Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing fine and continue to be healthy!
I don't want to start another topic related to McK vs. BCG and how they differ regarding prestige, network, culture, or exit opportunities because I think there are already a lot of really good answers.
What I am interested in is how policies/guidelines that affect everyday life as a consultant are different between those firms in Germany. The background to this question is that I participated in a McKinsey virtual event last week and had the unique opportunity to have a 15 minute Zoom Call with a really honest engagement manager who also worked at BCG for a few years and therefore had some really nice insights how guidelines/policies differ.
For example:
1.) Educational Leave: When using the educational leave in Germany to pursue a Phd, you could leave McKinsey directly after finishing the Phd without having to pay back the money, while in the case of BCG you commit yourself to work for BCG for another 1 or 2 years upon return. If you leave earlier, you have to pay back a share of the study fees.
2.) Travel Policy: At McKinsey Germany, they "only" pay the travel costs from the client to the home office location and vice-versa. For example, if I am assigned to the Berlin office and have a project in Munich, McK pays for flights between those locations but wouldn't pay for a flight to e.g. Frankfurt, in case I wanted to spend my weekend there and go to the Frankfurt office on Friday. This is quite different from BCG Germany as they allow you to travel to the client from every BCG location in Germany, even if it is not your designated home office and also travel from the client to a location that is not your home office.
3.) Hotels on Sundays: I know that at BCG Germany you can also arrive at the clients location on Sundays and they will pay the additional night, is this also the case for McK?
I know it might be difficult to get some insights into such guideline and policy differences as only a few people worked for both firms, but in case you are aware of any other differences, I would really appreciate some insights!
