Booz Allen Hamilton Reviews

Pros

-Great amount of respect is given to employees
-Great Flexibility and time/work life balance
-Amazing 401k free bonus
-Can change what you do without changing your job if you're tired of doing it, bored, unhappy, underwater -etc as long as you handle it right

If you can get a Job at BAH consider yourself very lucky. It is an amazing resume builder and you will learn a LOT about proposals, business development, professionalism, productivity, etc. especially if you're right out of college.

Cons

Ever since their purchase by Carlyle there have been little changes adding up to a big problem. There is a serious vacuum formed by the decisions of management to enslave themselves to quarterly profit reports. The company culture used to be very people-centric; they knew they didn't sell widgets, only people's time and invested in it. People didn't come to BAH to learn, they brought skills and experience that could deliver (for the most part).

For the last 3 years, they have been trying to emulate CSC/SAIC/ManTech and just put butts in the seat. They are so focused on reducing costs to the government to be more competitive against more 'value' contractors that they are turning into them. It's a slow march to mediocrity. The truly dedicated and talented who are still around are stressed to hell trying to carry the water for 5 underlings right out of college with no experience in the field (or anywhere). Every veteran lost increases the size of the vacuum, but there are no acquisitions or senior strategic hires to fill the void; instead they just stretch whatever is left which is just accelerating the drain.

Pros

Booz Allen offers some of the best people with the best work I've had the privilege of being involved with. It's reputation has been historically rock solid in the government sector and the benefits are very competitive. The projects/programs that are typically taken on are more selective than other consulting firms, which means that staff are generally offered challenging and interesting work, not "hired butts in seats" (or "TS cleared butts in seats"). The firm is very forward-leaning regarding internal collaboration platforms (hello.bah.com and Yammer), which helps tie far-flung areas of the company together.

Cons

The cons have specifically come about in the past couple years. Specifically, since the move to take the company public and the subsequent fallout. Budgets are noticeable tighter for "niceties" like team socials, training, and other former perqs. "Lack of work" also seem to be more prevalent, meaning more folks are given the axe more quickly than ever. Quality staff without a project used to be given a lot more leeway, but now they're given two weeks to find something or else they're given the boot (like many other consulting firms in the area). On the other hand, perhaps it's just that I'm more cognizant of these individuals since the popularity of our internal social networking has grown. The ladder-climbing is much less of an issue to me. In fact, it's really no different than any other traditional company: sell your soul, move up the rungs of corporate success. If you're looking for "work-life balance," then you just need to find that balance and live with the consequences. If that means sacrificing a high-level and high-paying management position to build a quality marriage and raise healthy kids, then DO SO!

Advice to Senior Management

Be honest...about everything. If your team is struggling or a project/contract is in jeopardy, don't hold back that information in fear of good folks leaving. If the firm is tightening the purse strings and perqs like social outings and training is no longer an option, be up front about that. If a raise isn't in the cards because it would mean pulling someone off a contract, make that clear looong before assessment time. Staff are tired of hearing things third-hand or speculating on rumors for months without any confirmation/denial from management. You know, so let the rest of your staff know so we can all be on the same page.

Pros

Work was challenging and gratifying; some of my colleagues have been knowledgeable and articulate professionals who were a pleasure to work with; most of the clients I have collaborated with became and remain personal friends.

Cons

An uninvolved and estranged ‘leadership’ that distances itself from the staff. An almost abject lack of communications; information is pulled by, not pushed to, the people who are most affected by the changes in the business landscape. Functional incompetents squelch the contributions of more functionally expert employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Return to the egalitarian, collaborative, collegial, and cooperative culture of years past. Accept subordinates' considered opinion regardless of ‘rank’ within the company.

Pros

In my position they gave me the responsibility for the program with the commensurate authority to run it for the client. They have a very positive training program and they do expect you to take advantage of it. You are part of a Company Team - You will have a task to work and they will expect you to work it but when you need help there are others in your team or other teams to reach out for help or technical advice. It is a Team philosophy, if there is anything you can do to help the team move forward then you should just as others will help you move forward - The client wins, you win, other individuals win, and The Team wins.

They have a BAH help desk (single phone #)for individual company issues that may be causing you concern or just need a little help with a benefit. The help desk will take your issue and direct it to the correct office who will coordinate with you to resolve your issue - very nice not to have to try to track down the right person in a very large organization to help you.

Cons

Just as they expect you to work your task that you've been hired to accomplish, they expect you to take the extra time to work Market Development. Market Development may or may not be your desire and at times may cause conflict with your client's expectations or policies.

In my situation, they were quick to issue a Lack of Work Letter at the end of the contract.

Advice to Senior Management

Caution as you've gone transitioned to a Public Company in maintaining your core values for both your clients as well as your employees.

