Pros
Training - the core competency academy training at St. Charles is well thought out and effective. The training is focused, intense and informative. The instructors appear to actually care about the material and the success of the students. Compensation - Compensation is comparable to IBM GBS. I received a signing bonus when I joined ACN in 2008, which was a nice perk. The benefits are competitive for a firm of this size. Colleagues - Senior Managers and Senior Execs were mostly good, well-educated and knowledgeable about their industries and practices. Upper management did not communicate very well, but seemed to be supportive of the business initiatives and goals.
Cons
Staffing - My HR representative was a joke. He had no knowledge of my practice area (SAP), and little understanding of how consulting engagements work. I seemed to be a lot better at getting project leads and making connections with engagement leaders than he was. During our weekly calls, he would always repeat his mantra of "I'm doing everything I can for you." Unfortunately, his idea of "everything" was somewhat less than one would think. During the 4 MONTHS I was on the bench at Accenture (and I was a top tier manager at IBM before joining ACN), he came up with one potential engagement for me...in Nigeria. He then suggested I look at projects outside of SAP (I have 10 years functional and technical SAP experience). I was basically blown away that this company couldn't find a project for a certified Manager with 10+ years of SAP and Big 4 experience, and a top 10% performance rating coming from IBM. Communication - Corporate communications were limited to fiscal results and a few insignificant company initiatives. Request for feedback from employees was nil.