Pros
- Salaries are relatively higher than the industry average if one is joining from a non-financial services sector - People are generally friendly and there is a fun loving atmosphere - Baringa's energy and utilities practice is cutting edge where you will find bright and passionate minds. - Lots of opportunities to contribute to the firm in a variety of different ways (but be wary of the limited benefits).
Cons
- Salaries are relatively lower than the industry average if one is joining from a financial services. Be prepared to be low-balled during the initial salary offer and have the confidence to negotiate. - Baringa's client base is limited in size and some sector teams are often stuck with smaller/less sophisticated clients, which limits exposure and learning opportunities. For those looking at the financial services practice, ask yourself "where can i move to next if i'm working on Target Operating Models/KYC for two to three years straight". - Baringa is not a strategy consulting firm and gets limited strategy work. - Aside from Baringa's energy and utilities practice, all other practices are relatively immature and nascent, which is reflected in the type and size of the client base. For example, the financial services practice, which, despite its size, tends to be stuck with more basic clients relative to its peers (e.g. building societies, some troubled british banks). - Most importantly, the people agenda sits high up on Baringa list of priorities. However, when Covid-19 struck, the firm was exceedingly swift to cut salaries and defer the bonus due to employees based on the previous financial years performance, hence the one star rating of Culture & Values. - In comparison to my prior experiences, there seemed to be a higher proportion of people thinking a tad too highly of themselves. Whilst perhaps reflective of the company culture, this did not have a material impact on work life, but was unpleasant/inconvenient to deal with during the normal course of colleague to colleague interaction. With those able to leave Baringa for new/better opportunities doing so, Baringa will likely have to hire more staff. During this period, Baringa could suffer from adverse selection as they hire from a talent pool consisting of an increasing number of Accenture consultants about to/already made redundant. Nevertheless, my advice to anyone looking to join would be to go in with your eyes open and not to take the Baringa sales pitch at face value.