QUALITY OF EMPLOYMENT AND LIFE RANKINGS

Where is the best place to work? Based on the Vault Consulting 50 survey, there are three firms that stand above the rest: ghSmart, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company.

Let’s start with ghSMART, which produced eight 1st place finishes: Compensation, Hours Worked, Interactions with Clients, Level of Challenge, Business Outlook, Satisfaction, Selectivity, and Work-Life Balance. A boutique firm packed with consulting veterans, ghSMART operates off a model where consultants can choose their hours, location, workload, and even clients – with pay based more on production than seniority.

“I feel 100% in control of my schedule, my location, and my workload—and this isn’t because I’ve uniquely ‘earned’ that level of control or found the right pocket of players in the firm that honors it. There is simply no match to this experience that I’ve seen across my 20 years in consulting and industry roles.”

BAIN PERFORMS WELL…EVERYWHERE

It isn’t just the top finishes that matter to ghSMART. The firm also scores high in the most coveted categories. That includes Satisfaction, which accounts for a 15% weight in the ranking. Compensation, Level of Challenge, Work-Life Balance, and Business Outlook combine for 35%. In other words, ghSmart holds the top spot in measures that make up 50% of the Vault Consulting 50’s weight. It also ranked among the five-best in an additional six categories, including 3rd for both Firm Culture (15%) and Promotion Policies (5%). That covers all the dimensions weighed in the ranking, excluding Prestige (30%) – where it ghSMART didn’t even crack the Top 50 among peer consultants.

While ghSMART’s ranking will be artificially held down by Prestige, the marketplace is well aware of its capabilities. One survey respondent pointed to record years in 2020 and 2021 pandemic – adding ghSMART was on pace for another one in 2022. “There continues to be more demand for our business than we can serve,” adds another anonymous consultant. “We have a premium service that clients are willing to pay for.  While we’re in a niche segment of the consulting market, we’ve been innovative in expanding the breadth of our offerings to further amplify the impact we make on our clients.”

The Boston Consulting Group also performed well in the 2023 Vault Consulting 50. It racked up four 1st place finishes – Benefits, Firm Leadership, Health and Wellness, and Promotion Policies – though only one is included in the weighted methodology. That said, BCG scored top five scores in five dimensions covered in the ranking: Compensation (2nd), Business Outlook (3rd), Satisfaction (4th), Firm Culture (5th), and Level of Challenge (5th). Bain & Company stacked up in a similar way to BCG. It ranked 1st in three categories: Informal Training, Internal Mobility, and Relationships with Supervisors – none of which were factored into the methodology. In a testament to its across-the-board excellence, Bain ranked 2nd in a whopping 8 Quality of Work and Life dimensions – and finished among the Top 4 in every category except Innovation (8th).

KEYSTONE CULTURE

For the remainder of dimensions, the top performers include Health Advances (Formal Training), Innovation (DeciBio Consulting), McKinsey (International Opportunities), and the Keystone Group (Firm Culture). Notably, the Keystone Group posted a near perfect 9.909 score in Culture. Specializing in corporate turnarounds and growth, the Keystone Group isn’t afraid to toss new consultants into the deep early in their careers. Here, they are given important responsibilities and expected to be a “major contributor” from the get-go explains one Keystone consultant. At the same time, adds another, the firm devotes intensive training, mentoring, and ongoing support to ensure long-term success.

And when you are part of the Keystone Group, you’re among family, explains another consultant. “There is minimal competition amongst coworkers because of transparency in staffing and firm performance. With both formal and informal mentorship opportunities, you truly feel that your co-workers are rooting for you to grow into the best version of yourself, personally and professionally. We genuinely enjoy spending time together inside and outside of work, whether that be volunteering together, taking trips, playing volleyball on the weekends, meeting up for dinner at local restaurants, etc. Keystone is a special place because of its people.”

Another difference? The Keystone Group tends to focus on executing over envisioning. “70% of our work is spent ‘implementing’ our recommendations. Developing good recommendations based on strong analysis and presenting them in a compelling way (good PowerPoint slides) is critical, however insufficient. The true value of any client engagement, no matter how big or small, is our ability to ensure our recommendations get implemented and that the client is able to see the impact of working with Keystone through demonstrated improvements in their business, ultimately leading to improved EBITDA performance.”

 

Benefits 

1) Boston Consulting Group

2) Bain & Company

3) McKinsey & Company

4) Dayblink Consulting

5) Analysis Group

 

Compensation 

1) ghSMART

2) Boston Consulting Group

3) Bain & Company

4) Kenway Consulting

5) McKinsey & Company

 

Firm Culture

1) The Keystone Group

2) Bain & Company

3) ghSMART

4) Back Bay Life Sciences Advisors

5) Boston Consulting Group

 

Firm Leadership

1) Boston Consulting Group

2) DecBio Consulting

3) Bain & Company

4) TriVista

5) ghSMART

 

Formal Training

1) Health Advances

2) Bain & Company

3) Insigniam

4) McKinsey & Company

5) Boston Consulting Group

 

Health & Wellness

1) Boston Consulting Group

2) Bain & Company

3) DayBlink Consulting

4) McKinsey & Company

5) EY-Parthenon

 

Hours in the Office

1) ghSMART

2) Eagle Hill Consulting

3) Insigniam

4) Bain & Company

5) Ignyte Group

 

Informal Training

1) Bain & Company

2) ghSMART

3) The Keystone Group

4) Boston Consulting Group

5) McKinsey & Company

 

Innovation

1) DeciBio Consulting

2) Boston Consulting Group

3) McKinsey & Company

4) Publicis Sapient

5) Putnam

 

Interaction with Clients

1) ghSMART

2) Applied Value

3) Bain & Company

4) McKinsey & Company

5) The Keystone Group

 

Internal Mobility

1) Bain & Company

2) ghSMART

3) McKinsey & Company

4) Applied Value

5) Boston Consulting Group

 

International Opportunities

1) McKinsey & Company

2) Boston Consulting Group

3) Bain & Company

4) Arthur D. Little

5) Simon-Kucher & Partners

 

Level of Challenge

1) ghSMART

2) Bain & Company

3) The Keystone Group

4) McKinsey & Company

5) Boston Consulting Group

 

Overall Business Outlook

1) ghSMART

2) The Bridgespan Group

3) Boston Consulting Group

4) Bain & Company

5) Analysis Group

 

Promotion Policies

1) Boston Consulting Group

2) Bain & Company

3) ghSMART

4) DayBlink Consulting

5) McKinsey & Company

 

Relationships with Supervisors

1) Bain & Company

2) ghSMART

3) DayBlink Consulting

4) Boston Consulting Group

5) Eagle Hill Consulting

 

Satisfaction

1) ghSMART

2) Bain & Company

3) Back Bay Life Science Advisors

4) Boston Consulting Group

5) Kenway Consulting

 

Selectivity

1) ghSMART

2) Bain & Company

3) Boston Consulting Group

4) McKinsey & Company

5) Bridgespan Group

 

Work/Life Balance

1) ghSMART

2) Eagle Hill Consulting

3) Back Bay Life Science Advisors

4) Ban & Company

5) Kenway Consulting

Next Page: Practice Area Rankings