Accenture – “Good place to land for a few years”

Pros

The culture at Accentue is very competitive. With the "Up or Out" model in place, you will be challenged and sometimes pushed to your limits. The training is top notch, encouraged, and a lot of fun. Outside of the top 4(M/B/B/B), the brand image of Accenture in consulting is still strong (specifically in Operations and IT). Consulting opportunities with most Fortune 500 companies. Compensation is competitive and inline with market rates for experienced hires(I was an experienced hire).

Cons

The performance review system needs some work although at most consulting firms it is a very biased process. The infamous "Story" told by each career counselor to arrive at project level laddering is often exaggerated and some of the stories are outright lies. The person who delivers the most value to the client will get trumped by the person who spends mornings, days, and nights with his or her direct manager.

The are many managers / senior managers who progressed up the chain doing PMO / spreadsheet work in the background. Although these folks have strong soft skills and understand project methodologies, they lack the industry / process skills to develop additional business and develop new hires.

There is too much emphasis on project status calls, status meetings, keeping track of progress, expected dates of completions, etc. While this may be a great job for an analyst out of college, Consultants, Managers, Senior Managers should be focused on managing client relationships and delivering value while developing skills.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the emphasis on leadership development, training, and fun community activities.

Spend more time listening to cients and delivering value rather than entrenching yourselves in internal political struggles.