North Highland Reviews

Cons

The firm is changing. It is adapting to where it is in its life-cycle and making the changes necessary to meet its growth goals. Some people find the change challenging or see it as uncertainty.

Cons

So I have a lot of positive to say about my experience at North Highland (and I do keep in touch with people there so I understand a lot of the positives I mention do not exist today), but in retrospect I really wish I had never taken the job, or at least left a lot sooner. It’s almost like I lost 7 seven years in terms of career advancement and compensation. I’ve been able to make up some of that in the time since I left, but I let myself get comfortable in a place where I didn’t really excel in what mattered, which was sales. I had very strong performance reviews at NH in terms of project delivery, but to really succeed there you need to be able to sell above anything else (and navigate an executive culture that was bizarre when I started and is apparently only getting more so as time goes on). Excellence in project delivery is expected (as it should be), but it’s not rewarded. And when you think about it, sales is the more valuable skill. Not every project manager is good, nor do they have the necessary client management skills that make a good consultant, but it’s a far more common skill than being able to sell consulting work. I know the compensation model has changed multiple times (during and since the time I was there), but I think a common thread through it all is to make money at NH, you need to be able to sell a lot of work and hopefully deliver strong results. That said, even for the best sales people I think it is very hard to make money at NH relative to the bigger firms because the projects are smaller and the bill rates much lower. My bill rate was easily 1/2 at NH what it was at the bigger firm. Granted overhead expenses are lower but still to build a perpetual stream of bonus income at NH you need to have your hand in a lot of projects and preferably running a big part of an account. Again, not unlike any consulting firm. If you don’t like to sell (and have an ability to do it), you’re better off as a PM in industry. It’s interesting the shift from when I started though, when the executives talked about NH being a refuge from the big firms. Notice how many of them have joined or gone back to the big-4 in recent years (which I applaud them for, if they’re doing good work they should be rewarded for it).

Sales vs. delivery aside, the compensation is my biggest disappointment during my time at NH. I didn’t feel 100% sure about taking a 30% cut to base, but I liked the idea of joining a growth company with these opportunities. Part of my disappointment is my own responsibility, I didn’t reach anywhere near the sales goals I thought I could. My quarterly bonuses would end up being maybe equal to an extra paycheck, most of it based on billlable hours. The annual greenline bonus and the ESOP really never played out though. Of course no one could predict the downturn in the late 2000s or that NH’s growth would level off. I never saw the big greenline from years past, I think it went a little over 100% one year, and maybe under 100% in one year, but it was paid out (again 10% target). All in on a typical year the various bonuses made up 35-45% of my income. So it wasn’t like I wasn’t getting paid, but you really had to fight to all of the available income. Base salary increases were virtually non-existent. I think I got two in total while I was there, and one was literally a 0.8% increase. The ESOP, I don’t get it. They only deposited about $5k a year, and while it did grow during that time, mine topped out at $75k after 7 years. The worst was when it came time to roll it over after I left (which occurs about 18 months later), it had lost 25% of value. I could have left it with NH to see if it would come back, but I just figured I should cut my losses and move on. Keep in mind the stock is based on an outside valuation, so no idea what goes into that calculation and why they decided it lost 25% that year (by far the largest swing I saw over time there).

The good news is there is life after North Highland. I recognized I stayed in consulting too long for me, as said I got comfortable there and it was a good place to work day to day. What I realized though as I explored industry jobs, is I had no idea how much these companies are paying people to do work that we with consulting backgrounds are very good at. Being in consulting so long I had lost sight of the opportunities in “the real world”. I left for an industry position where I am paid more in base salary than I made all in at NH, and my annual bonus target is 30% (this is by the way a very attainable role for a manager/sr manager - not an executive position). The bonus has been fully funded every year which I understand to be the norm. There is a full 6% 401k match paid every quarter (NH matched 3% and decided at year end whether it would be funded), annual equity awards, and profit sharing. Not to mention plenty of opportunity to move up. I feel very fortunate to have landed here and would encourage anyone reading this to look at the options available. If you do want to work in consulting, there are a number of similar size companies to consider as well. One thing I realize, is all my years in consulting I looked at industry as step down, like you’re missing out in some way. It’s true there are some opportunities in the consulting world that you won’t see in an industry job (though I think those are shrinking), but there are some real benefits to working your way up in a corporate job.

Cons

North Highland used to be a great firm, but it has completely lost its way. It morphed into the most passive/aggressive company I've ever worked for. Extremely cut throat. I was literally giving myself a pep talk to get out of the car each morning. It was obvious that things we're quickly going down hill when the top performers started leaving in droves for other opportunities.

Cons

Executives and administration are all over the place. Some can not be attentive at all and projects suffer b/c of it.

Cons

Management is unprofessional being that they are located in Atlanta, there is no understanding on how to communicate with employees throughout the business. Stressful job environment, every task was a fire alarm.

Cons

Change is never easy, and always going to be some collateral damage. While some talent changes are imperative to success, losing some "glue" people along the way.

Cons

Backstabbing, lying to the client, and abusing employees is the norm here. Not sure how they are still in business

Cons

Constant churn in management, strategy, and direction
Youth culture has promoted under-qualified youngsters over more competent older staff
Under-qualified youngsters in leadership roles have been responsible for major client fails
Hiring of dozens of VPs from larger consulting companies and changes to travel policies, employee ownership, compensation, and direction have eroded the once-excellent corporate culture.

Cons

Premier staff aug firm, with most projects involving glorified PM work. There are a handful of premium projects, which are usually sourced by the employee getting recognized by the client and being promoted into a broader role. Biggest concern is the work life/balance, which has become increasingly poor as the company increases billable hour requirements and decreases support for other firm initiatives like business offering development, BD and marketing. Promotions require that you invest a lot of time in firm building activities outside of your client work, which can mean an average of 60-70 hour weeks for those that want to climb the ladder. The firm also has limited opportunities for those that want to work part-time schedules.

Cons

-Growing pains from trying to figure out "who they want to be". The model changed at least 3 times in one year
-No clear path to be promoted, coaching structure is not effective
-Not selling a lot of work, so you will be terminated if you are on the bench too long