Company: EY
Date: 2020-07-25
Overall rating: 1/5
Employment status: former

RHC SAT/TAS Middle East - Unorganized team within an unorganised company
Pros: Overview

Projects: You will work on some of the largest planned projects in the world being those giga projects within Saudi Arabia. Almost all of the work is Saudi based (90%). Although large and exciting projects, there is a high level of client interference with the recommendations and deliverables. The team is however a perfect stepping stone for moving across to Saudi based projects if that is the direction you want to take your career.

Salary: At or below industry standard. They aim to hire people below their appropriate grades. Good for those who need time to build their confidence.

Time commitment: Regular 80+ hour weeks are required, and 100+ when fires ignite. Good for those who enjoy making work their entire lifestyle - as is the case for many in the team.

Skills required: Design, research, analytical.

Team: Friendly cohesive and supportive team environment

Progression: Inconsistent reward system. You can excel even if you are incapable.

Company: Gives the impression of being cheap – unwilling to invest in technology, office space / fitout, or any fringe benefits. 

Actual Pros:
The people at EY are a great. Team is easy to get along with and there are some capable people who are easy to identify and learn from.

The job would be considered stable judging by the number of people who would otherwise be pushed out in other consulting firms.

Given the right exposure to the right people you can be put in the spotlight and progress quickly. This means being very lucky where you get an opportunity to impress the partners through direct assistance.
Cons: Inadequate leadership, insufficient resourcing and capabilities, and systemic professional values which consistently rewards individuals for their length of tenure, ‘yes-nature’ and community connections.

Would not recommend for the technically skilled or ambitious individual. There are better places to build your career. Target if you are not very confident that your abilities can get you to higher places.

Time: Unfortunately, the team probably bonds the most over the relentless workload and lack of leadership. The team is pressed by a high level of projects and timelines which don’t make sense. The number of hours each day for most would be 12-16 with no regard for the existence of weekends. 

Salary: Salary is salary. It’s big four after all. The team does however compete directly with the main strategy houses (MBB) which makes for an odd comparison when considering compensation.

Leadership: There are not enough partners in the team to handle the work or to have the time to actually lead the team. Consensus is they are out of touch with how the team operates and do not understand who the strong members are. Leadership at other levels is similarly lacking with few to zero ‘role models’.

Bonuses: Do not expect these.

Staff are expected to complete their timesheets consistently and accurately by corporate; yet will be forced to underreport by management. This is required to manage P&Ls but means that staff under report on their performances and miss out on monthly bonuses of which utilisation targets are a major component.

Progression: There is a history of incapable people being promoted within the team. There are Directors, Senior Managers, Managers, Assistant Managers, and Senior Analysts without the skillsets required to justify their positions. On more that one occasion individuals that do not add value are seen to rise through the ranks, resulting in bitterness and further demotivating the capable team members each year. There is no effective layer of middle management and for the most part they will be an obstruction of projects being completed. There is also an inverse pyramid team structure with lack of juniors to support on the work that is done.

Overall, the RHC team is not worthwhile team to join unless you enjoy being run around for endless amounts of time. Reach out to any of the members on LinkedIn to get more perspective if a recent assessment is required. However, it is unlikely to change as all the capable people will exit soon.