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Kaiser Associates

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Very Mixed Feelings, Significant Leadership Vacuum - Anonymous employee Kaiser Associates Employee Review

3.0
1 Jun 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

For people early in their career it can be a great place to gain exposure and responsibility quickly. The early career talent are smart and fun people. If your longer-term goal is to do corporate strategy internally at a company, Kaiser is worth considering as you learn about the models and inputs that inform corporate strategy. Just know that Kaiser is not a strategy consulting firm. Perhaps the best way to describe it is a research firm that informs corporate strategy. Projects are typically 4 to 6 weeks in length and very research heavy. Some interesting and prestigious clients and a good opportunity for early career talent to gain exposure to multiple industries.

Cons

There is very little training and it's a learn by doing/trial by fire environment Partners are focused exclusively on revenue and margins. They care little for employees or their development (and don't let them fool you otherwise!) There is really no corporate culture to speak of other than making money. If you are a senior hire, realize that the last time a partner was promoted internally was nearly a decade ago and there is no clear path to partner nor a clear intent to promote new partners. 2 of the 3 partners who were with the firm for 30 years recently retired and despite talk for years not a single senior manager was identified for or groomed to become partner. Most of the middle management and all of the partners "grew up" at Kaiser from early in their careers. This creates a highly insular environment and perpetuates the leadership vacuum, particularly as there are no leadership models with one bright exception. A consequence is that external senior hires typically flame out very quickly and / or are very frustrated. Kaiser is in effect an umbrella organization that houses several individual industry practices that operate largely independently of each other. There is minimal collaboration across practices.

Explore other reviews about Kaiser Associates

5.0
7 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture and good work life balance

Cons

Slower promotion timelines for top performers than some other firms

4.0
14 Oct 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

People are very close to one another at the firm. They value work life balance highly and make sure that their ACs don't have to work late just because managers might be working late.

Cons

Bonus is not that big

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