Council Member FAQ
- What are the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils SM?
- Who manages the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils?
- Who are the business and investment leaders Council Members consult with?
- What do Council Members do?
- How am I paid?
- Is there a membership fee?
- What topics will I be expected to discuss during a project?
- How do I know whether I am permitted to discuss a particular topic?
- What do I do if a confidential topic comes up during a project?
- How do I become a Council Member?
- What are the GLG Terms and Conditions of Council Membership?
- Who is responsible to determining my eligibility to join the Councils and to participate in projects?
- Do some companies have policies about their employees doing outside consulting?
- Does GLG keep my information confidential?
- Will GLG sell my personal information?
- Can I tell people about the projects I have been invited to or participated in?
- I'm busy. How am I supposed to find the time for this?
- How often will I be invited to projects?
- What are GLG Member Programs?
- Can I work with other organizations if I become a Council Member?
- If I consult with a client through GLG, can I negotiate directly with that client for additional work?
- If I had an existing relationship with a client, can I continue to work with them outside of the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils?
- If I work on a project for one person at a large company, does that mean I cannot work with anyone else at that company outside of Gerson Lehrman Group?
- What if I am not currently living in the US?
- What if I am not fluent in English?
1. What are the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils SM?
The Gerson Lehrman Group Councils are industry-focused networks of executives, physicians, scientists, engineers, attorneys, market researchers and other professionals from around the world. Members of the GLG Councils are compensated for consulting with global business and investment leaders on topics within their area of expertise. Council Members SM provide their industry-specific knowledge through telephone consultations, online surveys and in-person meetings, among other consulting methods.
2. Who manages the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils?
Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) manages the worlds leading network of experts, the GLG Councils. Our services and web-based software help the worlds leading financial services firms, professional service firms, corporations, and nonprofits find, engage, and manage experts. GLG carefully recruits experts and assembles them into global networks, organized into and known as the GLG Councils.
GLG has the worlds largest expert recruiting team and most scalable expert contracting systems to support this constantly growing expert network.
3. Who are the business and investment leaders Council Members consult with?
Council Members consult with business and investment leaders from the worlds leading financial services firms, professional service firms, corporations, and nonprofits who want to be better informed on various industry topics. Discussions with Council Members provide them with continuing education on their research interest, allowing them to make more intelligent decisions.
4. What do Council Members do?
Council Members provide insight and education to decision-makers through different types of interactions with our Clients, ranging from quick inquiries to comprehensive due diligence efforts. Many of these interactions are telephone consultations. Other interactions include educational events (such as formal seminars, collaborative discussions, site tours and private in-office meetings); written products, (including surveys, GLG News, single-author reports, collaborative multi-author reports, and market studies) and various forms of in-depth and ongoing consulting, such as serving as an expert witness in a litigation.
5. How am I paid?
When you apply, you are asked to enter what you feel is a fair hourly rate for your time. Council Members should consider their position, experience, scarcity of others with similar knowledge, etc. If you do not know what rate to choose, a Council Manager can help guide you. Also, Gerson Lehrman Group has bi-annual review periods if youd like to request an honorarium change once your initial rate is set. After completing a project, Members log in to www.glgcouncils.com to submit invoices. Council Members can elect to be paid either by mail or by electronic payment in any of six currencies. Payment is prompt usually within seven to ten days, once verified. Payments for surveys and in-person meetings are sent automatically once those projects are completed.
6. Is there a membership fee?
No. Joining the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils is free.
7. What topics will I be expected to discuss during a project?
Gerson Lehrman Group clients are typically interested in either broad discussions about a general industry or more detailed information about a particular product, service or trend. You may not discuss confidential information with our clients, and such disclosures can seriously harm you and our clients. For example, any disclosure of confidential information may legally require the client to abandon a previously planned-upon investment.
8. How do I know whether I am permitted to discuss a particular topic?
If you are in doubt, do not discuss the topic. You may be subject to one or more confidentiality agreements that prevent you from discussing certain topics. Also, certain kinds of information are likely confidential in nature and for that reason must not be discussed with our clients, including but not limited to information about earnings projections and other forecasts, corporate strategies, unpublished clinical trial data, regulatory approval for a drug, new product developments and inventions, awards of large contracts, significant litigation, proposed mergers or acquisitions or any other significant but undisclosed negative or positive news relevant to the company.
9. What do I do if a confidential topic comes up during a project?
Dont discuss that topic. If ever you feel that you cannot continue the discussion without revealing confidential information or otherwise violating an obligation to an employer or third party, you must terminate the discussion. In such situations, Gerson Lehrman Group will pay you for the time you set aside for that interaction.
