My 3 yrs at Slalom NYC
I joined Slalom NYC way back in Feb 2019, and after 3 yrs I wanted to do a quick recap of my journey.
Few disclaimers — Experience will differ based on the Market(Geo) or practice, and this mirrors how Slalom has been engineered — each Market is financially independent and hence their DNA is based on the people in their group rather than a single corporate experience.
How did I get into Slalom ?
After getting offers from the Big 4 Consulting firms, while reviewing them with a former mentor, his advice was plain and simple —Do yourself a favor and join Slalom (He himself had a fast-track career path winding through the several consulting and product firms before heading a practice at Slalom). Boy, am I glad I listened to him!
But it wasn’t all that straightforward. The interview process was a bit stretched out in terms of timelines and I reckon slalom would have lost good talent in this process.
(Update : 3 yrs down, the recruitment process has definitely evolved and right now with me being part of the recruitment process, I understand the nuances associated with managing a lean bench and recruiting for future.)
What attracted me towards Slalom ?
One of the biggest draws for me towards Slalom was their local market principle. Unlike other consulting gigs I saved out on the “fly-in and fly-out” culture, and instead spent more time with family and developed stronger relationship with clients in the same market.
Also, during the interviews I got a really good sense of the people here — folks at slalom were whom i could admire and aspire to become. I am happy to report that now I have true mentors and colleagues whom i can genuinely hang out after work
How was your first experience ?
To be genuine, the first few engagements at Slalom were a let down. After managing a practice and rolling out enterprise solutions with large teams, I was back to an individual delivery role. To the credit of our leaders (Juan, Gabby & Dave Goldson) I was back delivering larger engagements and building capability within our group. In hindsight, this reinforced my love for delivery and also gave me opportunity to get immersed in different aspects of solutioning from Organizational Change Mgmt to Strategy & Operations.
Once again this experience is going to be based on your local markets, depending on the client situation and the growth maturity of your practice in the market. Slalom is a growth-oriented organization, and these are challenges faced by all organizations which are growing at a rapid pace. In my case, not only did the practice grow exponentially, but we also ended up with a Market-split
One Advice you would give to folks looking to join Slalom?
Being part of the recruitment team, I constantly encourage my interviewees to reach out to other Slalom folks on Linkedin and engage in conversations “It is not mandatory if you are a fit for slalom, but also that Slalom is the right place for you”.
I have personally seen how slalom value marginalized sections of our society and you will see this from top-down from leadership to the grassroots. The culture of constant evaluation and progress ensures that our core values are transformed into real-life practices and not just remain as abstract concepts as inspirational quotes on the wall.
This advice is also valid after you join the organization. I remember, when I was not sure of my place in the organization I reached out to our Leader Dave Goldson for 1:1 mentorship sessions. Not only was he gracious with his time, but also his feedback helped me re-align my capabilities to the vision of the Slalom NYC.
Best moments in your 3 yrs ?
Most of my best moments have been around the people here at Slalom. Whether it was winning the “Mogul Award” or getting a chance to share with John Tobin why his humane responses on Glassdoor to disgruntled employees was one of the big reasons for me to choose slalom or the 1:1 chats I have with other colleagues or getting inspired to contribute meaningfully on social initiatives or most importantly how I actively manage my work-life balance
Final note
Overall, I am paraphrasing one of my colleagues who when asked how do they feel at slalom said “After working multiple decades with lot of companies, at Slalom I actually feel human”
Are you looking to join Slalom ?
Did you have different/similar experience at your consulting org ?
I am interested in listening to you.