Pros
CGI is a Canadian based consulting & outsourcing company (ala Accenture) with a large US presence that has continued to grow & remain profitable despite the down economy. CGI has over 26,000 members & manages its growth through acquisition and a large pipeline of long term contracts. They are particularly well respected in the government sector. The people at CGI are all very friendly & they make a strong effort to communicate & be responsive to member feedback. They also seem to sincerely want to do the right thing by their employees despite the fact that this is difficulat at a large firm with many disparately located employees. For instance, I joined the firm through an acquisition & CGI was willing to grandfather my vacation time even though I would have received less time through their standard policy. CGI also places an emphasis on corporate & employee social responsibility. They have a strong philanthropy program at the coporate level & also highlight individuals who are active in their communities. They also place an emphasis on their "green" program. Additionally they have programs & activities to encourage member health & well being.
Cons
In transitioning between assignments at CGI, you are your own strongest advocate & networking is key. There is definitely the feeling of a ticking clock. The transition can be made particularly difficult if you have a family & your ability or desire to travel is limited; however, the need to travel is truly more a reality of the consulting lifestyle than it is a particular issue with CGI. While initially CGI makes a big push to "integrate" acquired employees & they do continually ask for & try to respond to feedback regarding the integration process, they seem to be a bit of a loss regarding how to manage the group acquisition of which I was a par. Perhaps this because we were not previously part of a professional services firm and for the most part are still working on-site for our former employer. Other CGI employees that joined through acquistion do speak positively about their own process & have gone on to fill very senior positions within the firm; however, as of yet that has not been my experience. I would definitely say I feel some growing pains on the part of CGI in this particular acquisition & integration process, particularly as they have had a difficult time staffing leadership positions relative to the acquisition and some leadership positions have been staffed with individuals who are not as proactive & visible as they should be.
