Capco reviews

3.8

75% would recommend to a friend

(3,438 total reviews)
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Anne-Marie Rowland

81% approve of CEO

64% positive business outlook

Capco has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 3,438 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Capco employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Management et conseil aux entreprises industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews
5.0
Aug 18, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I’m a Partner at Capco and I've been with the firm for six and a half years. I did originally write this review including my name, but Glassdoor refused to publish it with my name included. Prior to Capco, I had never stayed anywhere for longer than two years and 10 months. I am often asked why that is. Let me try to answer. First, I have been fortunate enough to work for and with some tremendous people. When I say ‘tremendous’ I mean people who are talented, people I can learn from, people I trust, people I respect, people I can have a beer with and people I often see more as friends than colleagues. I honestly believe we employ some of the most talented people in the financial services industry, and I am constantly surprised and impressed with what our teams achieve for our clients. Second, we operate a true meritocracy, at least as much as is ever possible when people are measuring people doing something as subjective as management consulting. Since I joined Capco as a Managing Principal in 2011 the only thing that has ever limited my progress has been my own work ethic and ability. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some great people and teams who have supported me in my career development and in 2012 I achieved my first objective of joining the Partner team at Capco. We continue to do performance management and promotions every 6 months. We don’t have a time-in-grade mentality, but we do look for sustainable performance at the next level. From what I have seen in over 20 years around the city, we offer some of the best career progression opportunities you will find anywhere, together with all the support and guidance you will need to make the most of those. Third, from the leadership team downwards, we put a lot of emphasis on integrity. For me, this is my most important value and it manifests itself in many ways in how we work. On the people side, we work very hard to find roles which our people want to do. If people are doing things they’re excited about, they will be happier and they will do better work. Very simple. It is not always perfect, though, but we spend more time on this than any firm I’ve ever worked for. On the client side, we emphasise doing the right thing for the client at all times. “More consultants” is not always the answer to every client problem and it is hugely important to me that I work for a firm where I know I can say that, when it is the right answer for the client. You might be surprised by just how much trust you can build when you set-aside your self-interest and focus on the client. Within the management team we work as a team, and ask our leaders at all levels to make decisions based on what is best for the client, the people and Capco, but not for them as individuals. Fourth, of course, is the quality of our clients and our work. Over the past six years our brand has grown in-line with our client reputation, and we are now working with most of the tier 1 banks across the market in the UK. During this period we have built a strong reputation for everything from strategy & operating model through to reg & change delivery, technology transformation and all things Digital. In the last few years the size, importance and criticality of the programmes with which our clients have trusted us has increased markedly. Across our clients, we are continuing to win work from our much larger competitors – you know who they are – and we are proving to our clients that we really are, and should be, the ‘firm of choice’ for consultancy in the FS market. Crucially, this enables us to offer our people the most interesting and challenging work available in FS consulting today, and that is surely what the best people are looking for in an employer. Last, but not least, is ‘the culture’. Culture is always hard to define, but it is important. In fact, our clients often remark on how our culture – our people, and how they behave and approach their work – differentiates us from other firms. Of course, a big part of our culture is the meritocracy and integrity I’ve mentioned above. But, it is more than that. It is also: the ‘different’, more relaxed atmosphere in our Shoreditch office; the number of social clubs and events we support and run; the non-hierarchical approach (no Partner offices at Capco, well, just one) to our teams; the level of support we offer each other; the level of team-working across client accounts; the ability to make an impact and have your ideas heard; the way our people ‘drop the badge at the door’ and make themselves part of the client team; and, the way we can throw a party, which we do at least twice a year in the Summer and around Xmas. So, those are some of the main reasons I am still here after more than 6 years. I still can’t think of a better place to do management consulting.

Cons

Capco is still to some extent a 'challenger brand' in the FS consulting market. This means that we have to work that bit harder, sometimes, to win against our much larger, longer-in-the-tooth competitors. Sometimes that is frustrating but, for me, it is a huge and rewarding part of the challenge. I have always enjoyed being the under-dog, winning when people say I can't and doing things which people say weren't possible. If you like to win against ‘the big guys’, then Capco is the place for you. If you prefer the warmer, cosier world of a 'big brand' then perhaps it isn't the right place for you.

