Management Consultants' Blog

Boom times are back for high achievers in the consulting sector

2011-11-07T10:02:00.000Z

The Top-Consultant.com report on salaries in the consulting industry has just recently been published – and confirms what many in the industry have long suspected.

The industry is now polarised between the Haves and the Have Nots.

For those whose skills are in demand, earnings, promotion and bonus prospects have rebounded to the levels seen in the years when the industry was booming. Whilst pay rises have accelerated to 5.6% for those who received one, nearly 4 in 10 consulting professionals received no pay rise this last year. There’s a similar pattern to bonus payments too – with significant bonuses being paid to many, but a sizeable minority receiving no bonus payment at all.

Promotions are also back with a vengeance, the consulting industry having promoted nearly 1 in 3 of its staff this last year. That’s significantly up on 2009, when the fast-track promotions that our industry has come to see as the norm simply dried up.

“Faced with waves of consultants leaving their firms when the hiring market picked up, consultancies have been compelled to act this last year” comments Tony Restell, Director of Top-Consultant.com. “The reality has been that many who stayed put during the downturn were also frustrated by how their careers had stalled. As employers have turned the hiring taps back on, many consultants have been seriously assessing where best to progress their careers to the next level. The resurgence in pay rises, promotions and bonuses has been consulting firms’ primary means of addressing this situation; but it’s been paid for by those consultants whose sector skills are not in demand and whose remuneration has largely stagnated” concludes Restell.

The 23 page report is based on survey data from 1,000+ Top-Consultant readers and is freely available for download from the following URL:
http://www.top-consultant.com/Top-Consultant_Salary_Report.pdf

Consulting career choices: Big firms vs. small firms

2011-09-12T14:25:00.001+01:00

Pursuing a career in management consultancy can be a richly rewarding decision, from the perspective of both personal growth and financial reward. The following discussion of the pros and cons of big and small consultancies is part of a serialisation of more than 100 pages of career editorial from The Definitive Guide to UK Consulting Firms. Professionals seriously considering the option of furthering their career in consulting may download the full guide using this link.

Big firms vs. small firms

Given that I come into contact with dozens of consulting firms each week, one question candidates often ask me is: Where would it be best for me to pursue my consulting career? By which they are often looking for steer on whether a career with a large global consulting brand or a small niche practice is going to be the right choice.

In truth, for no two people will my answer be the same.

There are undoubtedly significant differences between a career pursued with one of the majors versus one pursued in a niche consultancy. Some of the differences are firm-specific, so comment can not be made without knowing the exact firms (and offices) under consideration. But many of the reasons to choose one over the other relate to consistent organisational traits of large and small consulting businesses—and the career characteristics inherent in working for each. Which of the two is right for you will very much depend on the importance you attach to various components of the consulting career proposition.

I present below five key considerations for readers weighing up the pros and cons of working for a large vs. a small consulting firm. Only you can judge which of these factors is the most important to you:

1. Work/life balance

2. Earnings potential and remuneration flexibility

3. Career risk

4. Challenge/exposure, sales responsibilities and training

5. Becoming your own boss

Of course characterising what constitutes a small and a large firm is a challenge in itself. You may find yourself presented with the opportunity to work in a newly opened office of a large global firm. If this is the firm's first foray into that geography, then that particular office may display many of the traits of a smaller consulting business. Similarly one can find smaller firms who are extremely specialised but have a very global footprint—and so differ somewhat from the characterisations I present below.

In sharing these five key considerations, though, I provide the foundations for you to assess the options you have under consideration and to determine for yourself where your prospective employers fall in each of these five areas.

1. Work/life balance

Enhancing one's work/life balance is often a key reason why consultants leave a firm for pastures new. I've known plenty of consultants at both large and small consulting firms who've had reason to complain about the work/life compromises they've felt compelled to make. So I would start this piece by stressing that neither type of firm inherently shields you more from this career downside than the other.

Consulting firms predominantly serve clients who have timecritical issues that need addressing. One of the key reasons they pay consulting firms to tackle these issues—rather than dealing with them in house—is that they want to accelerate the timescales in which these issues will be addressed. The very nature of consulting is that staff will be working in time-pressured situations such that compromises will need to be made in order that pressing deadlines be met. These compromises often impinge upon a consultant's work/ life balance.

