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Large GIC project in NYC - Consultant Navigant Employee Review

1.0
Jul 9, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

(Very) occasional free lunches; (very) occasional team happy hours; free fruit weekly; some career development opportunities.

Cons

The pay is nowhere near what it should be for the workload and difficulty of this project; it feels like no one actually knows what's going on most the time; morale is generally low, but management doesn't seem to care that much. Basically, at least 50% of the review posted on June 16, 2019 is extremely accurate. Honestly, I wish I had written it. But alas, all I can do is agree vehemently with most of what was written. The guidance given to L1s (aka "consultants") from the 20 or so L2s and L3s (aka "supervising consultants" and "managing consultants") on this project varies wildly. This is the case despite weekly "calibration calls" held between the client and these supervisors/managers, which are meant to mitigate these issues. We marked the one year anniversary of this project today (July 9, 2019), and things have apparently "come a long way" since then. But if this is how it is now, I shudder to think how things were done a year ago. I'm shocked our client, a household name in this industry, hasn't found more competent people to run this project in the past year (and, frankly, I worry for them and their customers), because it genuinely seems like no one ever really knows what is going on here. To loosely quote "Whose Line Is It Anyway": everything is made up, and the rules don't matter. Ask one L2 for guidance, and, three days later, that very same L2 will give you the exact opposite advice for a very similar scenario. Reach out to an L3, and they will give you the opposite advice from what two L2s just told you ten minutes ago. Ask five L2s for guidance, and get five different sets of feedback. This project feels like a complete farce at times. And then, when you complete your work based on guidance you received from one or more supervisors/managers, if the person reviewing your work doesn't happen to agree with what you did - despite the fact that you previously got guidance from that very same person, or someone else on their level, to do exactly what you did - you'll have to re-do the entire thing, despite being told to do it in the way that is now apparently incorrect. It's like you can't win with these people, because even when you follow the advice given, everyone has a slightly (or extremely) different idea of how things should be done. Going into work every day, and receiving contradictory guidance and feedback - often from the same person saying two different things within very short periods of time - feels like management is gaslighting you on a daily basis. But they'll still tell you, with a straight face, that what you did was wrong - despite telling you to do it, not 24 hours earlier. It's a complete and utter joke. And after that, even if you cite guidance you've gotten from other supervisors and/or managers, if the specific person you're talking to at that moment in time disagrees with the previous guidance, you're patronized and not really listened to. And then they'll likely contradict themselves days later, or sooner. It's enough to drive anyone crazy. Like the previous reviewer said, this project truly feels like the (very prideful) blind leading the blind.

Explore other reviews about Navigant

5.0
Dec 20, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good Pay Benefits you can learn alot

Cons

no room to move up

2.0
Jun 2, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay if you negotiate well. There are plenty of opportunities to work on new things so in that regard it can be challenging. There is also a steep learning curve and a general lack of empathy if you don't meet that curve. There are plenty of co-workers to commiserate with about how agonizing it is to work here. So comradere is not hard to find once that common denominator is established. Navigant also throws some pretty lavish events a couple times a year.. Which are usually followed by lay offs..

Cons

Depending on the practice group, like financial services, it is expected that you work, eat, work, sleep and repeat. People work remotely on vacation.. Not because they want to but because there is pressure to. It is the company culture and it starts from the top. There are people in the company who have not seen their kids for weeks.. Literally. I saw the post about a great work/life balance and had to reply. That post is disingenuous and probably written by management. There are "fire drills" every day and most of them are false alarms. You cannot use the bathroom in peace because someone will come looking for you with a "fire drill". Don't even think about eating lunch out of the office... If you are a recent grad they will hire you and work the marrow out of your bones.. If you are a seasoned worker you will leave within a year..

7
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