Pros
The firm has really grown its brand over the years and has some impressive clients, especially in the Boston and New York markets. You'll work with mostly great companies and have a chance to be on really challenging projects that will help with your development. The firm as a whole has a very weak training program and provides very little guidance and direction, however, if you are a self-starter that can take charge and solve problems yourself with little to no support, you'll thrive with the autonomy and independence you are given. The firm also tries hard to have a good culture and does put on occasional events after work hours, however, most of this is just "kool-aid" talk with little to no substance. The firm does pay well through base compensation, but benefits and bonus are an absolute bare-bones joke. Overall, this firm is great for individuals at the Senior or 1st year Manager level at the Big 4 that want to get out and need a place to spend 1-2 years to transition into industry. Otherwise, I would stay away.
Cons
- The firm struggles with incredibly weak leadership. CFGI is almost 400 people strong now, and has virtually no back-office support structure in place. There is no HR function, no scheduling or resource management support, and a bare-bones accounting group. Virtually all administrative aspects of the firm fall on the client serving Senior Mangers and Managing Directors. - The firm mandates everyone at all levels have a minimum of 100% utilization, and your bonus is entirely based on utilization over 100% for the year. The firms only metric to evaluate employees is utilization, which most people at the Senior Manager level or below have very little control over. This does not support a high-performance culture, but rather encourages people to do whatever they can to bill as many hours as they can regardless. Since the minimum expectations are 100% utilization, you are expected to work overtime all year round in order to prove yourself for promotion. - There is absolutely no investment in employees; while the base compensation is competitive, the benefit programs are bare bones and the most expensive I have ever seen. The firm contributes almost nothing towards your medical premiums, which are over $250 a month for individual only coverage. Employees are not eligible for the 401(k) program until a year of service, and then the match, which is only 3% with a 6 year vesting schedule, is only provided once a year. The PTO is bare bones and there is no maternity or paternity time. - The firm invests very little in employee training; they will hold a high-level webinar once a month and a half day training twice a year. You'll be given no guidance, direction, or resources to complete your job or projects, and will literally be thrown on the island and told to execute. There are a few Senior Managers or Managing Directors that are great and will support you, but most don't. If you don't do a perfect job or the client has even the smallest complaint, Senior Management will not support you as the client is always priority and always right. - The firm leadership will constantly brag about the firms growth and success, but refuse to invest that success in their employee or the firms infrastructure. The culture is a facade as most of the firms managers have egos and will not think twice of backstabbing you to their own benefit. - IT infrastructure is a joke. For a 400 person firm, there is not a single IT person in the firm. IT support is fully outsourced. There is no intranet, no unified communications or conferencing tools, no VPN or security software, no scheduling tool, etc. The firms time reporting and billing software is buggy and difficult to use. You are given a laptop out of the box and a gmail address, and told to go to work.