Kalypso Reviews

Broken and false promises: One of the first things I heard during the interview process was that this was a "different" innovation consulting firm that really cared for its people and clients, that Kalypso was like a family and that career and personal development was a high priority. After working here now for over 2 years I found that basically none of the promises have been kept that were made during the hiring process or afterwards. Specifically I was told the firm followed the 3-4-5 model when it came to traveling for client projects: That means as a client service professionals you would typically spend 3 nights away from home, travel for 4 days and be billable for 5 days out of the week. The reality is that most of the time I am working away from home at the client site 5 days per week, but I am only billable for 3 days because the partners responsible for the project underestimated the required effort, underbid the project and didn't care how it would affect the people delivering the work and that we would have to work hundreds of hours without being able to submit them as billable. As a result my utilization appears low and I get punished in my performance reviews and compensation. And the same happens to a lot of people here. Same thing with promotions. When I was hired I was told that the firm offers great career opportunities and the possibility of quick promotions. Examples were given of employees who advanced from Analyst or Consultant to Sr. Manager in just a few years. The reality is that there are a few select women who are favored by the founders who have risen through the ranks fairly quickly. Everyone else is stuck in their positions for years without the chance for a promotion. Same problem with pay raises. Initially they bait you with the promise that while your starting salary may be a little lower, it will increase quickly as you get promoted. The problem is, it's just another false promise to get you to accept their low offer, but then they never follow through and you'll never see a raise. Lies: Particularly the founders and many partners have no problem lying to employees and clients alike. They change and enhance resumes to make someone look like a good fit for a specific project, they tell clients they have experience with something when in fact they've never done it before, and so on. The lies just really seem to come so easy for some of these people, you just don't know what to believe anymore. Favoritism: Some things have been said about this topic in other reviews, and it's really that bad. A few, mostly female employees have found favor with the two founders and are treated in very special ways. They are invited to the founders homes, they get to go on special trips to tropical destinations with the founders, complement of the firm, etc. It really has no end to what they can do while everybody else works just as hard but unfortunately doesn't get the same favors. Many people here are quite fed up with the situation and are about ready to leave the firm given the right opportunity.

With that said, there are a number of things they really need to address. I read the last review from the satisfied current employee and there is one point they are truly wrong about... sky is definitely not the limit for those who work hard. I worked my tail off and earned the respect of my fellow employees (my colleagues were actually most helpful when it came to my job search). I networked like crazy within the firm and took on countless small projects with hopes of getting staffed. It just didn't happen. Part of the problem is the staffing process. They have one employee "managing" this who knows very little about each employee's actual capabilities... only resume experience. As you can imagine, this hurts the non-traditionally experienced new hires. The traditionally experienced employees, on the other hand, are often over-utilized. She honestly isn't a very good staffing person, but if you are friendly with her, you'll probably get some of the opportunities. She should absolutely not be managing a talent pool of over 100. Along with this, they tell you that if you work hard and reach out when you're on the bench, you will get staffed. Baloney. I hate how they blame the lower level employees for organizational failures. It's frankly luck- what project lands at what time and what partner sells what. I spoke with the talent manager several times and kept hearing "we don't have anything for you". Keep in mind, I was not saying no to ANY project opportunities. I did exactly what they told me to. It really is just a crap shoot. Nepotism is also popular among the partners. And in fact, there are one or two really talented people that happen to be related to the bosses. But, I think it's also fair to say that they are given the opportunities that others are not. They are protected and brought into solid projects. Another con is how women are often treated by some of the partners. We heard all about the lovely ladies of Kalypso. They hire young, pretty things and there is a sort of seediness that goes along with this. One of the partners gets a little "handsy" at certain events. I think he really thinks he's protecting the innocent young ones, but honestly, it's a little creepy. There shouldn't be rumours that someone was hired as an analyst with zero analytical ability because the button popped open on her blouse. Rediculous. If you want to become that professional services firm, be professional. No wonder the women have a lower satisfaction rating.