This is not to say there is a uniformity of work/life balance issues across the industry—indeed I would say quite the opposite. There are some firms where this is a far more demoralising issue than at others. But it's not the size of firm that influences whether work/life balance is a problem or not. Rather the scale of the problem is a function of the individual managers and partners you are working for and the culture that pervades the practice.

In small firms—even those with the best cultures—you'll find you have periods of work/life imbalance simply because in small firms everyone 'pulls together' when it's needed. This isn't peculiar to consulting; it's just the nature of working in a small business where at any point in time you're only a few months of client-order-bookvalue away from the firm going bankrupt.

This aspect of working for a smaller firm is offset by the fact that a closer-knit team will usually have a greater regard for one another's life outside of work and so managers will be more inclined to try and accommodate personal commitments in a smaller firm. But countering this is the fact that the biggest global consultancies have introduced policies to try and make flexible working more viable, to foster parental leave and to encourage mothers returning to work to find a work pattern that fits with their commitments.

So, in conclusion, on this first consideration I would say there is very little to choose generically between firms big and small—but rather this is something that needs looking at on a firm-by-firm (and even office-by-office) basis.

2. Earnings potential and remuneration flexibility

Smaller firms offer some advantages in the sphere of remuneration and career progression. As a general rule, below Partner grade, it is possible to earn more and see your career progress faster at a smaller firm. Firstly, larger firms are often able to attract hires thanks in part to the strength of their brand. A strong consulting brand enhances a consultant's CV and so candidates as a whole tend to be willing to work for the most established brands for less than they would demand to work for a lesser-known firm. To counter this, lesser-known firms often pay more.

Smaller firms often offer more sizeable bonus pools too- tied to the performance of the firm and the contributions of the individual. This is arguably because the firms are more reliant on exceptional endeavours from their staff (as opposed to the pull of their brand) to drive forward the business—and so are more willing to pay for such behaviour.

Lastly—and most notably—are the differences in promotion rates between big and small firms. Most large firms are bound by time in service 'promotion norms' that make it harder for them to make exceptions for exceptional performers. Stephan Butscher, Chief Talent Officer at Simon-Kucher & Partners, says that 'smaller firms tend to promote people primarily on their personal performance rather than some form of quota or the overall company performance.'

The above points paint the picture that two similarly gifted candidates are likely to see their careers and remuneration progress at different rates if one joins a major global firm and the other joins a small niche firm. I would hold that—as a generalisation—this is broadly correct. However four important caveats must be made.

Firstly—and covered below—is the fact that with this higher remuneration comes a higher degree of risk at smaller firms. Secondly, the packages offered by larger firms are likely to be more flexible in terms of benefits composition, with less variability in pay, which are factors that appeal to many. Thirdly, a candidate's ability to secure a role with a different employer is likely to be enhanced with a major brand on their CV. Lastly, it must also be said that the ultimate prize for those who do make it to Partner level is likely to be considerably greater at a larger firm—with scope for further career advancement that simply plateaus out in a smaller consultancy. Adds Stephan Butscher: 'In particular the speed at which top performers can achieve full Partner level is appealing at smaller firms; 7-10 years after joining as a graduate is realistic and a lot more attractive than having to wait until you are in your 40s.'

3. Career risk

The flip side of this rosier short-term remuneration picture is the greater risk one takes with a small firm, and being a strong per former doesn't necessarily insulate you from such risk. Whilst it's true that large firms do sometimes have to let people go if a particular practice sees its pipeline of work decimated by a change in the market environment, this is also relatively uncommon. By and large a strong performer is unlikely to find themselves made redundant if they join a large firm.

By contrast, small firms are usually overly-reliant on just a handful of key clients. If just a couple of them slam on the consulting expenditure brakes for any reason, this can cause major problems at the firm. I can think of one consultancy I know that went a full quarter without billing a single billable day during the recent downturn, at which point job losses for strong performers become inevitable.

So the risk side of the equation is undoubtedly higher with a small consulting practice - and if choosing to go down this route, you need to do more due diligence on the strength of your prospective employer's client portfolio, or how much they are focused on one industry or one country. Depending on your personal circumstances, this may or may not be a risk you're happy and able to take. However, even smaller firms can be diversified so things are not always as clear-cut as this. Stephan Butscher states that: 'For example, Simon Kucher focuses on smart profit growth and pricing as a niche. However we do this across all industries and in all regions in the world, so if one market or industry tanks, there are always others with strong growth.'

