More on Office Culture

The London Women’s Initiative’s overall objective is to increase the attractiveness to women of a long-term consulting career at BCG and therefore to improve our ability to attract and retain the best women available. To achieve this BCG is seeking to better understand what is important to women in their work so we can ensure we meet their needs and to continue to provide a workforce culture that is as attractive to women as it is to men. Through a vibrant schedule of breakfast meetings, training sessions, mentoring lunches, bonding and women’s alumni events, we provide a forum and a supportive network where our consulting women can socialise and discuss issues and topics of interest. Our CEO, Hans Paul Buerkner, supports the Women’s Initiative wholeheartedly recognising that “women are extraordinarily effective in our client work, in ways that are increasingly important as we seek to deliver change in organisations”

BCG's impact on the environment is a concern held by individuals at all levels within our organisation. We have a leading Green team here in London that includes both consulting and support staff. Together our aim is to limit the impact that employees and our activities have on climate change and the wider environment in general. We constantly track our carbon footprint by examining carbon emissions from various sources such as different types of travel, energy consumption and hotel use. In addition, we monitor the amount of recycling that takes place for different waste products. Most importantly, we work together to create ideas to alleviate our impact, often collaborating with other offices around the world. Some examples of our efforts within the London office include switching to green electricity, office presentations to improve environmental awareness and encouraging alternative travel options such as train instead of car, hybrid taxis over standard taxis, Eurostar instead of aeroplane, and so on.

The LGBT Network in London is one of the largest in BCG. London plays a key role driving LGBT recruiting and retention and we participate in a variety of initiatives and events locally, regionally and globally. On a personal note, the Network was an invaluable source of contacts and advisors around the world to help me choose my preferred location for the Ambassador program.

I have had many holidays and nights out with BCG! As soon as I started, I went on an office away weekend to Madeira where we spent a few days enjoying the sun, sight-seeing, team bonding and being entertained by BCG drama in an hilarious production during a fabulous outside dinner. My favourite trips have been the ski trips for Associates and Junior Consultants – in recent years to a beautiful town in Austria. Everyone from beginners to experts has lessons or guiding. I had my first go at snowboarding this year and am absolutely hooked! After a day on the slopes we had a horse and cart trip through the snow and danced in a club up the ski-slope in legendary Austrian style. Back in London, we have quite a few bonding events, Friday drinks, and I have enjoyed the ad-hoc nights out that friends from the office organise at the last minute after work or on weekends. We also have the Women's Initiative group, where all the consulting women get together for social events - my favourites have been a wine-tasting event and an evening learning to cook together at an Italian cookery school.

As BCG London is growing rapidly, there are a large number of new joiners to meet and faces to remember. This is why I really enjoy the larger office events, like our Christmas party, the Offsite Day or the Office Trip. They are great (and fun) occasions to catch up with everyone, old or new to the office, and to enjoy an evening, day or long weekend together as a group. The passion that goes into organising these events is incredible and the venues, activities and event ideas the teams come up with are simply astounding. On a smaller scale, there are numerous events all year – on top of the traditional Case Team dinners at the end of each project. For example, the group I joined with is still meeting up regularly – usually every 100 days in the tradition of the 100th day welcome dinner – with even those who have since left BCG still joining us.