Boston Consulting in ‘nepotism’ row over work expertise for youngsters of high workers

Employees in Boston Consulting Group’s London workplace have complained about “nepotism” after the youngsters of dozens of high companions flew in from internationally for an unique week-long work expertise programme.

The US-based consultancy ran the programme, consisting of days of workshops, this month for about 30 kids of the agency’s managing administrators and companions, triggering an inner row over BCG’s dedication to social mobility and tackling local weather change.

“They obtained workplace excursions, dinners and stuff that wouldn’t usually be given to [job] candidates. They mainly made it a little bit of a vacation for the companions’ children who came visiting,” one present BCG worker advised the Monetary Occasions.

The kids have been taking part in BCG’s “Bruce Henderson Summer season Programme”, named after the agency’s founder. The daughter of 1 accomplice primarily based in France who attended wrote on LinkedIn that she had realized about “strategic consulting fundamentals” and introduced a mission to “a panel of senior consultants”.

Three BCG workers members labored for 2 months to organize the programme, work that will value exterior shoppers nicely greater than £1mn, in accordance with the BCG worker.

“It’s brought about numerous inner disquiet each amongst extra junior workers [and at] extra senior ranges, significantly within the London workplace, and considerations have been merely overruled,” the worker mentioned.

BCG, which employs 25,000 individuals in additional than 100 cities around the globe, mentioned: “The Bruce Henderson Summer season Programme has been in place for a few years and is designed to assist kids have a broad academic {and professional} expertise. Mother and father cowl the first prices, reminiscent of journey. Members keep in faculty dorms, and the programme is concentrated on training.”

The agency added that consultants who labored on the programme had volunteered their time: “BCG didn’t workers a workforce to organise this.”

The agency reported gross sales of $11bn for 2021. It has additionally tightened its journey insurance policies for employees as a part of efforts to achieve web zero carbon emissions by 2030. Journeys to cities reminiscent of Florence and Lisbon for potential recruits to the London workplace have been axed.

Chief government Christoph Schweizer said in February that he desires BCG to rent local weather activists to work for company shoppers and that he expects the agency will earn as much as a 3rd of its charges from local weather consulting inside 5 years. BCG mentioned it “stays dedicated, and is on observe, to achieve web zero local weather impression no later than 2030, and we’re on course to halve our carbon emissions by 2025”.

Final yr, BCG additionally signed as much as a programme run by the UK’s Sutton Belief to assist individuals from lower-income backgrounds enter consulting.

“This type of behaviour makes a mockery of the work that the [Sutton] Belief does to advance social mobility in finance and consulting,” mentioned the worker, including it’s “additionally fully towards the spirit of our very publicly said web zero ambitions”.

Employees writing anonymously in a non-public group on the Fishbowl app, which requires customers to register with their work electronic mail addresses, made related complaints that the work expertise programme was inconsistent with the agency’s public positions.

“Individuals would take the web zero dedication extra significantly if there was extra consistency throughout the board,” mentioned one BCG staffer. “We get our world trainings killed and [managing directors/partners] children get flown to London for a enjoyable day?” mentioned one other.

A 3rd labelled the programme “tremendous nepotism”, noting: “Our recruiting programme aimed on the similar age group is oversubscribed 40:1.”

One particular person describing themselves as a senior accomplice defended the agency saying: “We’re paying our personal manner if we would like our kids to go.”

However a fourth BCG worker wrote: “Let’s promote it and see what the general public response is? Be part of BCG to babysit the bosses’ children!”

“Stunning use of assets,” wrote a fifth, who mentioned that they had labored on the occasions.