The Vault Top-50 Consultancy Rankings: Bain Unseats McKinsey

Move over, McKinsey. There’s a new king of the hill. After a brief stay at the top of the Vault.com ranking of the top 50 consulting firms in the US, the elite strategy consulting firm has been supplanted by Bain & Co., which held the top consulting firm spot for the three previous years.

The two top consulting firms, along with third-place Boston Consulting Group, compete intensely for top MBA talent, each year recruiting dozens of graduates from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, INSEAD and other elite programs worldwide. Consulting jobs at the three top firms are among the highest-paying offered to MBA graduates. The median base salary for Harvard Business School graduates taking consulting jobs last year was US$135,000; only private equity and venture capital paid more.

Bain is best of the top consulting firms by the narrowest of margins

But before Bain gets too cocky, it’s worth noting that it beat out McKinsey by the narrowest of margins in the top consulting firms ranking. Bain’s score topped McKinsey’s by just 0.03 points on a 10-point scale, and Boston Consulting Group by just 0.18 points.

The Vault ranking is based on responses from about 8,500 North American consultants who were asked to weigh in on prestige (for firms with which they are familiar) as well as various aspects of their own firms. Prestige contributed 30% to the final ranking. Satisfaction, culture, and compensation contributed 15% each, while work-life balance and business outlook contributed 10% each and promotion policies contributed the final 5%.

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How Bain beat out McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group

So why is Bain the first of the top consulting firms the list?  It scored well on virtually every category that Vault measured: No. 1 on training, leadership, and culture, as well as promotion policies and overall satisfaction.  It also scored highly on interaction with clients (2), prestige (3), and work-life balance (5).  It’s lowest score: hours in the office (9) and travel requirements (20).

In their reviews of the company for The Vault’s ranking, Bain employees praised the firm’s ‘supportive culture’ and ‘great learning opportunities’, but criticized it for the kinds of things inherent in any post-MBA consulting job: long hours, nonstop travel, and unpredictability. A partner in retail and consumer goods cited “the relentless demands,” while a partner in strategy cited “pressure to perform.”

Of the 456 employees who rated the company, 452 gave it either five or four stars (out of five). The numbers were similar for McKinsey (423 out of 445) and Boston Consulting Group (608 out of 646) although BCG reviewers gave the firm more four-star reviews (379) than five-star reviews (329).