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Capco Response
8y
Thank you for your review. It's really great to hear that after your 6+ years with the firm, you are still excited about Capco and the quality of experience and career we strive to give our people. As well as an exciting description of the culture that we believe makes us unique, your focus on accelerated development, integrity, merit and the quality of our people goes a long way to demonstrate how our leaders, like you, live and promote that culture across the firm. Your passion for Capco comes across very strongly and I am sure that others will be encouraged to give us a closer look based on your story and observations. In particular, those that relish a challenge and are looking for an exciting and rewarding career. Thanks for your continued contribution to Capco!
1.0
Aug 13, 2017

Unexplainable Promotions

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The brand itself appears fancy - Capco differentiates by self-presentation in the internet and public brochures from typical competitors. Though it is about 20 years old there is still kind of start-up marketing what leaves an impression of innovation. It is a very diverse company - the people are not like clones.

Cons

The ability to take criticism - also in public reviews - has still to be trained. Especially in recent past the promotions prompted questions. It is more than just suspect if employees get promoted to career levels though they are far away from meeting the requirements of that levels. In some cases it seems to be much more political than performance-driven - whatever the motivations of the promotion-responsible persons are... By taking a look at the usual Principal Consultants (one above Senior Consultant, one below Managing Principle), these are people with firm consulting experience, having built up sound expertise over years in fields which are key to the company and the industry. They take sales responsibilities and are also measured against those (there are monetary targets to hit) and - of course - they are responsible for managing revenues, projects, people, and for topics dealing with the business to attract clients and to win projects. This requires hard work and experience in both dimensions, numbers of years and intensity. It gets multiple employees' attention if someone gets promoted to Principal Consultant level without having any notable consulting experience during his/ her time at Capco, and the previous promotion to Senior Consultant already appeared very generous. There is no base - neither by applying the officially valid performance assessment framework nor by applying common sense - to promote employees to Principal Consultant level who have very little client project experience and thus have not generated much revenue for the company. Internal projects - also in cooperation with the parent company - represent a lower level of comparability, and they generate no revenue (we all know that Capco is not a non-profit company and the billable component is one of a few hard performance criteria). Aditi onally, it is more questionable when the same employees with little or no client project experience do not even stand for any topic important to Capco's business, be it from the financial industry's business or technology side. As a conclusion those very fast promoted employees cannot be seen as consultants at all by this what they do. What is going on then? Officially, Capco does have a quite comprehensive and clear performance assessment framework. And the performance of people who get promoted has to be sustained over a period of time. So how can it be that people get promoted if they don't do management consulting at all and simply cannot meet the framework's requirements? They do not even meet the requirements of their current level - what might sound mean but it reflects reality. It just sticks to facts. The roundtable process should fairly assess performance and skills and determine whether the requirements of the next level are met. Apparently, Capco is not very consequent in this process. And the majority of hard and well working, experienced and skilled employees, who generate business and demonstrate management work, gets mocked. The theory what Capco has set up concerning the performance assessment looks pragmatic and reasonable. Nevertheless, recent promotion incidents showed that the roundtable assessment sometimes tramples on the framework and promotes people for arcane reasons.

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Capco Response
8y
Thank you for your review, however, we are disappointed to read your comments. Capco has a very robust performance management process and is currently piloting an enhanced approach, based on employee feedback. Our roundtable process enables us to fairly assess each individual's performance, skills and development needs in relation to their peers. In addition, promotion committees are used to assess a candidate's readiness to move to the next level and to ensure that an individual is set up for success. If you have any specific concerns or questions you would like to address regarding performance management, please reach out to your Coach, HR Business Partner or the regional HR Lead, Mary Keller to discuss in more detail.
5.0
Jun 14, 2017

Fantastic Development Opportunities

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Having worked at Capco for 6 years, I have seen the company go through a lot of growth and I have enjoyed being part of this. The culture has changed over the years but is no less strong and allows for continuous improvement and innovation - which is owned by employees. What has remained consistent during this time is the focus on people and their development. I along with many others have been given opportunities, excellent training and support to develop that we would not have received at other companies. I have enjoyed the flat structure at Capco, the approach-ability of the leadership and the friendliness of employees.

Cons

Capco is a fast paced company to work for - anyone looking for a slow paced, hierarchical company will not be suited to Capco.

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Capco Response
9y
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We are delighted to hear that you enjoy working at Capco and the excellent career and development opportunities the firm offers! The company has gone through a tremendous amount of growth over the past six years and this is set to continue, which will mean even more opportunities for our people. As with any organization, our culture has evolved over time, however, the leadership remain focused on the people agenda and to recruiting and retaining talented employees. These are exciting times for Capco!
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