Egon Zehnder Reviews

I worked at Egon Zehnder

Pros – Exposure to executive search industry, learning rationale for executive assessment and selection from an insiders perspective, opportunity to gain industry knowledge

Cons – very little praise for hard work, high expectations without commensurate earnings upside, very limited career path, some consultants treat you like their personal servant, very high turnover

Advice to Senior Management – Develop a reasonable career path, do a better job of recognizing excellent performance, develop more training/educational opportunities, do a better job communication long term strategy of firm

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Egon Zehnder

Pros – some excellent sr. consultants who provide guidance and insight
access to a lot of research tools - great base for knowledge growth

Cons – especially in research promotions are pseudo-nepotistic
no growth beyond role
"you get used and move on"

Advice to Senior Management – put some structure into your research - one person's opionion should not taken as dogma, especially when one examines track record of those that produce policies / practices / procedures.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Egon Zehnder

Pros – Highly collaborative
Interesting colleagues
Flexible work environment
International scope
Private company
Long-term mind-set
Small company feel
Encourages entrepreneurial mind-set
Stable financially

Cons – Partners feel "entitled" and due to "lock-step compensation" often do not carry their weight and spend more time "looking good" than producing results.
Unethical and dishonest leadership in the USA. Double standards on how Partners behave vs others in the organization.
Selective enforcement depending on if you are a partner or not.
Very weak HR policies, procedures and totally incompetent HR management.
Clients would be shocked to know how the Firm was managed internally - full of hypocrites and unethical characters.
Too much deadwood - the US side of the business is going nowhere.
If you want to join, join outside the US.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Egon Zehnder

Pros – Exposure to highly accomplished executives and opportunity to work closely with dynamic, experienced Consultants and teams globally. Understanding of corporate structure and leadres.

Cons – Inadequate compensation, especially for Researchers; there is also a glass ceiling (again within Research) and the promotion process/career advancement could be greatly improved.

I have been working at Egon Zehnder

Pros – Respectful environment and low turnover internally. A place that works collaboratively as a team. I would recommend this company to anyone looking for a safe and longterm career move.

Cons – The only con is that as a research analyst you have little to no potential/possibility to become an associate consultant/"partner", therefore limiting the career upward mobility and growth.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Egon Zehnder

Pros – 1. Great work environment! Very positive people around & a sense of well being promoted across the company.
2. The senior management is very concerned about employee needs & regard everyone with respect.
3. Manageable work hours, work-life balance is great.
4. Ample of opportunities to grow as an individual and main self esteem.
5. Team work promoted. People work for improvement rather than ego!
6. Good employee rewards and HR policies

Cons – 1. Poor compensation structure.
2. Promotions on paper (designation) not too frequent.

Advice to Senior Management – EZIRS should revise the compensation structure. The attrition rate is mainly due to poor compensation structure!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Egon Zehnder

Pros – EZI provides undergrads with a broad view of issues relating to companies and industries. The work is highly consultantive and allows an individual the ability to grow critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Cons – The company is growing at an extremely fast pace in the US and requires individuals that have a strong work ethic and team commitment. At times, individuals are expected to work late nights and some weekends.

Advice to Senior Management – Your commitment to EZI's focus on clients is appreciated.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Egon Zehnder

Pros – Some of the senior consultants are extremely kind and supportive.

Cons – Some of the consultants are actually devils in disguise.

Advice to Senior Management – They don't care; it is a waste of time to give them advice.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Egon Zehnder

Pros – * Strong brand (outside USA)
* High quality assignments
* Global training program
* High remuneration
* Variety of assignments

Cons – * Very political: the promise of "one firm" is not delivered as everyone tries to feather their own nest
* Lockstep remuneration: pay is based on tenure not merit: senior partners "cruise"
* Consultants ("pre-partners") bring in 10x what they are paid ie would get paid more in other firms
* Totally subjective performance review system
* No client satisfaction surveys
* Almost unknown brand in the US

Advice to Senior Management – Remove some of the office leaders who bring in work but don't care about developing their people.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Egon Zehnder

Pros – - Work is around senior executives of big companies, so big impact.
- Global collaboration and support makes work interesting.

Cons – - conservative and traditional. Internal promotions are limited within consultants or within support staff, virtually no cross-class opportunities.

Advice to Senior Management – Obama is a good president, even though he did not have the classical track record.