4. Challenge/exposure, sales responsibilities and training

Joining a smaller firm undeniably makes you a bigger fish in a smaller pond. At a small firm your involvement in lead generation, marketing, proposal writing, etc. is likely to come at a younger age and your exposure to issues facing the firm is also likely to be broader. There is likely to be greater staff contribution to decisions regarding company direction and more scope to be involved in helping to grow and shape the business. You may well feel more like you are 'part of something' in this type of environment.

However sales targets are likely to be foisted on you earlier in your career at a small firm, where a higher rank could potentially be attained at a larger firm before sales prowess needs to be demonstrated. This is clearly a consideration for those who feel they are strong as delivery consultants but weaker on the business development front. This is doubly relevant because the ease with which sales meetings can be secured is significantly hampered when calling from the offices of a less well known consulting business. For those fearful of selling, the weight of having a major brand name behind you may make the difference between your career stalling or progressing as sales competence features in the promotion equation.

Another aspect to consider is your personal development. Fundamental to this is the amount of practice leader/partner/client executive contact you'll have and the calibre of the key individuals you'll be learning from. I suspect a generalisation by size of firm would be misleading here, though it can certainly be said that larger firms will usually have well-structured mentoring programmes in place. It is also likely that a large firm will be able to give you exposure to a more balanced portfolio of consulting engagements—and possibly the engagements sold will also provide exposure to more senior figures within the client organisation. But countering this, general exposure to clients can often be greater in the earlier stages of one's consulting career when working with a small firm.

One downside you will find when working for smaller firms is that the scope to work on international engagements or projects outside your specialist sphere is likely to be more limited. The same is true of the scope for voluntary international relocation. Correspondingly, the risk of you being 'pigeon-holed' in a smaller firm is greater, as you'll probably specialise to a greater degree than with a large firm and the variety of work that the firm will win is likely to be that much narrower.

Training at large firms is almost universally good. These organisations like to deliver consistency of excellence and so employ consulting staff who undergo rigorous and ongoing professional development courses. Many such firms have affiliations with leading business schools for the delivery of aspects of their training. By contrast, the training provision at smaller firms is highly variable—some will have it as a high priority and invest accordingly; others have good intentions but in practice training suffers with the day-to-day demands of delivering on client engagements, whilst some see it as a cost to be avoided wherever possible.

5. Becoming your own boss

It is a well-trodden career path for consulting professionals at the major firms to leave and set up their own consulting practice. As consulting firms essentially sell their experience and their track record of delivering for clients, the route to self-employment is particularly fruitful for those who have worked at a major consulting firm (rather than a small niche practice).

For those unfamiliar with the consulting industry, this is perhaps counter-intuitive. One would expect that those working in a smaller firm and exposed to the day-to-day issues of running a small consulting practice would have the experience profile most suited to starting up for themselves. The reality, however, is that most smaller consulting firms I come into contact with have been founded by consulting professionals who have done a lengthy stint with one of the large consulting brands.

The explanation I would give for this is that such start-ups invariably have a USP that clients love. They are able to sell that they can provide the quality of consulting delivery of a major brand, but at far better value or lower risk. Either they are able to significantly undercut the larger firms in terms of fee rates (2/3 the fee rate is not uncommon), or they are able to commit to delivering the project with a far more experienced composition of team members, thus reducing the risk of project failure. Either way, the resulting sales proposition is far more compelling such that the ability to win work overwhelms any inexperience the consultant may have in running a small business.

Whilst not a factor for many candidates, this is one aspect of the career choice where large firms offer an undoubted advantage over their smaller competitors—albeit not something you will hear them proclaiming to the market for obvious reasons.

Of course, depending on the nature of the consulting firm you join, it may well be possible to 'be your own boss' without needing to branch out on your own. Stephan Butscher adds: 'Not exactly "being your own boss" but related to this is the question of the partnership model a particular consultancy has and if the Partners actually own the company. If this is your career goal then before joining a firm you need to fully understand what it means to become and be a Partner there. Do the founders still hold the vast majority of the shares or have they been able to "let go" for the benefit of the younger Partners who will drive growth? Do you get shares for free or do you have to buy them? Do you consequently get a dividend only or do you benefit from the increase in shareholder value as the firm grows, for example by selling shares you bought at a higher price once you retire as a Partner? Only the latter system is true entrepreneurial partnership.'

