After five weeks of working 20-hour days, one McKinsey consultant decided enough was enough.
He was overworked thanks to managers overpromising to clients in an effort to keep them happy during the downturn, meaning projects were under-resourced and delivered on the cheap – if for any fees at all.
Months after quitting in search of greener pastures, the former McKinsey analyst now wishes he’d hung on for just a little longer.
Hundreds of senior employees at the consulting giant’s UK offices have been offered the chance to step back from client projects and spend nine months searching for new jobs – all while being paid in full.
McKinsey departees will get access to career coaching and administrative support during this time, such as help with updating their CV. If they still haven’t found a new employer after nine months, they’re on their own, The Sunday Times first reported.
It’s in stark contrast to McKinsey’s well-established practice of pushing out underperforming employees in client-facing roles after being “counselled to leave”.
The exit route may appeal to the large swathes of consultants who have been languishing on what McKinsey insiders call “the beach”, where days are spent working on internal business development rather than billable client work.
Although initially giving employees the chance to relax from their usual 80-hour weeks, these metaphorical holidays can see consultants go for months without gaining any real experience.
“A lot of people were promised they would get development that they wanted and ended up on the beach,” says the former McKinsey analyst.
There’s a certain irony given McKinsey’s reputation as corporate merchants of death hired by companies to help slash headcounts and cut costs.
However, the scheme ultimately raises questions about whether the doyen of the consulting world has simply become too big.
McKinsey, which recorded $16bn (£13bn) of revenue last year, has long been the go-to fixer for companies and governments needing help cracking their toughest problems.
The mystique surrounding the enigmatic business has helped justify the firm’s premium fees, which are much higher than those charged by consultants in the Big Four.
“It’s like buying a suit from Next off the rack or going to Savile Row,” says James O’Dowd, founder and managing partner of professional services recruiter Patrick Morgan.
After years of rapid expansion amid fierce competition from rivals Bain and BCG, McKinsey now finds itself with an enormous workforce of 45,000 employees in 65 countries, up 60pc from the 28,000 people in 2018.
