A Great Reputation but a Strange Place to Work
Pros
The firm has a strong reputation among academic and medical organizations, and its book of business continues to expand. Most employees are very nice. Some of the older consultants are gems: wise, caring and collegial. The support staff are exceptionally pleasant, dedicated and hard-working. The home office in Edina is in a nice location and housed in an attractive office. The health coverage, life insurance, retirement and other benefits are excellent.
Cons
It's an odd place, with the tone set by a brilliant but diffident principal; some of the other senior consultants are also remote and difficult to engage. While there is a monthly professional development program for consultants, it’s formulaic, repetitive and uninspiring. Little is done for support staff. Coaching, mentoring and meaningful feedback are very hard to come by. As one staffer said to me: "It's sink or swim here." The reasons some people get promoted to management are unfathomable. It's a very patriarchal organization and the older men seem tone-deaf to gender and generational differences. The firm is also slow to hire additional support staff, leaving the existing staff stretched way too thin--and their lot is made worse by certain consultants who've never met a deadline they chose to meet. Worse yet, senior members of the firm will cancel client meetings and commitments by telling big fibs about personal emergencies in order to instead meet with more profitable clients. The firm's leadership tries to project a "Minnesota nice" image, but is actually indifferent if not Machiavellian.
