- When I recruited for Stax, the management team came off relaxed, laid back. They tend to sell themselves as flexible and easy to approach, but in reality it’s quite the opposite. They are nice to socialize with, but poor managers. Very little feedback is given, and it’s hard to recover politically from mistakes (which you are bound to make due to the fast pace of projects and lack of communication / time from management).
- Communication is extremely poor from the top down. It can be very difficult to receive responses to emails from management or even to find time with them in the office. Sometimes you may be left out of client meetings; managers often play favorites (it’s definitely a “boys club” atmosphere which is disappointing for this day and time). I experienced an instance where a managing director told me one thing, and then I found out later that he was saying another thing behind closed doors (very immature and disappointing).
- The atmosphere is quiet and tense in the office. Employees keep to themselves and there’s a lot of whisper/gossip among employees since communication is so poor from the top. Expect very few office outings that people can attend (planned or spontaneous). No happy hours, lunches (unless someone new is starting or someone is leaving) or fun events unless there is an employee who puts effort into it (usually these people don’t stay at Stax very long).
- Growth is limited unless you are coming out of undergrad. An MBA is not valued at Stax, and the MBAs coming in are not getting the return on their investment (lower salary for the expected hours you’re putting in; lack of feedback/growth; lack of opportunities for promotions unless you’re part of the boys club).
- Do not expect work life / balance at Stax. There of course is an expectation at any consulting firm that you will be working long hours, but here you are expected to be available on the fly 24/7. You're expected to work investment banking hours without the monetary incentives. I was working from 9am - 8pm on an easy day (~1-2 days a week) and 9am - 11pm on a busy day (~3-4 days a week). I was often told I could not work from home or leave the office to finish something at home (this can vary depending on the manager on your project). Since work is sometimes handed over to the Sri Lanka office (they are wonderful people!), you are often waking up in the middle of the night to answer questions or test something they build for a survey. You are often expected to work weekends. Don’t waste your time making plans or dinner reservations with friends or family during the week. You will be able to attend ~10-20% of the time even if you make late reservations. If you like to travel, it's difficult to plan trips in advance, since you won't know which project you are working on. I had to cancel a few trips during my time at Stax.
- Attrition of employees is a huge issue for Stax. Management doesn't seem to acknowledge this as a problem, but when the office turns over 40-80% of employees every 1.5-2 years, you have a problem. Management has attributed attrition to people leaving the consulting profession when they leave Stax, but I know a number of former employees who left for other consulting firms.
- Diversity is also not a strength. All of the women who worked in Chicago when I started left while I was at Stax. Management says they try to hire women, but it is clear they don’t really know how to keep them. There are no women in leadership roles (outside of HR) so no mentorship opportunities for women trying to grow. The atmosphere is more of a boys club (lots of sports talk in the office).
- You might think the negative reviewers should have spoken to a manager or someone in HR about their issues. I personally shared everything in my review (and more) with HR and some trusted managers during my time at Stax and no changes were made. I also know that other employees who left shared issues (some worse than mine) with HR and no significant changes were made. HR is not present in Chicago (except for one woman who is more focused on training/education), so there is little opportunity to talk face to face with a trusted third-party outside of management. There was an instance where I shared something with HR that I asked not to be shared with management before I was able to speak to them, but it was shared ahead of my meeting anyways. Needless to say, I lost trust that I could speak openly with HR. Management doesn’t take critical feedback well, and usually blames employees instead of looking inward to try to improve.
