 
The placement season was kicked off with the pre-placement talk by Arthur D. Little. The Consulting Club of ISB had the honor of hosting Mr. Thomas Kuruvilla from Arthur D. Little for its pre-placement talk on 21st October 2008.
These are some of the key issues that he discussed with the student body:
Presence in India: ADL has no presence in India currently and does not intend to in the near future. However if the project is based out of India, ADL will be glad to move associates in the region.
Selection Process: At Arthur D. Little (ADL) the selection process does not give advantage or disadvantage to people with substantial years of work experience. Thus prior work experience is irrelevant for ADL. Ideally what ADL looks for, is excellence in previous work profile. This is because the type of work that recruits indulge in after joining ADL, has little correlation with their prior work experience. ADL is looking to recruit candidate across all levels, thus candidates with entire range of work experience are welcome. Process involves:
- Screening resumes
- Short list based on the resumes: each resume gets 30sec view
- 4 to 5 rounds of interview
- initial rounds based on cases
- later rounds are more soft skill based
Career Progression: The lowest level is a designation called Business Analyst. These are for candidates with zero years of work experience. This is a research and analysis sort of a role. Movement in ADL solely depends on the performance after joining ADL. Prior history of the candidate becomes irrelevant as soon as he joins the company. The next level is Associate Consultant; this is for people who have 2-3 years of work experience but does not have prior strategy experience. Such recruits are expected to become Consultant within 1 evaluation period. Business Analyst and Associate Consultant are not expected to engage with the client at the strategic level. Consultants interact with clients directly. The next level is “Managerâ€; he manages a team of consultants and handles the interactions with clients on his own. Above manager, there is a designation of “Senior Managerâ€. Senior Managers are expected to involve themselves in business development role (with existing clients) in addition to their responsibility of case delivery to the client. Partner comes next and his role involves a wide gamut of activities, including selling projects to new clients.
Performance Management System (PMS): ADL does not have an “up or out†policy. People sometimes get double promotion and some remain in the same designation for a couple of years. The movement across hierarchy is purely based on the performance. PMS includes evaluation done by the case team and evaluation by the client. This forms the crux of the Performance Management system at ADL. Every person joining ADL is allocated to a mentor, who is two levels above the new recruit. Mentor’s role is that of a coach and he gives regular feedback on continuous improvement of the individual. Group of mentors decide on the compensation and bonus levels of their mentees.
ADL does not follow a rigid hierarchical structure or/protocol in its work. The team is empowered to delegate work among them, however the team is responsible and accountable for the results. The freedom given to the team members is on the higher level. ADL gives utmost importance to team work and willingness to share with and learn from colleagues. The entire team has to work at the client premises and with the client for the entire duration of the project.
ADL sometimes leaves the project at the stage of recommendations. Implementation of recommendation is a costly phase and thus certain clients want ADL to give its recommendation. Sometimes the strategy phase adds more value than implementation phase. Around 30-40 percent of the projects go on to the implementation phase.
Selection Criteria: The selection process is not only limited to Middle East or Singapore office. ADL Dubai office is responsible for Middle East and Singapore region. The final office location is decided after the candidate clears the initial 3 rounds and has been interviewed by the desired office.
There are around 5 rounds of interviews in the hiring process. Each round has a case and a general interview. The short list is done based on the resume. 80 percent of the candidates are screened out in the first 2 rounds. Most of the remaining candidates make it to the final round. If somebody wants to apply to the London office, then the first 3 rounds are handled by the Dubai office and the rest of the rounds are handled by London office. Around 80 percent of the recruits from Asia join Middle East, Malaysia or Singapore office. The selection criterion is standard across all locations. Openings are present across all levels and ADL does not have a number in mind. Usually ADL hires around 2-6 candidates from a B School. There is no fixed criterion for short listing the resume. Achievements in the past are given weight age and performance above average is expected in whatever a candidate does. Prior experience in Middle East does not give a candidate any undue advantage. The EOI should cover the following points, Why Consulting, Why ADL and why should ADL hire you?
Compensation Package: ADL does not have any plans to open an office in India and there is no active business development in India. ADL pays the same package across all locations. In ADL the fixed variable proportion is different. The variable component is higher in ADL. The fixed pay is around industry average and the variable pay is at a substantially higher level. Thus the salary levels are linked to the firm’s performance.
Functional Domains: ADL is known as a strong player in functions where technology has a role to play. ADL operates in almost all the function though its strength lies in TEACH (Telecom, Energy, Automotive, Chemicals and Healthcare). ADL also does a lot of work with family owned businesses. Roughly 60 percent of the projects are from Middle East region, 20 percent of the projects pertain to Dubai and the rest are located in the rest of the world.
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