Concluding remarks

As I said at the outset, the answer as to what size of consulting employer is going to be best for you will very much come down to personal preferences. Depending on the career trajectory you are looking for—and what aspects of a career are most important to you—the factors I have outlined above will lead you to different conclusions. That there is no definitive answer will probably not surprise you, but hopefully by sharing the above thoughts, I'll have given you the factors you need to take into consideration to reach the right decision for you.

_________________

This piece is reproduced from The Definitive Guide to UK Consulting Firms, a 400+ page careers guide for candidates looking to pursue a career in management consultancy. A free resource, this guide contains over 100 pages of career editorials followed by a directory of consulting firms active in the UK market - with over 380 employers listed and 189 employers profiled.

The guide is free to download in PDF format, with hardback copies also available from October 2011 onwards. Access your copy of The Definitive Guide to UK Consulting Firms (2nd Edition).

So you’d like to secure a new consulting job this Autumn?

2010-09-13T16:31:00.001+01:00

Early in January this year, I made a series of predictions about the consulting industry that would impact those pursuing a career in consultancy this year. One of my strongest assertions was that “Changing jobs is probably your best chance of (securing) a decent pay hike in 2010”. As many readers have discovered for themselves these last months, the major firms have indeed been able to offer only meagre gains in pay – largely as a function of the continued downward pressure that continues to depress consulting daily fee rates. By contrast, consultants being poached by a competitor are finding that firms are willing to up the ante to attract those who can help fill the critical gaps appearing within their businesses.

Given that this assertion has proven to be true – and with the Consultancy Careers Fair now only a couple of weeks away – I thought I would provide updated guidance on the job opportunities out there in the consulting market and the actions that readers like you can take to maximise your chances of making a successful career switch.

Let me firstly comment on the sea change there has been in firms’ approach to hiring, which manifests itself in two key ways that should underpin your whole approach to getting hired this Autumn:

1) The candidate “Fit” being demanded by firms is now 95% rather than the 75% acceptable in boom years. That’s to say, the match between candidate CV and requirements profile must be almost perfect. The implication of this is perhaps counter-intuitive. Rather than applying to more jobs to ensure success, candidates should instead be cutting back on the number of applications made. The time saved should be invested in making utterly compelling applications for the handful of roles where there really is that genuine 95%+ fit between yourself and the employer requirement. These are the only ones worth the investment of your time and your emotional capital.

2) Clients are looking to make hires who will be immediately billable. Firms are very much recruiting for specific roles rather than undertaking generic hiring to achieve the growth of a practice. This is a market where you must sell how billable your skills are, rather than trying to “change career direction” or “reposition” yourself through a career move. As a consequence your efforts should be entirely focused on tracking down openings where you are a very billable prospective candidate, rather than making speculative applications to “the types of firms who employ people like me.” If there isn’t a specific billable opening that a firm is looking to fill, chances are nothing will come of an application in today’s climate – even if historically consultancies would have pounced on an applicant that looked “like a good fit for the firm.”

How to secure job interviews in today’s economic climate

It should be apparent from the above points that one of the secrets to securing a new role in this market is a devotion to tracking down and applying for a (small) selection of consulting roles for which you are genuinely a highly-qualified candidate – and ensuring you have positioned yourself as such.

By way of a checklist when job-hunting, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you restricting your applications on job boards to just those couple of roles where there is genuinely a strong fit between your experience profile and that being sought by the employer?

2. Having identified the handful of roles for which you are genuinely an ideal candidate, have you then taken the time to craft a tailored CV for each and every one of those applications? (Cautionary note: each employer is looking for a different balance of skills and experience, so the “one CV fits all” approach inevitably results in your application coming across as far less compelling when it hits the recruiter’s desk).

3. Are you working with some reputable recruitment agencies? It often comes as a surprise to candidates, but across our industry some 50%-60% of hires are still made via recruitment agencies – despite employers’ best efforts to hire direct and avoid the expense of recruitment agency fees. Indeed there is a “hidden market” of open consulting vacancies that you may simply never tap into if you have excluded agencies from your career change strategy.

