Accenture Reviews in Chicago, IL Area

Pros

- Very open communication from all levels management
- Good variety of work in different industry sectors
- Little micromanaging - I had the ability to define and influence my own role on projects - though this could be a con for some folks who are more junior and would like more guidance
- Very clear career path - up or out is exactly what it is.

Cons

- Travel was relentless and exhausting. It's a very difficult lifestyle if you're older and in a relationship and/or have children.
- Many senior folks seemed to live in an Accenture vacuum - spoke in acronyms and were more focused on the Accenture process than really understanding a client's business.

Pros

Excellent benefits, working from home and lots of smart people.

Cons

Lack of corporate culture increases employee turnover.

Pros

Learning best practices to leverage

Cons

Opportunity for advancement is very poor

Advice to Senior Management

Invest in North America Finance

Pros

Smart people and strong teams

Cons

Long hours and lots of travel if not in a key city --NYC, chi, dal, etc

Advice to Senior Management

I don't think the structure offers the potential for rewarding top performers. Would have appreciated an MBA education opportunities.

Pros

Working with very smart people
Everyone willing to help one another
Management tells it like it is
Management always trying to improve things

Cons

Sometimes difficult to get into other areas due to not having the experience required for that area, and can't see the path to that area

Advice to Senior Management

Keep trying to improve the employee engagement scores obtained through surveys because it does lead to improvements introduced by the leadership team

Pros

Accenture has a great flexible work schedule and surrounded by incredibly smart people. There are a lot of different career opportunities.

Cons

Different career opportunities are out there, however the path to get there can be confusing or unclear if you are trying to try out something different than your current role. Although there is flexible work schedules offered, what you end up with is logging off early afternoon to hop on 11pm or 3am conference calls. People typically login after putting their kids to bed and working until 2-3am. This is the culture, therefore you feel obligated to work this schedule which in the long run, may not be sustainable.

Advice to Senior Management

Leadership is really good. Continue to understand employee perspectives through your employee surveys. Continue to focus on employee centric talent models in order to support the business.

Pros

Good lunch, nice benefits, good location

Cons

Poor compensation, bad management, not growing

Advice to Senior Management

Please stop hiring incompetent managers or else no one will want to work for you anymore, that is all i have to say about that.

Pros

They have good benefits, decent career progression, good amount of time off, 401k plus matching is good, some positions allow you to work from home full time.

Cons

Even though there are defined career paths at Accenture, many consultants will tell you that the review process is unfair and many people that should be promoted are not because of corporate politics.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer career progression for recruiters, eliminate Taleo as an applicant tracking system and replace it with something more automated and smart.

Pros

- Training opportunities can be decent (if you convince management to pay for them)
- When you start they fly all new employees at your level from all over the world to Chicago to undergo a 2 week training course (read: lots of drinking and making lots of international friends)
- Ample paid time off but…

Cons

- …good luck finding an “acceptable time” to use it.
- Salaries are low
- Bonuses are lower… (the highest 5% of performers rarely get above 10% of salary; the middle 60% gets closer to 4% of salary)
- Recruiters flat out lied to me (and several others I’ve since met) about the bonus structure/promotion cycle
- The only behavior that is consistently rewarded is an obnoxious level of kissing a**
- Promotions/raises only come once per year through an extremely lengthy, formalized, and broken ranking process
- The “support structure” that was touted so heavily in the recruiting process is non-existent
     - HR reps are only interested in finding you a project as soon as possible regardless of its fit for your skills/interests
     - Career counselors are, more often than not, more interested in becoming career counselors to further their own careers than helping you with yours

Accenture’s biggest problem, however, is its people. The types of people who stay with Accenture are typically bureaucratic and unimpressive intellectually. Accenture “lifers” tend to ensure they are surrounded by the same “yes men” throughout their careers and will do all that they can to get them promoted over more qualified applicants who challenge their ideas.

Overall, Accenture is a fine place to work if you enjoy receiving a paycheck commensurate with a 40 hour work week despite the 80 hours stated on your time report. You must be willing to tolerate (and even feign enjoying) the presence of people who cannot think for themselves. You will be living in a never ending Dilbert comic strip where everybody is either Wally or the Pointy-Haired Boss.

Advice to Senior Management

Management needs to compensate their employees better… much better. The salaries are nearly as insulting as the bonuses. Focus on hiring more intelligent, creative thinkers. Instead of hiring two mediocre employees try hiring one excellent person.

Once you get them, try to utilize the talent you have hired. I die a little inside every time I see a promising new graduate quit because their project is bad and the only way out is to leave ACN.

Pros

Upward mobility and good mentorship. Pay was in line with the industry and benefits package was great. The technology and help desk was always on top of the latest trend.

Cons

The constant weekly travel and inablity to align consultants with work in their home region. There are also so many employees that aside from your client team, it is hard to collaborate with other co workers being in the office only 3-4 fridays per month

Advice to Senior Management

While face time at the client site will never be eliminated, more effort should be made to work remotely and only travel when absolutely necessary. Usind the current video technology works very well and saves the hassel of travel delays and time away from home/family.