Company: Deloitte
Date: 2011-09-02
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: former

Another me too consulting firm
Pros: + Good work-life balance (I previously worked in a boutique consulting firm compared to whch Deloitte was not at all stressful)
+ Tax efficient compensation structure and reasonable benefits
+ Good training (in-class as well as online)
+ Senior management are "nice" people (generally treat others respectfully)
+ Some good colleagues - but limited to a select few. Most folks who are in India on secondment from the US are quite sharp. The average new recruit from B-school is also good. It is the ones who have been in Deloitte for a while who are quite below average.
Cons: - Unstable culture: In India, Deloitte was formed by the merger of 5 audit / consulting firms. Internally, there has been little integration and it is really a number of partner fiefdoms with varying culture. My partner's little empire was actually better than most, but that's not really saying much.
- Poor senior management: Most partners in Deloitte's India member firm seem to have got there by being part of the old boys network. Limited consulting competencies and even less of actual industry experience. So while many are "nice", but most are not "smart".  
- Lack of quality work: The obsessive focus on utilization means that any and all projects are bid for and accepted. There is no focus on building Deloitte's market position within industries. Whatever project comes our way, we'll do it. That is the modus operandi
- Poor quality outputs: Compared to my previous consulting firm, Deloitte's deliverable quality is terrible. The rigour in analysis, problem solving, hypotheses generation etc. leaves a lot to be desired
- Cookie cutter approach: On a post merger integration project I was part of, the approach was to look at Deloitte's previous similar work and rehash slides without paying adequate attention to the client's specific needs
- Wide disparity in consultant quality: The abilities at various levels (con, sr. con, mgr, sr. mgr, director) varies significantly even within the level. Have met some really sharp consultants and a good number of awful sr. mgrs and directors.
Deloitte (at least Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt Ltd) is largely an audit firm with a consulting practice. So everything else is driven from that mentality.