4. Have you leveraged your personal network? One of the surest ways to make it to the interview rounds is to have had a recommendation from within the firm that you are a candidate the firm really should be interviewing. Networking with your contacts at firms may also uncover openings that have yet to be signed off, meaning you could be interviewed and could secure the role without it ever even going out to the market. Ask yourself – have you truthfully researched in depth which of your contacts could assist with an approach to the various firms you are considering applying to? Again – this comes down to putting your efforts into ensuring the quality rather than the quantity of your applications. (Cautionary note: I have yet to meet a candidate who is doing this with the rigour and thoroughness necessary to uncover all the opportunities in their network – so even if you’re an active networker there’s almost certainly lots of room for improvement).

The above list is not exhaustive, but should be enough to highlight the gulf between the actions of a regular consulting candidate and someone who is focused on uncovering and applying only to roles for which they are ideally suited. Make yourself one of the rarer candidates adopting a targeted approach like this and you’ll be well on your way to securing your next consulting role – and in all likelihood a decent pay hike too.

Tony Restell will be answering your questions live in the Top-Consultant Q&A area at this year’s Consultancy Careers Fair on 24th September. To register for your place do visit the Consultancy Careers Fair website today. Tony’s recent briefing on the state of the consulting hiring market and the practice areas with the greatest hiring demands can be watched on Youtube

Consulting industry facing double whammy

2010-08-02T16:42:00.002+01:00

Tough times lie ahead for those in the consulting industry, make no mistake. Based on my soundings of both leading global brands and niche consultancies, employees have had enough – and are choosing to show this by walking out the door. All the while, lop-sided client demand means firms can do little to sweeten the pill. I can see only one outcome from the double whammy currently facing the consulting industry – and that’s stagnation in consultants’ earnings coupled with an industry-wide push for scale.

For consultants employed in our industry, the next years will see you presented with a stark choice. Staying loyal to your employer is likely to result in only meagre gains in salary. For those wanting to achieve a hike in rewards, looking elsewhere and securing a job offer represents the only plausible route.

For those running consulting firms meanwhile, greater scale will be needed if acceptable margins are to be achieved – which would explain the dramatic pushes for growth and the M&A courting activity we’ve seen of late.

Consulting: an industry that can no longer pay its way

So what are the key components of this malaise in the consulting industry? I would highlight the following:

o As an industry, consulting is tough on the employee and continuous career progression / gains in reward are needed to retain talent.

o Employee costs typically represent two-thirds of the cost base of your average consulting firm. Universal pay rises therefore have major implications for the cost base of a consultancy.

o Advances in employee reward across the industry are therefore contingent on profit margins being fattened, or shareholders accepting a reduction in the returns they enjoy. The latter is unlikely for any sustained period, so pay gains become contingent on finding ways of enhancing the profitability of the consulting industry.

Herein lies the rub. Profitability gains through offshoring have been largely exploited. Downward pressure on fee rates remains intense. Public sector consulting demand has collapsed. Even the rebound in private sector work can only partly compensate. So we find ourselves faced with an industry where staff are restless but employers cannot afford to do anything about it. Readers of our consultants’ forum will have seen this play out over the last months in a series of disappointing pay rounds.

The situation for employers is made all the more acute by the resurgence of the financial services / banking sector and the changes to remuneration that have taken place there. The shift to higher basic salaries and lower bonuses means that compensation at every level looks far more attractive in the City. Consultancies are fighting a losing battle to retain their stars in the face of this remuneration gulf.

The upshot of this all is that firms are adopting a two-tiered approach to rewards. For the general consulting population meagre pay awards and slow or “virtual” career progression are the order of the day (and by “virtual” I mean firms offering progression in job title but with the corresponding remuneration gain postponed or phased in so that a period of higher margin can be achieved). By contrast, new hires can be enticed with more favourable pay offers as these are small incremental costs rather than awards that must be applied to the firms’ whole cost base. A similar story is unfolding for those able to secure a counter-offer. Put bluntly, firms can afford to buy off incremental hires and counter offerees; but they cannot afford to buy off the whole workforce.

