Surviving on brand perception and ambitious talent
Arbeitsatmosphäre
The work atmosphere is tense, with a lack of clear leadership and day-to-day operations driven by opportunism and office politics. Management talks about corporate responsibility, but quietly lets employees go. The environment is highly political and focused more on internal maneuvering than actual outcomes. Despite these issues, the company keeps going thanks to the dedication of its staff, who often push themselves to the brink of burnout before leaving.
Kommunikation
The CEO assured everyone in a town hall that there would be no layoffs, citing PwC's sustainable leadership and promising job security. However, just a month later, 5-10% of the workforce was quietly let go, which completely contradicted the earlier message. Employees only found out about the layoffs after the media reported on them.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
Employees have a strong sense of camaraderie and there's a lot of great talent and teamwork. However, most top performers leave after just a couple of years because there are better opportunities elsewhere.
Work-Life-Balance
The company talks a lot about limited overtime and great work-life balance, but the reality of consulting means employees have to take full responsibility for their client work. This often results in long hours that go against the company's promises, as client needs take priority over the supposed balance.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
Leadership sets very high standards for everyone below them but lacks accountability at the top. Even though the company says it provides top-notch target operating models, the internal structure seems dysfunctional, with no clear strategic direction in some areas.
Interessante Aufgaben
The company’s rates have gotten so high that it’s priced itself out of a large part of the market. Going forward, it has to decide whether to focus on projects where the main appeal is the company’s prestigious name or to become an Accenture 2.0, with most work done through near- or far-shoring and local employees mainly handling project management roles.
Gleichberechtigung
The company’s approach to equality seems to be about corporate branding. Earlier this year, there was even a hiring freeze for men, and the promotion process now seems biased. Despite all the talk about equality and inclusion, the framework in place feels like it was designed by consultants, leaving many employees doubting the sincerity of these efforts.
Arbeitsbedingungen
Without strong leadership, inspiring leaders, and clear direction a lot of effort is wasted. Instead of creating solid service offerings, employees are working around the clock on random proposals, which leads to wasted resources.
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
Salaries at the company are much lower than in the Swiss market, with other Big4 consultancies paying around 30% more for similar roles, even though rates being comparably high. To deal with this, the company is hiring more people from outside Switzerland and focusing on recruitment in Portugal, where labor costs are cheaper.
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The brand is quite strong in the Swiss market.
Arbeitgeber-Kommentar
Thank you for sharing your detailed feedback on kununu. We value all feedback, as it helps us better understand the experiences of our team members and identify areas where we can continue to grow and improve.
I’m pleased to hear that despite the challenges you've highlighted, you valued the strong sense of camaraderie and the great talent and teamwork within our team. I also understand that your experience in other areas, such as leadership, work-life balance, and communication, did not meet your expectations, and I’m sorry to hear that.
I’d like to address some of the key points you raised:
Work atmosphere
I am sorry to hear that you felt the work atmosphere was tense and that leadership clarity was lacking. We recognise the importance of strong, transparent leadership and are always working on improving communication and support at all levels. We are also focusing on creating an even more collaborative environment. We deeply value the dedication of our staff and are committed to ensuring that employees are supported in a healthy work-life balance.
Communication
We understand the concerns raised and want to clarify that, out of respect for privacy, we are unable to comment on specific personnel decisions. However, we can confirm that the percentage of layoffs was much lower than reported in the media. Overall, PwC is still growing its workforce. While we cannot address every media report, we take the concerns of our people seriously and continuously strive to maintain transparent communication. Please be assured that our commitment to sustainable leadership and job security remains a priority.
Leadership behaviour and working conditions
We are committed to regularly refining our leadership practices and ensuring that our internal structures align with our strategic goals.
We understand the concerns about accountability at the top and the perception of a lack of clear strategic direction in certain areas. To address these, we regularly gather employee feedback, both directly and anonymously, to identify areas for improvement. We also encourage a "Speak-Up" culture - which is promoted vigorously within the firm - to ensure open communication and address concerns related to leadership and strategic direction.
Compensation and benefits
Our total rewards approach is market-oriented, performance-based, and reflective of the qualifications and experience of each individual. Salaries are reviewed and adjusted annually as part of our performance management and compensation cycle to ensure they remain aligned with market trends.
Please know that we take your feedback seriously, and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss it further with you directly. Feel free to reach out to me at Martina.Bender@pwc.ch.
Kind regards,
Martina Bender