McKinsey is Offering Staff Pay, Career Coaching If They Leave Firm (businessinsider.com) 47
An anonymous reader shares a report: The management-consulting giant McKinsey is dangling career-coaching services and nine months' worth of pay to staffers keen on leaving the firm, the British newspaper The Times reported on Saturday. The Times reported that managers for McKinsey's UK offices could spend up to nine months searching for a job instead of working on client projects. Besides continuing to receive their salary, managers would have access to McKinsey's resources and career-coaching services, per The Times. But staffers would still have to leave McKinsey even if their job hunt proved unsuccessful.
The offer has been extended to managers working at McKinsey's US offices, though the pay duration could be different, The Times said, citing people familiar with the situation. A spokesperson for McKinsey did not confirm the specifics of The Times' reporting but told the outlet that the company's mission was to help staffers "grow into leaders, whether they stay at McKinsey or continue their careers elsewhere." "These actions are part of our ongoing effort to ensure our performance management and development approach is as effective as possible, and to do so in a caring and supportive way," the spokesperson continued.
The offer has been extended to managers working at McKinsey's US offices, though the pay duration could be different, The Times said, citing people familiar with the situation. A spokesperson for McKinsey did not confirm the specifics of The Times' reporting but told the outlet that the company's mission was to help staffers "grow into leaders, whether they stay at McKinsey or continue their careers elsewhere." "These actions are part of our ongoing effort to ensure our performance management and development approach is as effective as possible, and to do so in a caring and supportive way," the spokesperson continued.
The McKinsey "way" (Score:2)
Are they really that stupid? (Score:3)
Think for just half a minute about that proposal and you'll instantly realize just WHY this is stupid.
Who will take that offer? Well, of course people who know that they can easily find a new job that pays about as much as they get right now. And who would be that? Will it be the ones that have a lot of successful projects to show off, people who got great connections in various companies, people who present papers and hold talks at conferences? Or will it be the ones that will just do the bare minimum so they don't get fired?
Do I really have to point out what portion of your company you lose with a move like that?
they are doing voluntary layoffs (Score:4, Insightful)
they are doing voluntary layoffs
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Re:they are doing voluntary layoffs (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, but consulting companies thrive on "pollinating" their target industries with former employees. When a MBB consultant gets hired as a VP of Strategy for Company, Inc. who do you think they are going to call when they get their consulting budget? Those best and brightest will go on to make those decisions regardless and MBB will continue to grind through a steady supply of fresh meat to fill associate roles as usual.
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Yes and he's saying that will result in some of the best people leaving while the worst stick around.
This could very well be by design so that entire divisions can be closed next.
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Yes, but in the UK if they lay someone off they have to pay them off as well. There are legal minimums, and often contracts have much higher numbers.
That's why they offer voluntary redundancy. Instead of paying out a cash lump sum, they can spread the cost and maybe reduce it by offering things like training instead. It also means that the people leaving don't immediately quiet quit, but instead do a proper hand-over.
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Re:Are they really that stupid? (Score:4, Insightful)
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When I see a company that doesn't do layoffs in a dehumanising way, it makes me think it's probably a good place to work.
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It's going to be people who don't want to work there, and who will go on to tell their story about how they got training as part of their severance to others as a form of cheap advertising for their HR department.
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Bluntly? Nobody wants to work anywhere. If free money was lying on the street, everyone would tell their employer to stick their job where the sun doesn't shine.
When loyalty died between employer and employee, so did giving a fuck about your job. You pay me to go somewhere else? Have someone else clean out my desk.
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Bluntly? Nobody wants to work anywhere.
Certainly among the young. Unfortunately, they were taught that they were going to get their degree in any old opinion degree, then find a meaningful career that starts at 6+ figures, and within a few months become part of the C-suite.
Problem is, we idiot elders attempted to shield them from any and all adversity, and protect them from bullies, and praise them with great praise for getting their shoes tied in the morning. People who played sports where no one keeps score, yet everyone gets a trophy.
The
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That's not a problem of the younger generations. The younger generations are just harder to blackmail. The same would have applied earlier, but back then, people had to put up with more because they had a mortgage around their neck and had to somehow accept whatever you threw at them.
Mortgages, or rather, getting a loan approved to buy a home, is but a wet dream for younger people. So they can far more easily tell you to stick it where the sun don't shine and quit.
And I don't blame them. Why put up with shi
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This offer is profitable for those who would need as long as possible (the whole 9 months) to find a job. They get paid monthly for looking for a job and get coaching to find a new one. Successful employees would be finding a new job in an instant and would only receive the first month.
Besides, pays at layoff stage is a normal thing in Europe, and 9 month is not that much. My connections in a big house can't choose to be the ones to be let go, but hope to be the next affected, as they can get up to 24 month
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I'd go to my new place and tell them I can start in 9 months, then use those 9 months for something worthwhile.
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There must be fine lines in the McKinsey offer that we don't know. Like they cannot refuse an offer of they get one that pays at least as much as they had previously, or they cannot delay the contract start (e.g. job application must contain sentence "available immediately") other than e.g. 4 weeks to relocate if the new offer is in another city.
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There must be fine lines in the McKinsey offer that we don't know. Like they cannot refuse an offer of they get one that pays at least as much as they had previously, or they cannot delay the contract start (e.g. job application must contain sentence "available immediately") other than e.g. 4 weeks to relocate if the new offer is in another city.
Maybe, but the cost of a few extre months vs. angering someone who may be in aposition to hire your firm in teh future isn’t cost effective.
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In Europe, you have mandatory unemployment benefit. How long depends on the country, in mine, that's 6 months. I get fired today and I still get money 'til October. Mandatory. No discussion.