Of course across a whole industry a surge in staff churn is costly to address. One of the majors this month announced that employee churn had risen from 8% of staff a year ago to 17% today. That’s a lot of additional hiring that needs to be undertaken just for firms to stand still – and correspondingly a very hefty rise in recruiting costs for any business to swallow, which explains why firms have been making as much noise as they possibly can about their intentions to increasingly hire via social media. The latter of course is low cost and so reduces the financial impact of greater staff churn. But as all seasoned recruiters know, attempts at direct hiring only ever get a firm so far and inevitably significant additional hiring costs will be incurred as staff churn worsens.

All of which leaves individual firms with a narrow set of options. Try to carve out a niche or unique approach that allows some premium to be achieved on fee rates: unlikely. Try to tap into new markets: if only a new fad would present itself. Try to gain share and scale the business so that employee remuneration gains can beat those of the overall market: possible, but mostly at the expense of others in the industry.

The major players in consulting are all making a play to gain share and scale their businesses. Look at the lofty growth aspirations that have been published this last year and it’s clear to all that they can’t all be achieved simultaneously. Pick the employer that wins this battle and you’re likely to be at the upper end of the remuneration curve. But for the industry as a whole, only when client demand surges to the extent that fee rates can truly recover will we see sizeable remuneration gains across the industry. Until then you’re in the realms of either “picking the winner” or of changing employer to secure a rise in earnings. I know which option I would have more confidence in.

Related link: Business-critical market intelligence for Consulting Practitioners

Meltdown in the UK consulting market?

2008-12-11T15:21:00.002Z

With everyone trying to figure out what the economic downturn means for the consulting sector, I thought you might appreciate me sharing the insights I’ve gained from a series of meetings I’ve had these last weeks as part of the roll-out of the ConsultancyRoleFinder service?

Certainly since my last blog post the recession has started to hurt the UK consulting sector - and to impact the amount of recruitment that's taking place. It's also brought about a not insignificant number of redundancies, particularly in the strategy consulting sector which seems to have been hardest hit.

I wouldn't say there's been a meltdown in the UK consulting market or the recruitment space - but certainly we're facing the toughest trading conditions since the dot-com crash and not everyone will emerge from 2008/9 unscathed...

Order pipelines healthy but staff utilisation worryingly low

The usual drop in staff utilisation expected over the Christmas period seems to have struck early, with many consulting firms attesting to lower-than-expected staff utilisation from mid-November onwards. As you might expect, it seems to be the strategy consulting practices that have been hit hardest in this respect with significant numbers on the bench. Where an unexpected drop in utilisation has been seen, this has naturally translated into some hesitancy in terms of hiring activity. Delayed start dates for new hires, a dragging out of interview processes and recruitment freezes have all become increasingly common in the weeks since the demise of Lehman.

On a more positive note, the hiring activity being planned for Q1 2009 does look markedly higher than what we’ve seen in the latter part of Q4 2008 – with expectations that improving order books will translate into higher staff utilisation in the New Year. That in turn will mean an increased need to bring on board new blood. There’s also some evidence that firms are shedding staff in the underperforming parts of their businesses right now but will need to recruit for the stronger parts of their businesses as 2009 unfolds.

So overall we’re expecting some recruitment pickup as we enter 2009, though the caveat here is “provided nothing further happens to prolong the period of low staff utilisation”.

Recruitment agencies the winners and the losers

There’s also a real polarity in behaviour amongst consulting employers as far as I can tell in terms of the recruitment strategies being adopted in light of the tighter economy. At some firms there’s now a massive focus on bringing down the average cost per hire in 2009, so a drive to generate far more direct hires. At other firms the focus is very much on ensuring all recruitment spend is tied to a successful hire – ie. there’s a drive to switch all recruitment to contingency-based recruitment agency assignments and away from direct advertising and retained work. On balance I would say my meetings favour recruitment agencies being busier in 2009 than they have been in the last months.

However the fly in the ointment is whether all the recruitment agencies will have survived to serve this need. Certainly the delayed start dates and recruitment freezes of the last months have hit recruitment agencies hard from a cashflow perspective. Whilst most still have plenty of assignments to work on, it’s clear that the conversion to successful placements has suffered – and that delayed start dates are pushing back the payment timescales for those success fees that are being generated. Many hitherto successful businesses have been left very stretched by these factors and I fear there will be the odd firm going out of business as a consequence. Hopefully not.

Your thoughts on the above? Please do share via comments below.

