Toxic Culture, Unrealistic Expectations, and a Failing Standard - Anonymous employee Kearney Employee Review

2.0
23 Apr 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The salary and benefits are leading in the industry

Cons

Kearney is struggling with internal fragmentation and cultural inconsistency, as each partner operates independently with little regard for firm-wide alignment. Start dates for new hires have been delayed by 1–2 quarters for the past two years, reflecting deeper issues in planning and resourcing. As client demand has declined, partners have overpromised results, putting unrealistic pressure on junior staff and fostering a toxic work environment—leading many talented individuals to leave. To cut costs, the firm has outsourced core consulting work to low-cost countries, weakening team cohesion and significantly reducing diversity within U.S. project teams.

Explore other reviews about Kearney

5.0
8 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The role helps build strong research, communication, and analytical skills.

Cons

Some tasks may also be repetitive depending on the project stage.

1.0
16 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

If you’re fresh out of school and don’t have a specific skill and don’t know what to do, and you’re willing to be a yes man then yes it might be a good place to figure out your next step.

Cons

- Lack of pipeline for certain practices (and they will blame that on you saying your utilization is low but there’s nothing you can do at an associate level) - Full of people that feel good about themselves but they actually knows nothing about how actual industry work - No talent - Management will give you vague feedback that you can’t act on, For example, I got asked to “elevate the deck” but when I asked is it the messaging or is it the format etc they can’t give me anything specific - The expectation on work quality is inconsistent - Some manager level people can’t do excel which is shocking - You need to be a people pleaser in order to get promoted

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