At the point I'm right now, I could as well just retire. I stick it out because at my current job I get to tell managers that they're fucking morons and get paid to do that. It's mostly just that they pay me to be entertained. That's why I'm still "working".
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McKinsey (and high end management consulting) works a bit differently that most companies. The top of the McKinsey pyramid is for dyed-in-the-wool consultants that are mainly responsible for bringing in the big clients and broad thought leadership. The lower level managers and consultants doing the actual day to day work, such as it is, are intentionally high turnover jobs. I think something like 50% of people are gone after two years, and like 90% after 5 years. It is built on intensive work for high pay a
Re:Are they really that stupid? (Score:5, Informative)
Think for just half a minute about that proposal and you'll instantly realize just WHY this is stupid.
Who will take that offer? Well, of course people who know that they can easily find a new job that pays about as much as they get right now. And who would be that? Will it be the ones that have a lot of successful projects to show off, people who got great connections in various companies, people who present papers and hold talks at conferences? Or will it be the ones that will just do the bare minimum so they don't get fired?
Do I really have to point out what portion of your company you lose with a move like that?
Not necessarily. Consulting is a tough lifestyle in terms of travel, work hours and wrk/life balance. The money is good, but money nis everything when you are trying to start a family or even keepo a relationship alive when you are always gone. Good people decide it’s not for them, this lets them leave and McK gets another alumni who may be in a position to hire them someday; or even return after getting real life experience. Meanwhile, they have McK on their resume which will open doors for them.
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I am a consultant. My work/life balance is great. Then again, I have no private life to speak of, so... I understand, if you enjoy human contact, this may be hard to do, but I despise humans. Being able to go into a company and tell them they're fucking morons and getting paid for it is basically why I do this.
Not to mention, they pay me well for that. What's not to like? It's the perfect job for a misanthropist.
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I am a consultant. My work/life balance is great. Then again, I have no private life to speak of, so... I understand, if you enjoy human contact, this may be hard to do, but I despise humans.
HEY!, but we like you!
I've always thought the complaints some have about work/life balance was a bit of people looking for a 0/100 setup. I managed to put in a lot of hours, do interesting things and go interesting places, raise a family and even be a CEO of a couple 501c3's during my previous career.
Being able to go into a company and tell them they're fucking morons and getting paid for it is basically why I do this.
Not to mention, they pay me well for that. What's not to like? It's the perfect job for a misanthropist.
There is a certain je ne sais quoi to all that, amirite? I'm not a misanthropist, but at my present position, my word is law. Turns out I have a talent for telling people to go to hell in a way that they lo
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Quite frankly, my life/work balance is great because I love what I do for a living. And I honestly pity anyone who doesn't.
Let's be honest here, we spend roughly 1/3 of our life at work. It should be something you like doing. And don't tell me that's only possible for a handful of people, you know, that select few that work in some lofty positions where only the few and the proud can be. A friend of mine is a cook, or rather, started as one. Because he liked to cook. He liked to make food. Got into the prof
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Yeah, because flooding upper management of other companies with people that like your company is terrible marketing...
This move will pay dividends as they place people that will refer to back to their former employer.
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Like? Why the hell would I like a company?
I have a contract with a company. They pay money, I give workforce. That's all there is. There is no emotional attachment either way.
Why the hell would I offer any kind of emotional attachment to someone or something that I know for a fact has none for me?
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Because they paid me for 9 months and got me a better job after I drank the Kool aid.
There's a shocking number of people that drink the Kool aid, that's why companies do that stupid team building stuff.
If I'm in a place in life where I don't want to work as much, and the company I work for gets me an easier job. When something comes up, I can maintain the stay easy by hiring said company. Seems like I'd do it.
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Either you're incredibly sarcastic or I had to deal with another McKinsey.
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I have arrived at the point where I simply don't give a fuck about money anymore. I have enough of that. The reason I still work is mostly that I can tell managers that they're total idiots and they thank me for it.
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You stay strategy consulting for a few things: at junior levels, becau
I can see it all: (Score:2)
Now that we've got AI to spout meaningless bullshit about how to run your business, and maybe even tell you what your employees have been trying to tell you for years, who needs a clown in a suit?
Taking their own advice (Score:2)
Free money (Score:2)
The last one... (Score:4, Interesting)
McKinsey is the last of the true one-firm-firms. Deloitte and E&Y are wannabe's in this regard. I've worked at two others, AA&CO, S.C. (before they imploded), and Hewitt Associates, LLC. (when they were private, when they went public, and when they made the stupid decision to being bought by Aon. McKinsey, like Deloitte, E&Y, & Accenture is an up or out org. And they are very public about that. Either you move up the ladder, or out the door.
At Hewitt, making manager didn't get you a raise - becoming more valuable to the company did. I knew many company owners (principals) that weren't managers, and many senior management folks that weren't owners. You didn't ask your manager if it was OK to talk to someone, you told them you were going to. Mistakes weren't frowned upon, they were learning opportunities. A lot of Hewitt's best were former Anderson colleagues that were smart enough to leave that disaster to the lemmings.
Hewitt, back in it's heyday, was unique - they were more than happy to let you stay at the level you were at and become a deep technical expert in that domain. For several years I flew out to San Jose multiple times per year to meet with technical folks at one of the larger companies out there. Hewitt picked up my travel, lodging, days away, and was able to leverage my expertise to present a better product than their competitors. Something that a private company can do, that a public one cannot - look beyond the next quarter.
I also know a lot of McK alum, which is also private. They are the epitome of bad short-term MBA thinking. I have absolutely no respect for anything or anyone that has come out of that company.
Why not let them go? (Score:2)
Propaganda (Score:1)
they should try hiring some consultants (Score:2)