I was really disappointed with Slalom because they did not live up to the values of being a "family" environment. I was finishing up some schooling, burnt out from being over worked and treated poorly by clients, and my grandmother was in the hospital. I asked to take a 3 month unpaid leave of absence. I was denied this request even though Slalom Consulting claims that sabbaticals and flexible work schedules are part of their DNA.
They were particularly unkind when I tried to leave. I was denied the ability to quit because I was very valuable to the client and the project had been in jeopardy prior to me joining the team. I stayed for about 6 weeks after I had requested to quit and considered possible alternative work schedules at their request. I was yelled at by a few upper management people that I did not understand what "true consulting was", and my mentor in the company refused to speak with me. I was really sad about all of this because I had also been running crazy hours (80+ per week), working in areas outside of where I had been hired (aka BA takes on SQL database developer role), and having been verbally abused by the clients (managers did little when our team reported being called "stupid" and "lazy" by a client when the customer was in fact changing requirements and vision altogether - worked until 8pm Christmas eve for this client). I even found notes from my interview prior to joining Slalom where one manager said that he felt so supported by Slalom because when his mother died, he was able to take "all the time that he needed". (FYI my grandmother died a month after I left Slalom). If Slalom had simply given me the time to take care of family matters and regroup, even after being treated poorly, I would have returned and likely stayed and been very loyal because I truly enjoyed the people that I worked with. I was very sad that Slalom forced my hand into quitting; however, given how they treated me in the end, I am so glad that I no longer work there.
