CASE STUDY

Eric is currently employed as a consultant with the major management consulting firm, Solo, Inc. When Eric first started, he completed 5 rounds of intense interviews and a probation period of 6 months. Eric has now been with Solo, Inc. for 3 years.

About Solo, Inc.

Solo, Inc. has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide and consistently ranks in the top 3 consulting firms globally. Solo, Inc. helps their clients become more durable brands for future generations, and regularly meets their commitment to their stakeholders.

Erics Entry into Solo, Inc.

When Eric was first hired, he was placed into Solo, Inc.s management training stream. It was never fully explained to him what this training stream entailed but he was just thrilled to get hired. After graduating, Eric was not very successful. For his first 5 years, he bounced from one company to the next, so when he was finally hired at Solo, Inc. he was just pleased to work at an organization that could offer him some stability.

Erics parents are incredibly proud of him; Solo, Inc. is a reputable organization and its rumoured that they pay their consultants well.

In his first year with Solo, Inc. Eric was evaluated on 4 different teams until he was unceremoniously placed onto the marketing team. The hours are long, the work is competitive, and Eric travels 80% of the time, usually only seeing his 2 young children and his partner from Friday morning until Sunday night before he flies out again. Eric works from his home office on Fridays.

Challenges at Solo, Inc.

Partner Status

Over the duration of his time with Solo, Inc., Eric has yet to have a conversation with the executive team about his career goals, but he knows 2 colleagues who didnt either until they were suddenly offered Partner status.

In addition, Eric is regularly offered new training programs on various technologies but when the opportunity arises with a client, hes usually asked to pass the work to a more experienced consultant. Solo, Inc. does have an incentive program where consultants are awarded a bonus when they implement new technology.

Its also rumoured that most management consulting firms reserve a set number of positions at the Partner level. These Partner roles can only be replaced (by promoting from within) when someone retires, is let go, or leaves willingly. At Solo, Inc. there are several Partners, including Marissa, who should be retiring soon.

Reporting Structure

Eric reports to Marissa, a Partner who has been with Solo, Inc. for the last 18 years. Marissa is Erics 2^nd boss this year because of internal shuffling so he hasnt had the opportunity to really get to know her.

Marissa missed Erics last performance review because she did not feel she had adequate information on his performance, however, she was quick to get feedback from Taco King, whom all said that Eric was their brightest consultant. They also said that Eric is a personable and likable human being.

Eric gets the impression that Marissa may be intimidated by him. It is difficult to schedule time with Marissa. Eric has an MBA and is continuing his education on weekends to focus on analytics, while Marissa worked her way up in the organization.

Dispute with a Colleague

One of Erics greatest challenges at Solo, Inc. is the ongoing disputes he has with Luke, another consultant who started at approximately the same time as him. Luke is often unethical in his business practices, like adding more hours on a timesheet, which is charged back to their clients.

Eric is confident that Solo, Inc. is aware of Lukes poor behaviour, but no disciplinary action has occurred. In fact, Luke was recently given the Saber Award, which is provided to 1 employee per division per year.

Erics Current Dilemma

3 weeks ago, Eric was approached by the headhunting firm, Leia and Associates. Even though Eric has only been with Solo, Inc. for 3 years, he has a combination of 8 years of work experience.

Eric has also been working on the Taco King account at Solo, Inc., which has seen consistent revenue growth for the last 3 years. Eric never documents any of his contributions.

Leia and Associates would like to represent Eric for a Senior Consultant role with the competing management consulting firm, K. Ren, Inc. Eric will also be given the opportunity to lead a small team of 4 individuals if he wins the role.

Eric isnt sure if he should apply for K. Ren, Inc. though.

Eric has always wanted to lead a division at a large enterprise company. At most management consulting firms it takes the average consultant at least 5 years of employment before they are eligible for the much-desired Partner status, which is when compensation is far more lucrative. Eric is concerned hed be giving up 3 years of his time with Solo, Inc. to start over again, although hed be moving to a more senior role at K. Ren, Inc.

Eric has till the end of the day to inform Leia and Associates if hed like to be put forward for the opportunity with K. Ren, Inc.

He has decided to be transparent and speak with his Manager, Marissa, about his career goals, the opportunity presented, and his future with Solo, Inc., except she is once again unresponsive to his urgent request to meet. Should Eric take the new role or stay at Solo, Inc.? Question #7 - Define the 3 ways one might evaluate performance. Using the case study, provide 2 examples when you might use one of the methods to evaluate performance