Can't get out of its own way - Principal Consultant Capco Employee Review

1.0
Mar 12, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good office location on Wall Street and decent office perks if one is in the office (free food / drinks / company lunches). Like a lot of reviews said, you get to work with genuinely great people and it's not a cutthroat environment... you'll make friends and work with friends. Relatively decent company benefits (standard 401k) but healthcare is solid and contributions did not get raised over the last few years - money in your pocket. Relatively decent list of Tier 1 and Tier 2 Banks as clients, if you're lucky you end up being staffed on a number of different projects within the NYC region at different clients. Decent travel options if desired and higher up leaders including partners are generally approachable and provide feedback when requested Start-Up atmosphere and entrepreneurial spirit, even though company has now been established for 20 years (more on that later)

Cons

Appalling internal processes all around due to lack of commitment by senior leadership, lack of investment dollars or lack of focus. No meaningful HC function to speak of in the traditional sense, barely enough resources to keep the ship from sinking (HC now focuses on doing the bare minimum due to lack of employees and expertise in that function), so performance management "pilots" take 1y+ to be rolled out and are still terrible without any tangible improvements. Knowledge Management is non-existent at this company. While there's a system in place in theory, no one uploads, updates or captures any project knowledge in practice; resulting in every project being started again from scratch without any accelerators. L&D function is present in name only : No meaningful skill development at levels post Senior Consultant, courses are taught mainly by bench resources and are large "introductory" or "101" in nature. This is not enough to upsell into clients! changeSourcing agreements brought a number of "senior" industry personnel into the firm which causes a major rift. Industry people never wanted to be in consulting, aren't a company fit and don't have a consulting mindset but are now part of engagements and need to be staffed. Consultants on the other hand get disillusioned having to work with or for people who clearly are not fits for the company in drive, skillset or desire.

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Capco Response
8y
Thank you for your feedback on the many benefits of working for Capco and, in particular, our success in maintaining our entrepreneurial spirit and high levels of empowerment. We believe these have been important in supporting the strong growth we are enjoying in the firm. Unsurprisingly in a growing and entrepreneurial firm, we run a lean HR function placing the emphasis on supporting effective people management and development of potential in our leaders. That said, the function is still here to support our people and will intervene actively to optimize deployment, develop talent or promote travel options when the opportunity arises. We are also looking to continually improve the experience of working at Capco for our people and would like to better understand how we can do so. On Knowledge Management, we know that this is an area in which we can improve now that we are truly independent and can no longer rely on the platforms of our parent company. Nevertheless, this gives us a unique opportunity to tailor an approach specifically to our requirements and those of our people and clients. We have also made a swift start and introduced a new knowledge management platform recently to capture and share information more effectively. Initial feedback is good and we believe this will enhance opportunities to share information and enable more effective collaboration amongst our teams. While performance management can be a challenging core process at every firm, it is another area in which we have sought to respond to the feedback from our people and deliver a more transparent and holistic approach. The recent pilot did not take 12 months because of a lack of staff or expertise, but because we wanted to evaluate the entire performance cycle from goal-setting to final review before we launched our new approach. The Performance Management Framework at Capco now promotes a holistic and transparent assessment of your historic performance (including your broader contribution to success through activities outside the ‘day job’). It also promotes continuous feedback (via a mobile app) to drive your future development and progression. We have received positive feedback about the new process and the additional transparency provided via the new framework. We invest heavily in Learning and Development and sponsor a wide variety of learning programs increasingly focused on driving career progression for our people. Learning is linked more closely than ever to attaining career goals including Partnership. Whilst it is fair to say that learning becomes more tailored to career plans and new market developments post Senior Consultant level, you would expect this in a firm that is operating in areas of the market that are developing quickly in capabilities that are shaping solutions as well as delivering them. Finally we are not ashamed of our commitment to take talent into the firm from wherever it resides. We have lots of examples of people who have been successful consultants who started their careers in industry. We think that it is important to have diversity of talent. We believe this enhances our inclusive culture, fosters creativity in our solutions and makes the firm a great place to work. If you would like to discuss any of the points raised in your review then please reach out to your HR Business Partner or HR Lead, Mary Keller.

Explore other reviews about Capco

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May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Great people and atmosphere here

Cons

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4.0
May 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Varied client work — Different clients and project types, which keeps things interesting. Real project mobility — You can move between projects when you advocate for yourself (within reason). Approachable leadership — Senior leaders are open to conversations if you reach out. Good development resources — Plenty of training and growth opportunities if you take advantage of them. Strong teams — Colleagues are smart, capable, and great to work with. Entrepreneurial environment — New ideas are encouraged, and there’s room to take initiative.

Cons

Long hours vary by project — Like most any professional job, some engagements require extended hours for prolonged periods, but work–life balance really depends on the client and team. Additional internal responsibilities — Depending on level, there can be a significant amount of firm‑support work outside of client delivery. Domain alignment not guaranteed — You may not always be staffed on projects that match your domain expertise. Coaching alignment constraints — Coaching relationships are tied to domain, which limits flexibility in choosing formal mentors. Long engagements (sometimes) — Some projects run for long durations or through multiple extensions. It can provides stability but may reduce variety in client and project experience depending on what you’re looking for.

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