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A sparkling consulting subsidiary Mercer Management Consulting is the sparkling corporate strategy subsidiary of professional services titan Marsh & McLennan, which also owns William M. Mercer (a human resources consultancy), National Economic Research Associates (microeconomic consulting), and Lippincott & Margulies (corporate image and identity strategy). Mercer Management Consulting was formed in 1990 through the merger of Temple, Barker & Sloane and Strategic Planning Associates. Since its founding, the firm has grown aggressively. Over the past two years, Mercer Management has added new offices in Europe, the Pacific Rim, and Canada. In 1997, Mercer snatched up Corporate Decisions, Inc. (CDI), a small but prestigious consulting firm. Today, Mercer Management Consulting has approximately 1,200 consultants and support personnel. The legacy of CDI CDI liked to pride itself on helping companies adjust their long-term business strategies to conditions like downsizing, re-engineering, and global competition. Using its Value-Driven Business Design, CDI worked with clients to increase shareholder value. At the time of the merger, Mercer was eager to incorporate CDI's concepts into its own consulting framework. The firm believed its own considerable reputation and clout would enable CDI strategy theory to reach more people. One former consultant with CDI, now a Mercer consultant, describes the merger thusly: "CDI focused on the Fortune 500 and 100, while Mercer had a greater diversity of clients." A happy partnership Strategy shop CDI has bolstered Mercer's strategic strengths, while Mercer gave CDI the bodies it needs to fill all its engagements and increase savvy in operational and implementation work. While CDI case teams were kept intact following the merger, "cross-team strategizing didn't happen right away." One insider adds, "Mercer is currently debating whether or not to have its consultants work on two engagements at once." The two-instead-of-one technique is a common CDI practice and one used at other prestigious consulting firms, such as The Boston Consulting Group. Still growing to be great In other growth-related efforts in the late 1990s, Mercer Management Consulting added offices in Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh to its already expansive international network. The Buenos Aires office is especially noteworthy, since it marks the firm's first office in South America and symbolizes the firm's desire to expand its efforts in emerging markets. The less exotic offices in Cleveland and Pittsburgh supplement the firm's "natural geographical expansion" in the continental U.S. In 1999 the firm launched a new web site, www.profitpatterns.com, in order to complement its new book, Profit Patterns. Both book and web site concentrate on "ways to anticipate and profit from strategic forces reshaping your business." Mercer's last book, The Profit Zone (1998), was one of 10 books designated by Business Week for the publication's Best Book of the Year award. The firm also has a rapidly growing Internet strategy practice and is increasingly involved in advising private equity firms, using its core consulting capabilities to identify new business opportunities.
Plentiful information on job opportunities can be found in the employment section of the firm's web site, www.mercermc.com. Mercer hires recent college graduates for its analyst positions, and MBAs for its associate positions. Most non-MBA students in graduate programs will be put in analyst positions at first, though quantitative PhDs and applicants with relevant work experience, for example, will also be considered for associate positions. At the undergraduate level, Mercer recruits at Dartmouth, Harvard, Northwestern, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, Williams, and Yale (in addition to a number of Canadian and European schools). In search of MBAs, the firm travels to Columbia, Fuqua, Georgetown, Harvard, Kellogg, Michigan, Sloan, Stanford, the University of Chicago, Tuck, Wharton, and the Yale School of Management. Applicants from outside the U.S. should consult the Mercer web site for international recruitment opportunities. Historically, Mercer has hired 40 to 50 summer MBA interns each year in the U.S. and Europe. The firm hires only at core business schools: "Go through the normal recruiting process," advise insiders. "Mercer doesn't have many back doors." Mercer conducts a range of interviews including case interviews and resume discussions. Mercer urges interviewees who are daunted by the prospect of the case interview to relax – the firm is "not looking for a specific answer," but is "trying to gain some insight into your thought processes." An insider recommends that interviewees avoid "looking like you're suffering too much. Problem solving is what you're applying to do, after all." The firm typically runs applicants through "five or six interviews in either two or three rounds." In each round, there is generally one personality interview, insiders say. The remainder of interviews are case-related. "Success on the case interviews is absolutely critical," reports a contact. Mercer interviewers reportedly shy away from guesstimates along the lines of "how many golf balls could you fit into a 747?" However, the occasional old-school or devil's-advocate interviewer may pop just such a question. Prior to an interview, candidates should read the firm's recent books to learn about business frameworks the firm uses. One insider believes that interviewers are looking for candidates to think out loud: "To explain your thought processes clearly – that is a necessary condition rather than a sufficient one. You must take a logical, holistic, and innovative approach to the case. Also, ask questions and plenty of them – especially if you're an undergraduate." Analysts and associates usually join Mercer as part of the Core Consulting Group, which gives them the opportunity to work on a variety of issues, functional areas, and industries across Mercer.
Total development Insiders say that Mercer "believes in developing each and every employee." Consultants say that Mercer is "a total meritocracy." However, one employee says that while Mercer "has a history of not being very bureaucratic, that may change now that the firm is growing." As part of the firm's commitment to professional development, Mercer uses a two-way feedback system in which both junior and senior employees evaluate each other. Recent hires also benefit from "extensive contact" with more experienced consultants. The benefits of ownership A firm that is looking for its consultants to have longer tenures than those at many of its competitors, Mercer "does not equate personal sacrifice with good consulting" and works to minimize the time its consultants spend away from home. Mercer consultants also benefit from parent Marsh & McLennan. "The insurance package is very impressive ? Mercer is owned by Marsh & McLennan, which is in insurance," one employee smartly notices. Other impressive perks include free sports tickets, subsidies at gyms, and a "very lucrative" stock option plan. Dress down, but don't relax Mercer consultants can relax their dress, as "there's no fixed dress code" at the firm ? it's normally "khakis and sweaters or open collars." Despite the minimization of time away from home, hours, however, are less blissful. Consultants say that "burnout is a serious problem." To lighten the load, "there is always a secretary to help you." Case teams also have people "called case team assistants, who are basically college graduates. They do the research coordination and data entry, basically scut work. Sometimes they get promoted to research analyst, but not very often." Rocking social life Insiders rave about Mercer's social life. "Rocking!" says one consultant. "Every Friday there's a TGIF, and there are frequent weekend parties." One consultant happily reports that "a bunch of people from the office get a ski house together every winter," while another describes her co-workers as "very congenial." Mercer insiders say that the level of social activity differs from office to office. "Actually, some offices are a little more social than others," reports one Mercer employee. "On the research analyst level, everyone is always social, but in some offices, like DC, even partners will come out and party." Reports a former Mercer consultant: "On case teams, we always got together one night a week. We would rent a room in a sports bar, or maybe have a nice dinner together." A nervy outsider Mercer consultants concur in placing Mercer toward the top of the heap in prestige. "Oh, Mercer's right up there with McKinsey and Bain and BCG. If they're Harvard and Yale and Princeton, then maybe Mercer is like Stanford or Chicago. A nervy outsider." Another insider thinks Mercer "is maybe a little behind that pack [Bain, BCG and McKinsey] but not by much, and as far as getting into business school Mercer is just as good." Contends that contact: "I would put Mercer at number four on the list. McKinsey, then BCG and Bain, then us."
Human Resources
AT Kearney;Bain & Company;Boston Consulting Group;McKinsey & Company;Monitor Company More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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