Protiviti Reviews in Houston, TX Area

Pros

Great work life balance, career progression available for those who work hard, corporate culture is outstanding due to the quality of people recruited

Cons

Recession can lead to somewhat poor compensation (as it does in many industries); there is an up-or-out mentality as there is with any consulting firm

Advice to Senior Management

Don't forget where you came from- keeping in mind how you felt at the lower levels of your career will do wonders for your ability to further improve on your management style.

Pros

At Protiviti I have experienced growth and a family away from my home. People take an interest into who I am and who I wish to become. The people I work with challenge me on a daily basis and make me want to improve into a better professional. The CEO is interested in his people and shares this openly through email communication to their direct superiours. I think this was shown by the entire Executive Team being present at the Intern Challenge showing their support of the future of the Protiviti organization.

Cons

There are travel demands at Protiviti, but if you work with your project manager in advance you will be at home when you need to be for important events.

Advice to Senior Management

Please continue to keep your staff clued into the future of the organization; constant comunication is one of the reasons I enjoy working at Protiviti.

Pros

Worklife balance is extremely valued, most projects consist of 40-45 hours a week and rarely any weekend work. Vacation time is greater than industry and Big 4. Opportunity to work within multiple industries and on multiple types of projects promotes a wide range of experience within SOX and internal audit.

Cons

Salary is lower than other consulting firms and Big 4. Knowing how to play the political game with upper management is the only way to prove that you deserve a promotion. Depending on the project the work can be boring and not as challenging.

Advice to Senior Management

Implement incentives for consultants to stay within the company. Improve the evaluation and promotion process by making it less subjective.

Pros

It's a good place to start a career and you get exposure to alot of different companies. You get an opportunity to travel if you want to. But if you don't want to travel they will work with you to find engagements in town. This scenario is more likely if you are located in a bigger city. Not sure if this would apply for the smaller markets where Protiviti is located. Encourage their workers to gain certifications that are recognized by the industry. They will pay for the fees and books when you have successfully passed the certification exams.

Cons

As stated earlier it's a good place to start a career BUT not everybody can have a career there. The culture is very much a carry over from the Anderson days - highly poltical -much like the Big 4 firms. Essentially if they like you and you fall into the right group they will keep you around and work with you. But if you are not fortunate enough to fall into one of these 'select' groups you are a marked man and you will always have to prove yourself. I believe alot of the leadership does not really have the experience as their title - majority of the top leadership are legacy Anderson. I am not trying to bad mouth Protiviti b/c I think it's a great place to start a career and gain valuable experience. But after you have gained the needed experience and decide to move out you will find that there are companies that will pay you what you are really worth, and there is a work life balance.

Advice to Senior Management

Define a clear vision. Before I left nobody knew if they were auditors or consultants. You can not have people doing both areas b/c the skill sets are different. If you want somebody to be a consultant then you will need to put them in the appropriate training / seminars to build their knowledge. I would also tell you to take a closer look at your corporate culture. While getting promoted quickly is nice not everybody that is getting promoted is qualified for the promotion.

Pros

Good work life balance, 40 hours a week and 4 weeks vacation.
Very friendly coworkers
Good exposure to many different areas of IT especially in the areas of compliance and security
Many opportunities to rise within the company

Cons

The compensation compared to similiar positions at other companies is low. Benefits are pretty standard, compared to the Big 4.

Advice to Senior Management

Management seems to do a good job of heading different engagements and keeping the clients pleased. They could work on giving more responsibility to seniors.

Pros

Work life balance is a given...the number of vacation days are impossible to use up because when you are staffed, they dont want you to leave.
Climbing the "corporate" ladder is fairly easy as long as you work hard and prove your ability and intelligence, but once you hit manager is all about sales.

Cons

Lack of definted direction. Moving away from SOX and into "Solutions" has proven to be a difficult task in this economy. Protiviti just can't retain/ pay for the talent to implement solutions.

Advice to Senior Management

Figure out your niche and stick with what you know.... or pay to hire the experts to train the consultants.

Pros

Work life balance is great

Cons

Need more training. Not enough training.

Advice to Senior Management

Need more training, consultant school do not provide training needed for on the job in any kind of detail, need more detailed training.

Pros

Good People, Fun Atmosphere, Solid work ethic

Cons

Slight lack of professionalism, not a great position in the market

Advice to Senior Management

More transparency in regard to company direction

Pros

The best reasons to work for Protiviti are the people. At Protiviti, you will be able to work with people your age, as opposed to industry. Everyone is a real team-player (for the most part) and the culture is really great. Also, there is a lot of room for professional growth. This can be a real advantage when looking for a job outside Protiviti once senior consultant level is obtained. Furthermore, there is great opportunity to work on a variety of projects with different industry leaders, which makes work more interesting. Finally, Protiviti is growing and it is advantageous to be a part of the firm's maturity.

Cons

Some downsides are that the pay is not extremely competitive. I would say that they are probably underpricing by $3000 for new hires. Given the current state of the economy, this is understandable. However, it is confusing why there are continuous new hires while lay-offs are being conducted. Also, some of the work can be very dry and boring. Protiviti needs to strive to become more identified with a specific product line - its current identity is slightly confusing. Also, there is obvious favoritism and typical office politics. However, this is to be expected in any work environment these days.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more clear and assertive in your direction.

Pros

It has a really fun atmosphere. You work with a lot more people near your age than I think you would in industry.

Cons

Work can be a drag and very dry, as most of the work is applying methodology, not creating strategy, and is not incredibly challenging.

Advice to Senior Management

Sell more of your solutions work.