Crowe Horwath Reviews in Chicago, IL Area

Pros

Overall, Crowe treats their people well. We have good training programs (that are still improving), decent benefits, good people to work with.

Cons

The "up or out" practice

Advice to Senior Management

Spend more time with your people

Pros

Work/life balance.
People
Efforts in trying to create standard procedures
Try to hire best person for the position.
Efforts toward diversity are positive.

Cons

Structure changing.
Lack of infrastructure to support growth.
Leadership does not display leadership qualities.
Too much work for one person to handle.

Advice to Senior Management

Appreciate your people. Keep your word. Don't create a hostile environment where people are scared they'll do something wrong. Step down from your position if you don't want to lead but rather intimidate people.

Pros

The work can be flexible when you are not in the field.

Cons

The job is very time consuming and sometimes there is no work life balance.

Advice to Senior Management

I think managers have to help out the incharges more and take more initiation than bossing the employees around.

Pros

Strong firm values, collaborative environment, diverse cultural workplace, good people, strong and reasonably open communications to the firm, benefit package is balanced and reasonably priced.

Cons

Goals for charge hours, portfolio growth and sales are not realistic for Senior Managers if a reasonable work-life balance is to be maintained. People should not have to work 20-25% overtime to keep pace. The bonus structure is weak when compared to other firms and industry.

Advice to Senior Management

You need to decide if the firm is really going to be a diverse workplace and offer paths for both partner and non-partner goal oriented professionals. There is a perception in at least one service line that the only path is to be a partner and that it's 'up or out'.

Listen to experienced hires - they bring a lot of good ideas and perspectives from other firms.

If work-life balance is truly a priority at the firm, then charge hour goals for managers and senior managers need to be re-evaluated. Setting 17xx charge hours as a goal for a manager plus goals for sales plus portfolio growth doesn't make sense when compared to the 1800 goal for staff and seniors. A similar comment goes for senior managers. If the goal isn't realistic or attainable on all fronts, it just sets people up to fail. The sanity check is pretty simple: How many of the current partners at Crowe ever had a 17xx charge hour goal as a manager? Answer = probably none.

Pros

Benefits (Specifically Health Benefits)
Training Programs

Cons

Expectation of greater than 40 hrs/week.
Expectation of not using PTO.
Senior Management - Some Good, Some Really Bad
Too Many Senior Level Individuals

Advice to Senior Management

Someone else said it best - be wary of executives and directors and their behavior.

Pros

Access to clients with brand recognition.
Access to knowledgeable personnel to assist with challenges.
The opportunity to be industry leaders in various segments.

Cons

Work life balance does not exist.
Pay does not relate to performance.
Contradictory communications flow down from the top.

Advice to Senior Management

We have 250 partners going 200 different directions and not recognizing the hard work of the employees supporting the effort. Start working together are recognizing the efforts and sacrifices of the people making the machine move forward.

Pros

Great benefits, great people, great culture for the most part. Great vacation package.

Cons

Trying to be like the big four while preaching we are the "alternative to the big four"

Advice to Senior Management

Try to recreate the Crowe culture with the Crowe values instead of standing in the shadows of the big four

Pros

Good group management. No one gets ahead at the expense of others, you make it on your own merits.

Cons

The travel can be challenging at times but the Road Warrior program helps quite a bit.

Advice to Senior Management

Employees need to know their concerns are being heard.

Pros

Good management, partners interact with staff to sr managers

Cons

not as selective about hiring, new hires are not agressive and do not seem interested in going the extra mile

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on hiring, avoid work life balance promotion since partners do not support this as a number 1 priority - focus on hiring competitive and hard working people in stead who want to make a difference and work hard at their career

Pros

1. Some people are great to work with if you find that one person who will develop you otherwise you'll just feel lost....staff actually quit because of this.
2. Great learning experience, but you will be overworked.
3. You will great promoted in 2 years no matter how bad you are....unless you're absolutely terrible then you're just screwed. You will be "on probation" through their improvement plan and then "coached" out.

Cons

1. The hiring of staff is pathetic and staff nowadays have a low work ethic. They just want to do their 40 and go home, definitely not public accounting material.
2. Work/life balance is slim to nonexistent depending which group you are in.
3. Partners talk behind your back and do not even follow HR policies. Certain individuals are very unethical and will tell you to eat hours. Doing so will decrease your chargeability and your shot at a bonus, but they will still get theirs.
4. Training is inadequate. When a staff goes to the field with just a pen, I think that' a bit problematic.
5. Travel is absurd and unless you're liked by upper management, they will make you travel non stop.
6. The pay is absurd. They have an employee placement group within the firm. The salary guide that they create indicates that Crowe is underpaying their employees and do not even meet the pay expectations of a mid size company. In addition, the pay between a staff and a senior is so close that it would be less stressful to be a staff.
7. See latter part of Pros # 1, 2, and 3.

Advice to Senior Management

Certain partners are going to burn Crowe to the ground by making all of their employees quit. One particular partner has her name mentioned during exit interviews and nothing has been done yet. If you do not want the employees who get the job done to quit and go elsewhere, you might want to do something about that.