All, just wondered what experience you guys have had with Chaucer - good or bad, indifferent or enraged?

I tried to read the Canterbury Tales once... Some very good stuff there, but you really should use a translation into modern English.

made a lasting impression on me - I can still quote the Prologue twenty odd years on - 'whan that april with its shoures soote / hath perced the droughte of marce to the roote'. Not sure that there's much of a market for consulting about it though

I interviewed with Chaucer some years ago. They have a tiny little office on the high street in Faversham. It is quite literally like having an interview in the grubby flat above a corner shop. Their rationale for this is that their consultants are NEVER in the office (not surprising - Faversham is a pig to get to!). Whenever they have company get togethers they simply rent a swanky hotel in a central location. Otherwise all consultants are officially based from home.This attitude and the overview they gave me of the work led me to conclude that they were best suited to middle career, content rich consultants who want to work on small team projects on client site and who are fed up with the politics of larger firms. Its not a business model that is likely to attract anyone keen on promotion, nor those who want to make partner at a large firm, nor those who are just entering into consultancy for the first time.In terms of pure logic their model makes a lot of sense, but I couldn't help but conclude that it smacked of a lack of ambition and style

I recently joined Chaucer. I got a few offers including from Big4, but it worked out that I joined Chaucer. In truth, I seriously underestimated Chaucer, so now I feel I got more than I expected. Chaucer offered me the lowest pay, but I am home based and outside London while my clients are in London, so the company pays all my travel expenses and it works out more cash.Chaucer is the fourth consultancy in my career, so I can compare my experience with others. All consultancies are talking about support, teamwork, help, sharing and trust, but in reality it does not always happen. Plus big consultancies have a lot of unnecessary office politics. Chaucer is different – it is very relaxed atmosphere. Plus, in order to maintain family spirit, Chaucer does a lot of social events and team building exercises.Chaucer’s IP: the database is not brilliant – like many consultancies, it has so much IP and documents that it is difficult to find something useful, that’s why they have a designated person who helps you out. This makes a difference.Work: I am on site with at least 15 Chaucer people. Almost all of us are on the same floor. We usually go for lunch together and do regular out of work activities. If I need help, I get it almost immediately. I feel I am a member of a large team. Chaucer has a lot of projects, so it is quite rare when people are on the bench. However, if you are on the bench, then you stay at home. Most people work 3 days a week on client’s site and 2 days from home.Other: Chaucer is very strong in project management. Chaucer does not provide training courses, therefore usually selects people with work experience. However, Chaucer has trained a few consultants in-house. It is hard to beat Chaucer on price and Chaucer has a tendency to over deliver (I personally disagree with this policy), that’s why about 80-90% of contracts are repeat business, extensions or referrals. Career – the career path is not properly developed yet, but should be approved by the end of 2013. At the same time, role descriptions are well defined. Bonuses are relatively high because staff utilisation is high. You are not allowed to put your job title in emails (you can put “consultant” if you need to), I really like this – you don’t know who you are talking to, that’s why you feel very relaxed when talking to any of your colleagues and this makes the organisational structure very flat.

Dear Omega,Thank you for sharing your experience at Chaucer, including the interview process.It is the consulting company I have been following for a couple of years. Being an extremely driven team player and a high achiever, but knowing that this alone is insufficient, have been developing my skills, and would like to benchmark where I am versus the requirements necessary. You are clearly a success story and was therefore hoping that you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit about the profile of the individuals entering the business (has everyone come from a consulting background, is there a min. years experience, etc).Thank you in advance for your kindness.Best regards,Alpha