Pros

- Benefits (401k is top notch, health insurance is great, etc.)
- Work/Life Balance. I can pretty much work at home whenever I please. Come at 10 am or leave early as long as I get my work done and do at least 40+ hours
-My admin team and career manager really care for me personally but this is not always the case. Get a good career manager who actually cares about you!
-Good pay and raises are nice if you work hard, earn it, and ask for it.

Cons

- Since going public, we've been really losing the culture and community of BAH. It is slowly turning into a cold-hearted corporation where people can get laid-off at a moment's notice.
- The infamous lunches & happy hours are now long gone due to going public and the stakeholders are hitting hard on expenses and where the partners & senior mgmt spend their money
-On the bench for 30 days? GONE. Before, it used to be at the discretion of your team but now be billable or be out
- Utilization rate is complicated and needs to be reworked

Advice to Senior Management

Take care of the employees and keep their loyalty. Some are jumping ship just because the culture is changing and people are little worried. Not much senior mgmt can do now that we are public and have to answer to stakeholders though.

Pros

- Flexibility for movement within the firm
- Great benefits for a contractor
- Unlikely to get sacked just for losing contracts...the firm actually realises their capital is in their field consultants

Cons

- Little respect from senior leadership for rank-and-file's technical ability
- A mentality of placing retired military in identical positions in the Firm, without regard for their ability to perform in such roles
- Despite recent cuts, maintains a huge support staff unresponsive to consultants in the field

Advice to Senior Management

Management shouldn't make the mistake of evolving into the average defense contractor. There is room for growth in the private sector, but the Firm's career miltiary personnel might not be able to take advantage of it.

Pros

Interesting work assignments

High-quality co-workers

Excellent reputation as top employer in DC area

Decent private sector benefits package

Supportive management

Fair assessment methodologies

Core Values

Ample opportunities for training and professional growth

Flexible work schedules are available (i.e., telework, remote client support) depending on project

Greater emphasis on innovation and outside-the-box thinking than other employers

Good food in the Greensboro Cafe in McLean

Cons

We're becoming the new SAIC - growing pains due to going public

Lots of room for improvement for security clearance/visit request processing

We have to change our email password every month now, and it's annoying

Internal social networks (Hello, Yammer) are not fully utilized and often impossible to use on client site

You could get stuck on a project with bad clients for years; lateral movement within the firm, particularly different markets, has become more challenging over the years

Dispersed work environments can be detrimental to collaboration, morale

"Hoteling" has eliminated the office cultures that once existed at Booz Allen - good luck if you come in as a Consultant and you don't see/talk to your Career Manager more than once every quarter

Disconnects often occur between client-site staff and non-client-site staff

Oftentimes, rigid management bureaucracy exists when they tout a "matrixed" environment

Entry-level staff perceived more and more as a "butt in seat" or "cheap labor" to help the contract profitability, rather than a valuable asset to Booz Allen's future

Need for "owning a market" to get promoted past Associate - becoming much harder to do in an era of government belt-tightening. Booz Allen has developed a "belt" system to recognize technical abilities, and even it focuses too much on business development, marketing, and recruiting

Pay is generally good, but I've met many folks hustling constantly to support clients when they get paid 10K less than a GS-13 who surfs the web all day, and the requirements/skills needed to support their missions increases each year

Pros

Booz Allen Hamilton is known for providing great service to their clients. This is accomplished mainly through the hiring of highly competent, experienced professionals. 99% of the personnel at Booz Allen Hamilton are top notch performers. There are excellent opportunities to garner all sorts of experience and to move around internally and geographically within the company. They provide very good pay and benefits in order to maintain the talented people they hire. I've had job offers making considerable more money at other companies and have turned them all down to stay at Booz Allen Hamilton - they're that good.

Cons

Some complain that the annual assessment you receive is too time consuming It typically can take 5-10 hours to complete and it's supposed to be done on your own time (but is optional). Booz Allen Hamilton spends a lot of time and resources conducting assesments and I feel it is a terrific process.

Advice to Senior Management

Only thing I worry about is losing my job when things get slow and become unbillable.

Pros

Good pay
Good work
Good people
Good benefits

Cons

Not really a con but Booz Allen is not exempt from what is happening in the Defense Industry. Too many "Gen Y's" are getting a wake up call to reality. They want job security, excellent benefits, and plenty of time off with a 7 hour work day. Fact of the matter is that Booz Allen has gone from growing 18% a year to 3% (most of our competitors have negative growth). Lack of work letters are more common place because of a lack of overhead funds due to lack of growth. The firm as a whole is just now starting to come to grips with this sad reality and bottom line is that unlike our clients (the government) Booz Allen needs to remain profitable to stay in business.

Advice to Senior Management

COMMUNICATE!

Pros

It's been a rewarding experience and I have been adequately compensated. Flexibility with work location allows staff to work from home or "hotel" from offices around the area.

Cons

Corporate culture can be draining at times. Dress code is uptight, but bearable. Working in the Defense sector is usually a "pro" but is now a "con" as government begins to trim the budget.