Tony Restell

Where did all the consulting jobs go?

2008-10-13T17:02:00.004+01:00

"Where did all the consulting jobs go?" -- it's a headline I've had filed away to use whenever the current banking turmoil started to spill over into the consulting sector.

Yet after 2 days spent with 500-odd consulting recruiters, I have to conclude that the consulting sector hasn't yet been that badly impacted. With the exception of a few isolated hiring freezes and practice-specific redundancy programmes, there's been no bloodbath for the consulting industry thusfar. Indeed, within a couple of hours of the doors opening at our Consultancy Careeers Fair, word spread that one of the firms had already made an on-the-spot offer to a candidate visiting their stand. Towards the end of the event, a tour of the exhibitors confirmed each firm had earmarked dozens of candidates who were a perfect fit for roles they were currently looking to fill. So it's hardly all gloom and doom in the consulting market and readers would do well to remember that we've never experienced an absolute recession in consulting - only ever periods of below-average growth!

Clearly no sector is going to escape unscathed from the current economic turmoil - but it seems at least that the consulting industry has learnt its lesson from the dot-com crash and the over-expansion that necessitated mass-redundancies back then has not been allowed to occur this time round. And for now at least, new consulting jobs are still in relatively good supply...

The price of dubious advice - £100bn a year

2008-07-08T14:49:00.002+01:00

Just seen a piece that appeared in the Observer this weekend, "The price of dubious advice - £100bn a year".

I'm once again incensed by the reporting of our industry as one built on false promises and deception. Take a read of the article and do post your thoughts on the following forum thread which I've created to allow us to discuss and rubbish this. For what it's worth, here's the reply I've sent to Simon at the Observer - though not holding my breath to see them publish it...

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Simon

Congratulations on an interesting piece in the Observer this weekend. However consultant-bashing articles do tend to miss one key argument when pointing the finger of blame at consulting firms – and you have overlooked it too. The trade body (MCA) figures show that 66% of each consulting firm’s cost base is the cost of its staff. So allowing for some profit margin, it would still cost Britain plc at least 50% of the current spend on consulting services to just kill off the consulting industry and employ these people in the corporate and public sectors instead.

More often than not, cost over-runs and project failures result from senior management bringing in consultants on a flawed brief. The outcomes are not properly defined; key milestones not established (or constantly revised as the brief is allowed to evolve mid-way through a project); internal resources not dedicated to the project such that the consultants’ meters are ticking but the required access to client staff is being denied. All these management failings would be exacerbated considerably if the pain of a significant bill and ongoing public scrutiny were not ever-present to concentrate the mind.

The current NHS IT investments are a case in point. Richard Granger was able to negotiate with consulting firms a series of risk-reward contracts that saw the firms face severe financial penalties if key milestones and objectives were not met. These financial penalties have now been triggered and at least some of the spend on this ambitious project has now been recouped. Are we really to believe that thousands of extra employees hired by the NHS could have achieved a more favourable outcome than that achieved by the consulting firms? That if employed by the NHS these consultants would suddenly have developed project management skills and capabilities that they were lacking from years spent working in the private sector?

No – the project would have had none of the public scrutiny and been able to recoup not a penny of the costs incurred if the consultancy route had been avoided. The consultants just make a convenient scapegoat and the headline figures of monies spent are always portrayed as an expense that would otherwise not have been incurred.

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Interested to read your thoughts and hope this turns into an interesting forum thread

Tony Restell
Top-Consultant.com

Market collapse? ... or business as usual?

2008-05-08T11:27:00.001+01:00

There seem to be really mixed messages out there at present - lots of firms seem to be thriving and recruiting really aggressively. But then can consulting really be escaping any fall-out from the credit crunch and the barrage of doomsday headlines we've been seeing?

So I thought I'd turn to you our readers for the definitive view. Let me know your thoughts on the following 3 questions and the results of the poll will appear on screen when you hit submit. Hopefully we can get a couple of hundred responses this month and get a really good picture of what the UK consulting market is doing...

Take part in 1 minute survey

P.S. feel free to post replies to this blog post to share anecdotal evidence as well - either than the market is collapsing or that it's very much business as usual at your firm...

Thanks for participating.

