At Roland Berger, our people are at the center of everything we do; their drive and dedication have made us – a consulting firm of German origin – a global leader in our industry. We strive to provide the best environment for personal development at the firm, ensuring that everyone can bring their true selves to work. That means creating a people-centric, respectful work culture, an inspiring, entrepreneurial and performance-driven environment, and a broad set of flexibility options that allow employees to design individual work models. It also means providing strong support for individual and collective growth. We base that support on regular formal and informal feedback, various types of training, coaching, fellowship programs, affinity groups and much more besides.
Our global New Ways of Working initiative fosters lasting cultural change at Roland Berger. It builds on four key pillars: awareness, transparency, mindset and co-ownership. Everyone in the firm is on a journey of learning. The aim is to create a sustainable workplace culture where everyone has the flexibility to shape their own way of operating, suiting their personal situation and ambitions, at the same time as aligning with the needs of our clients.
We are dedicated to fostering the growth of all our people, unlocking their potential and enriching their professional journey. Not only does this help our work with clients, it also keeps us moving forward as a firm. To achieve this constant momentum, we provide many chances for growth and advancement, including training courses, coaching, social and entrepreneurial fellowships, and other learning opportunities.
Our corporate culture fosters collaboration, responsible behavior and innovative thinking. Our company-wide commitments – the 9 Pledges – are anchored in our corporate values of entrepreneurship, empathy, and excellence, helping create an inclusive, innovative, diverse and merit-based environment. Our working culture, tools and initiatives recognize the unique and diverse personalities, perspectives and backgrounds of our people. After all, it is our people who ensure the quality and attractiveness of working at Roland Berger and the results we deliver for our clients. Our efforts to give our people meaningful tasks help them grow personally, find inspiration and contribute to a more sustainable world.
We believe that the meeting of different cultures and perspectives within the firm enriches us – because diverse teams produce better results. We are fully committed to ensuring the firm is an inclusive, meritocratic place that celebrates the richness of our diversity. In line with this goal, we promote diversity with regards to gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and educational background. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lie at the heart of the Roland Berger Code of Conduct and our Diversity Mission. We are committed to providing our people with a work environment that is open, friendly, respectful, and which celebrates the richness of our differences.
We strive to maximize opportunities for everyone. This is reflected in our initiatives, from Pride celebrations for our LGBTQ+ colleagues to our “female buddy” system – one of our key ambitions is to increase the number of women in leadership positions. Our affinity groups – groups of employees who share a common identity characteristic – are growing each year and contribute substantially to the inclusive work environment at Roland Berger. They run events, workshops, networking seminars and information sessions to grow their communities and make a real impact. Thanks to their work, our people are assured of a supportive community at the workplace.
Our corporate actions include making sure that processes are equitable and that all our people experience the same level of fairness and support. Part of this means fighting unconscious bias and discrimination at work. Everyone in the firm completes mandatory anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training. Since 2023, a full-day training on unconscious bias has formed part of our standard training program. Participants learn how implicit stereotypes lead to habits that undermine our best intentions. We also regularly analyze data from our recruiting funnel, interviews, engagement surveys, leadership surveys, performance reviews and promotion rounds.
" It's not about your gender. It’s not about your ethnicity or the color of your skin. It's not about your sexual identity or orientation. It's not about your faith or beliefs. It's about your character. "
At Roland Berger, we empower our people to actively shape our sustainability journey as a firm. We have launched a number of initiatives to boost their awareness of sustainability issues and their own efforts to improve our environmental footprint. We believe it is important to promote sustainability awareness at a local level throughout the year. With that in mind, we have appointed Sustainability Ambassadors across our offices worldwide – individuals who are passionate about creating a culture of environmental sustainability and improving our carbon footprint by engaging their peers. Often supported by groups of like-minded people in their offices, they are the official point of connection between our local and global activities. We also take a wide range of steps to increase our sustainability overall as a firm, from sustainable purchasing to waste avoidance.
We care deeply about the physical health, mental health and wellbeing of our people. All our offices have measures in place to protect their health and safety in line with national laws and regulations. We also provide global health insurance, disability and invalidity cover, as well as offering life insurance and private retirement plans in most countries. We actively encourage local initiatives to demystify mental health in the workplace, providing free access to individual mental health coaching and burnout prevention sessions. Our standard training program includes a mandatory section on stress management for everyone. At the same time, we believe that physical fitness is crucial to maintaining mental health, so in many countries we subsidize gym membership, yoga sessions, health club membership and subscriptions to mindfulness apps and workshops. We also provide additional budgets for team-building activities and support with working from home.
As a responsible corporate citizen, it is our responsibility to use our expertise and resources in the best way possible to build to a better society. This is reflected in our dedication to community projects, which takes many forms – from pro bono consulting and volunteering to fellowship programs.
Our Social and Entrepreneurial Fellowships enable individuals at the firm to pursue their own business ideas or support a good cause. With a Social Fellowship, for example, our colleagues can support a non-profit organization of their choice for up to three months.
