Pros
Hi, I’m Jerry Hamburg, a TiER1er. After reading reviews over the years, I wanted to respond, but didn’t know if it would help. Recently, a post changed my mind, so I thought it might help to share some facts. Some may be considered “pro”, others “con”, depending on how you choose to look at it. Here’s some facts that may be considered pro’s of TiER1: • 100% of TiER1ers can share ownership in the company, regardless of level. Contributions to ESOP are in addition to other benefits, 401K matching and more. • 100% number of times, since 2016, the TiER1 ESOP beat the S&P 500. • 32% of profits are shared in the form of bonuses, which are not capped… more profit, more percentage of bonus regardless of level. • 10% of revenues (not profits) are contributed to non-profit organizations each year. • ~4,800 hours of service work donated each year- at the TiER1er’s discretion. • $1M + donated to mental health at work and at school, including the creation of a nationally recognized program that is given away free. • 15 years on Inc 5000 list, a feat less than 3% of companies have done • 0% change in company practices to earn B-Corp status, TiER1 was recognized for how we operate. • 5% of B-Corps, out of 5,000 Certified B Corporations worldwide, in the worker impact area. • 60% of TiER1ers are women and more than 50% of leadership team are women, including CFO and COO. • 87.5% utilization is the highest, which equals 35 billable hours per week, though varies according to role, with the company utilization at 76% • Less than 10% annual turnover. • 14 times voted best places to work in various regions and nationally, as voted on- anonymously, by TiER1ers.
Cons
Here’s some facts that may be seen as cons: • Consulting is hard and not for everyone; neither is TiER1. • TiER1 is a work-in-progress- and we take ‘work’ and ‘progress’ seriously, there is no “perfect” company • Leadership is a verb at TiER1, we operate with dynamic distributed authority: the person closest to the situation makes the call. • Regardless of my career level or tenure, I defer to the person with the authority. • B Corp status is a recognition of what we do but doesn’t drive our actions. • We value fun, little and big, so every TiER1 (and +1) is invited to celebrate in Vegas to celebrate our 20th birthday. • We have a positive culture: I’ve made tons of mistakes in roles at TiER1- each time colleagues have chosen to focus on what I/we can learn to grow- some may see that as toxic. • Sometimes given the design of our organization, the market, timing and lots of other factors, ideas are not pursued. Leadership, including the times I’ve played formal roles, doesn’t just tolerate feedback on ideas, they encourage it. • Growth through levels is exponential at TiER1. Principal consultant is, currently, pinnacle and requires the steepest curve to get there I hope this helps you put comments such as: • “100 percent profits over people” • “Young employees contribute but see none of the payoff” • “ESOP shares are fairly worthless” • “At least 80% will tell you how miserable they feel” • And, perhaps of my favorite: “If you don’t drink alcohol you won’t move up”, since I don’t and am often the first to leave social events :^) I’ve made the choice, daily, to be a TiER1er for 15 years. I’ve done so with knowledge of more than 100 organizations and offers to go elsewhere. Whew. Thank you for reading! If you are interested in TiER1, you can learn a little more about - and contact me- through LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/jerryhamburg/