Innovative thinking by smart people - Strategist Idea Couture Employee Review

Wonderful people, thoughtful research team, very reliable and dependable.

No direction on career growth, always a panic-always-on mindset

Nice offices, smart and fun colleagues.

Where to begin... The last 6 months have seen a slew of people exiting the business despite retention packages being offered to legacy employees and more senior leaders. While some of these individuals were not the best performers and probably saw the writing on the wall, many of them are the top talent and some of our most inspirational leaders. Simultaneously, Cognizant has instituted a hiring freeze meaning there is no fresh ideas or rebuilding of talent. Utilization is low across the business with most people working on internal projects or "BD" (which is really just a series of fishing expeditions Cognizant sends the team on that never convert to real wins). The business continues to lack direction and vision which has been exacerbated post-acquisition. Partners/senior leaders cannot answer the question, "What do we want Idea Couture to be in 3 years?" This generates a lot of uncertainty and lack of transparency in the business. The work has changed (a few believe for the better), but many long-time employees are digging in their heels and not adapting to the new reality (mainly the Insights team): we will have less client interaction, projects need to be shorter, the work will become far more digital, and we will increasingly be collaborating with (not directing) Cognizant. My bet: Cognizant will sunset the Idea Couture brand in 2018, consume Idea Couture into its Digital Business business unit, and the remaining few will exit (who wants to have Cognizant on their resume)?