10. How do I become a Council Member?
To become a Council Member you must complete the online application, complete a short online tutorial and sign the online Terms and Conditions of Council Membership. Council Members are required to annually re-sign the Terms and Conditions and complete the tutorial to remain eligible to participate in projects. Applicants to the GLG Councils who have signed a separate confidentiality agreement are permitted to view open projects and certain other information but are not yet eligible to participate in projects.
11. What are the GLG Terms and Conditions of Council Membership?
The Terms and Conditions is a binding contract between GLG and its Council Members. It is designed to protect Council Members, GLG clients and GLG. Among other things, it requires Council Members to honor their obligations to employers and other third parties, and it requires Council Members to follow GLGs additional rules. For example, GLG prohibits Council Members from consulting about their own companies. GLG also places limitations on the type and amount of consulting that Councils Members may do through GLG unless the Council Members employer has provided written consent to GLG and enrolled in GLGs Member Programs. The Terms and Conditions also requires Council Members to keep any information they learn about clients and about their projects strictly confidential.
12. Who is responsible to determining my eligibility to join the Councils and to participate in projects?
You are. GLG does not make that determination for you. Prior to joining the GLG Councils you should review employment agreements, employee manuals, codes of conduct, consulting agreements and other similar policies and agreements (in each case as applicable). Once you have joined the Councils, it is your responsibility to decline projects that are inappropriate for you and to decline to discuss topics that present a conflict for you.
13. Do some companies have policies about their employees doing outside consulting?
Yes. Some companies have policies concerning participation in outside consulting activities by their employees, and you should confirm with your employer whether you are subject to a policy. You must comply with any such restrictions. Additionally, while GLG relies on its Council Members to assess and honor their own obligations, GLG also regularly reaches out to companies to ask about their policies. And if GLG learns that a company prohibits outside consulting, GLG will automatically exclude current employees of that company from participating in the GLG Councils.
14. Does GLG keep my information confidential?
You should not join the GLG Councils if you would not want your participation to be known to your employer or to other third parties to whom you owe obligations. In the interest of transparency, GLG reserves the right to share information about you with your current employer and to anyone else whose consent may be relevant to your participation in the GLG Councils or in a particular Project. GLG also reserves the right to include information about you on its websites and other marketing materials, subject to your right to opt-out. If you wish to participate in GLG News or in GLG Events, however, any such opt-out would be ineffective. To learn more about your information rights, please see our privacy policy.
15. Will GLG sell my personal information?
No. GLG will not sell or license you information to a third party for marketing purposes.
16. Can I tell people about the projects I have been invited to or participated in?
No. Council Members are required to keep all projects confidential, including the existence of the project, the identity of the client and the subject matter discussed.
17. I'm busy. How am I supposed to find the time for this?
Gerson Lehrman Group respects the busy schedules of its Council Members. Council Members may accept or decline an invitation to consult for any or no reason. There is never an obligation to consult and no minimum time commitment is required.
18. How often will I be invited to projects?
That depends in large part upon the requests made by our clients. Gerson Lehrman Group makes no guarantees with respect to the number of projects that you will be invited to or participate in.
19. What are GLG Member Programs?
Gerson Lehrman Group created Member Programs to enable qualifying Council Members to engage in ongoing or in-depth projects with our clients. Only Council Members in Member Programs are permitted to participate in more than three telephone consultations a year with a client or to prepare any written reports. Additionally, participation in project types other than consultations and surveys, including GLG News and GLG Institute, are exclusive to Council Members in GLG Member Programs. To meet program requirements, employed Council Members must obtain written consent of their employers.
20. Can I work with other organizations if I become a Council Member?
Yes. Council Members are permitted to join other associations or organizations. Gerson Lehrman Group enters into exclusive arrangements with some of its top Council Members, and if you are interested in such an arrangement, you should contact GLG.
21. If I consult with a client through GLG, can I negotiate directly with that client for additional work?
No. If GLG introduces you to one of our clients, you agree not to consult with that client for at least one year. Council Members are eligible, however, to participate through GLG in multiple projects with any of our clients.
22. If I had an existing relationship with a client, can I continue to work with them outside of the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils?
Yes. We ask only that any consultations arranged between you and the client continue through the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils.
23. If I work on a project for one person at a large company, does that mean I cannot work with anyone else at that company outside of Gerson Lehrman Group?
No. We understand that some large entities who are clients of GLG may contact Council Members independently of GLG. However, we ask that any relationships that are established, directly or indirectly, between you and these firms by an introduction through GLG continue through us.
24. What if I am not currently living in the US?
If you live outside the United States you can still be a Council Member. Council Members and clients are located throughout the world. Projects occur across the globe and can be scheduled at convenient times for Council Members and clients.
25. What if I am not fluent in English?
Individuals can still join the GLG Councils if they are not fluent in English.