Partners ruled Advisory practice through intimidation and bullying - Advisory Manager EY Employee Review

2.0
30 Mar 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

EY on my resume allowed me to transition to a fulfilling PM role with a different consulting firm Learned a lot on engagements Lots of talented people Great industry exposure IF staffed at quality clients Great networking opportunities Prestige of working at EY Although I am about to rant on the leadership below, there were also some great Senior Managers and Partners peppered throughout the firm that I met and worked with.

Cons

A culture of bullying, misogyny, backstabbing, politics and fear emanated from the top of my particular practice. I was personally verbally berated by the megalomaniac lead partner on multiple occasions as were all others from Senior Managers on down. Everyone was scared of this individual but HR was in his pocket and no one dared say a word. This culture was pervasive and accepted as status quo. The circle of partners and aspiring Senior Managers was very much an old boys club. You had to fit in to get in, and that included going to dinners where you needed to be sure to order the largest steak possible, demean women, drink bottles and bottles of red wine followed by after dinner shots, whiskies and drinks, and make it back to your hotel room hoping not to die from alcohol poisoning. EY makes no apologies for the Advisory travel requirements, and that is fair enough, but at the same time, they make no efforts to accommodate when life events happen (again at least in my practice). Having a baby? Ok take a week off and get back on the road. Consultants from the west coast were staffed on the east coast and vice versa. It is impossible to have a family and be a decent parent if you are in EY advisory practice. You are a cog in the machine. Once you are staffed in a certain profitable practice, you will not be able to transfer laterally. This has been said many times, but the workload can be pretty absurd. After flying out Monday morning at 4 AM and returning late Thursday or sometimes late Friday, Partners and Engagement Managers will have no qualms making you work through the weekend full time for weeks on end to meet deadlines. The upper echelons of the firm are very clubby. If you do not kiss up and become a lackey to the appropriate people (err I mean 'build your brand') you stand little chance of climbing the ranks.

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Pros

-networking opportunities -good resources as a FTE

Cons

-need to advance through strict structures

5.0
21 Feb 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1. You will have a very hard time not falling in love with every single person you meet there. 2. Seriously, you will meet your soul mate(s) there. 3. Prestigious and looks great on the resume. 4. Your brain will grow a thousand times more powerful. 5. Forces you to conquer your fear of public speaking. 6. Fun team bonding and lifelong friends. 7. Stepping stone to high paying jobs. 8. Helps you work on perfecting your charm. You will learn from the most charming people how to really get people to like you. 9. HR really cares. 10. Big support network (IT, creative services, etc.). 11. Teaches you to be calm and in control.

Cons

OK, I'm going to be discussing all the taboo things, and there are a lot of them. In spite of these cons, I still admit it's worth a five star rating. 1. High performers are "designated" (you have very little control over your rating) by the partner group (can be a pro if you get selected. Seriously, I have worked with some of the supposed "fives" and they are not any different than my threes and fours. 2. Quality is extremely low. Sometimes I felt like I was working at McDonalds and not a professional services firm. The emphasis is on getting through work as fast as possible and expectations for quality are not realistic. 3. EY has a very hard time firing bad employees. If you get stuck with one it can be a nightmare. 4. EY has a heavy emphasis on wasting time. For example, there are lots and lots of checklists which have no value that you have to fill out. Also, they wasted money and time on creating "Canvas" which is literally slower and more awkward than the previous workspace tool, GAMX. There is a heavy emphasis on "reinventing the wheel" and fixing problems that aren't broken with even worse solutions. Instead of wasting money on useless tools, that money could have been spent on your employees in the form of compensation. Like I said, EY is really focused on attempting to look as though value is being created when in fact it is not. 5. Lots of meetings. Appearances are very important. 6. Employees on global 360 accounts get better treatment. 7. Some employees (executives mostly) tend to overemphasize how important this work is. Let's face it, if it was really glorious work then we would have action figures. 8. Looks are very important. Seriously, if you are a girl, you will get promoted based on how hot you are (the quality of your work is largely unimportant). If you are a guy, you are treated a little better but there is still a sexist undercurrent in the environment. This is advice you won't get from HR obviously, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. 8. You will be forced to eat hours. 9. Your ethical compass will start to get weaker. 10. You will get a little cynical. 11. Lots of driving and travel. 12. "Family men" and married couples with children are more likely to be promoted. If you want to be a partner, you have to be married (few exceptions). 13. You will work on vacations. 14. Loss of relationships with family and friends. 15. Some backstabbing and credit-stealing (but not very common). 16. Comp is below market but that's to be expected. 17. Employee retention is not something management is interested in. This makes you replaceable and expendable (yes even as a manager, unless you have been "designated" as a high performer by the partner group).

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