little things that would grind up against you the wrong way. It is also an important part of the firm. Playing at this level, you need to have a healthy skin, to say FUck Off to the pressures, and the demands others place in your life. That's so tremendously important. Not to let people get to you. Ultimately, I am a person that doesn't want to deal too much with politics. I recognize it really does have to be my way. And I understand that's just simply who I am, someone who sets his vision and believes that others should follow because it is the right thing to do. Ultimately, I believe it is the strength of the people you work with, and the relationships being build the right way, which allows people to agree enough with the vision and passion you've experienced. Politics is something that especially important in business, especially with large transformation projects, that's really important. That being said, IT is everything. If you understand that, you truly understand how to empower people. Jack Welch, he was one of the first that helped me to understand what it meant, and what it meant to be a leader. I think that the firm, while it never really discussed what "it" meant, definitely had their own flavors and versions. Hmm, what else can I say about the firm? It was exciting being on projects, it was nice working from home, and the balance was hurry up and wait. I did nothing for 6-months of my acquisition, other than to learn the culture of the firm and to network. I wanted to be on more projects in my specialty, and be utilized locally in Boston, as well as my peer groups in Business Intelligence in Philadelphia. The firm was reasonable with travel, however the culture was to travel on a Monday at 4am. In reality, I don't think that was entirely necessary, and it really sucked getting dragged out of my bed with my girlfriend still in it. For the most part I was not necessarily utilized as well as I thought I could have been. As a consultant, I was highly valued for my ability to work on lots of projects, within my space, and according to what I was told before I went to the firm, my skillsets were extremely high in demand. I would have liked to have managed more teams, and to work remotely as well as in the field, in the industry sectors that I wanted to, and with the people and teams I wanted to. Above all, I really wanted to work more with entrepreneurship, with venture capital. I think I discovered Business Intelligence was just the tip of the iceberg of my talents. My real stride was not in BI systems per se, although I was gifted there, but really in developing talent, and in early-venture development. That's the aspects of the culture of the firm I really liked, and where I found the Advisory mindset to be of value. Last, I think the team building was not fun. Too much, and not deep enough. It was cocktail parties, focusing on drinking, socializing and being proper. Long dinner parties, endless at times. I loathed those. I needed to have a much deeper conversation, only 1-2 people and really have fun socializing, thinking. I wanted to have more in common with my peers as well, being active physically, and being on location, exploring the city and the country life. I think the culture here was trying to be too inclusive, too much focusing on small appetizers, and less on meaningful relationships. I guess one point I really should make. I killed the relationship with my girlfriend. It wasn't the firm that did it, but all the travel, it did not really help. I found it incredibly hard to date and have a job with 100% travel. If I were married and having kids, I would definitely not be able to do that job. Not without some serious changes to it. The firm and their culture really was toxic to relationships. It was perhaps not the right relationship for me, but the relationship aspect was one of the most painful experiences in my life. If EY could have done something to help me keep myself more stable/balanced with work, and to give some advice on the home front, I'm not sure if that would help, but I'm sure I would have grown from the experience. If anything, I know that I was not the only one who experienced a relationship that crashed and burned while I was with the firm. On that note, the issue with the girlfriend. This is something directly related to the culture of the firm. There is a myth, consulting folk lore that the only people you'll really be happy dating are consultants. Well, she was a consultant. Perhaps she needed to work at EY? Travel with me on the same project? Who knows? All I know is that she was one of the greatest sources of my strength, and if EY could have helped me leverage that relationship, and it was the right thing to do, perhaps it really would have made the difference between me leaving and staying. It was a scary time in my life, losing my girlfriend while working at the firm. I guess that's all I could say for sure. And I'm sure the firm's culture is something that I'm not alone in. One final point. I trusted someone in the firm, and he really did a dis-service to me. His name was Ming and I did not trust him from the start. I extended him kindness and the loyalty I would to my friends, but he did not live the values of the firm. He is still working there, and I am very disappointed. I allowed myself to be taken advantage of by him, and that's one of the parts of the culture that I really did not like. At the core I would go back to the counseling. It starts with a strong relationship with the counselor. And the way of life, balance. The firm needed to follow up more with wellness, with the social connectedness. The sense of purpose, as well as the cortisol/stress levels of the employee. The weight gain, the hydration, the sleep of the individual. And the ability to take on projects, to have them be stretch goals and to have the right support. HR had some really strong greens and I never really took advantage of them. I didn't talk with them either and I wish that I knew when I needed some well-deserved consultant self-talk, the right kind. In the end, perhaps I wanted a life coach, someone who really did care about me. Who knew my skills, and genuinely wanted to see me succeed. And when I won, he was there to help me celebrate and win big. I'd want them to be a huge part of my weekly life, an accountability partner, someone to help keep me on track and really push me. To help me grow, and to really leverage what Performance Improvement really meant. Oh yes, I really hated the culture of the firm, flying around on the cheapest airplane, always in the middle seat. I'm not sure this is a culture thing, I'll say it is because it is part of the policy of the firm. I really wanted to have business class seating. True First-class. I thought for all the time I was there, it was one of the things that could have been a nice improvement.