UB focus distorts every aspect - Senior Consultant ERM Employee Review

- ERM typically hires new staff to roles below their skills and experience level, so undervalues consultants from the off. - There is a myopic focus on 'useful billability' (UB), ie consultant time spent on client projects, with little attention given to any other performance indicator. As a result, you can be capable and doing high quality work but when there is no project to do, you will score badly and your progress and promotion will be impeded. This leads to a hunger games situation where consultants scavenge for projects, and need to become favourites of partners and project managers to be prioritised. This often leads to misallocation of consultants (eg. on projects where they have no expertise or experience) and negative project outcomes.