Avanade reviews

- Avanade is so focused on growth that they stopped caring about people they already have. In the 3+ years I worked there nearly every month we'd get an email about this or that benefit being "replaced with [something worse] so we can be better aligned for the future growth". What that meant most of the time is that benefits/perks were getting worse and worse as time progressed. - Compensation is extremely sub par. I didn't realize that until I started looking for a new job. Even with other consulting companies in the area I was able to easily get offers 25-40% higher than what Avanade pays (and with better benefits). - Don't believe recruiters when they tell you that you will be working on exciting projects with exciting clients. The clients are exciting (in the Seattle area mostly MS, but many other big names throughout the country). The truth is that most of the work is very mundane, boring and not challenging. You will be staffed on the same client for months if not years (if you're billable and client likes you, no amount of complaining will get you off a project even if it's not a good fit for you or your career). - Nearly none of the people I started working with 3+ years ago are with the company anymore. Morale is low, attrition is high - AvanadeU (and training opportunities) is not as great as they make it out to be. I would much rather have a subscription to PluralSight that listen to boring "lectures" over Lync. While on the client it's nearly impossible to attend any of the training sessions - There's no company culture to speak of. You're on a client site all the time, you interact with client's employees. Because of that you are more part of the client's culture than Avanade's. But you're not an FTE at the client, so there's something very important missing. You're basically on your own and it sucks.

They follow a churn and burn model for their consultants, forcing them to travel extensively while paying salaries that are much lower than their competitors. They also charge clients a premium rate for the overtime their consultants work without passing any of the earnings on to the consultants. Consultants are encouraged to pretend they know more than they do for clients and learn on the job, which is difficult. Managers have very outdated ways of thinking, and believe that extensive processes and methodologies are all that is necessary to successful project delivery. They cling to an antiquated methodology that insists you can eliminate all uncertainty on projects and a "one-size" fits all development approach, at least within the ERP practice, which leads to disastrous results. Project managers who have no working knowledge of the product they are implementing are valued over consultants who do all the legwork for clients. Project managers are valued for handling clients well instead of leading effective teams. Overall, working hard is valued over working smart. HR representatives and career managers don't always look out for your best interests, and even when they do, they can't overrule senior management to help you. Your colleagues may be smart, dedicated, hard-working employees, but poor management leads to constant thrashing on projects. Overall, these methods are still profitable to the company, so burning through consultants is no problem because they focus a great deal on training and can always hire more college graduates who are eager to start their careers.