Tony Restell, Top-Consultant.com

Consulting industry bounces back after talk of recession

2008-02-20T10:55:00.002Z

This week I was invited to write a piece for the Consulting Special that appeared in the Evening Standard on 19th February. It's my take on the yo-yo fortunes of the consulting industry over the last few months - and the more positive landscape that now lies ahead. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on my take, so do submit your comments below...

Consulting industry bounces back after talk of recession

After several months of uncertainty, consulting firms now expect 2008 to be another vintage growth year for the consulting industry.

The last months could best be described as “nailbiting” for those at the helms of the world’s major consulting firms. The fallout from the global credit crunch had the consulting industry trembling. Week after week of gloomy headlines had produced an environment in which major corporate clients were reluctant to commit to any new initiatives. Did major corporations need to prepare for a slowdown, or embark on new growth initiatives? With the economic climate on a knife edge, CEOs of the world’s biggest businesses were undecided – and to an extent still are.

We’ve witnessed a difficult few months for consulting firms precisely because there’s nothing worse for them than a period of paralysis. In a booming market there are growth strategies and M&A opportunities to advise on. When businesses are cutting back, consultancies will be right there to help clients decide where to wield the axe. In either market there is business to be won. It’s the grey area in the middle that consultancies fear. With uncertainty about the economic outlook comes a hesitation to sign off new engagements. So after several years of double-digit revenue growth, the leaders of the world’s major consulting brands were staring at a possible consulting recession - if the world’s stock markets didn’t settle and market sentiments show signs of improving.

The problem these consulting leaders face is that their sector is more susceptible than most to periods of economic uncertainty. Within a six month period, the industry can be turned on its head. Firms that were so busy they were turning away business can find work drying up as paralysis prevents new engagements from being signed off. With engagements lasting an average of six months, consultancies face a collapse in their revenues if there are just a few months of economic uncertainty As we entered 2008, this was exactly the situation that consultancies were facing. Lots of new assignments were being discussed with clients, but few deals were actually being closed. The industry was just months away from having to implement cutbacks and redundancies – and with staff costs accounting for 66% of a typical firm’s cost base, redundancy programs tend to be far-reaching once Partners decide they are necessary.

Fortunately a corner has now been turned and the consulting industry is bouncing back. Whilst a few firms are still struggling, most are now reporting that clients are signing off on new projects – and skills shortages rather than a lack of new business look like being Partners’ major headache for the remainder of the year. A combination of interest rate cuts and improved market sentiments have ensured that business leaders cannot sit on growth initiatives indefinitely. Projects are being kicked off again and another bumper year is now being anticipated by consulting Partners. Everyone associated with the sector can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

The impact of all this uncertainty on recruitment has been pronounced. Industry website Top-Consultant.com reports that 22% of consulting employers have delayed the start of their 2008 recruitment drives as a result of the global credit crunch and resulting market uncertainties. January, usually a bumper month for candidates wanting to find a new consulting job, has been somewhat subdued. “Interview cycles have been prolonged by employers and offer letters have taken longer to get out to candidates” confirms Bryan Hickson, a Director at Top-Consultant. “Everyone has been anxious to avoid a situation where new hires were being brought on board just as the market might have been turning. As a result recruitment campaigns were scaled back and those candidates already in the recruitment process found themselves being stalled as much as possible.”

Now all that is changing and the volume of recruitment advertising is finally catching up with the improved market sentiments. A staggering 75% of consulting employers report they are looking to hire staff this year at least as fast as they did in 2007 – and 2007 itself was considered to be an exceptionally buoyant recruitment year. Yet having had recruitment more or less on hold in January, many firms now have some very sizeable hiring targets to hit and only 10 months of the year left to hit them. “We can expect to see a lot of inter-firm poaching of staff and a willingness to bring in talent from outside the consulting industry as the year unfolds” predicts Hickson. Rosier times, it would seem, lie ahead. Unless that is a severe recession bites, in which case a totally different type of cost-cutting consultants can expect to be in demand.

Social Networks and Recruitment - What's on MyFace?

2007-08-15T09:05:00.000+01:00

Many Top-Consultant readers will already know the name Don Leslie. One of the founder-directors of Management Consultancy recruitment specialists BLT, Don is one of our industry's best-known recruiters. This week's blog entry is the first in a series of guest contributions from Don - who also blogs about Management Consultancy and recruitment on the BLT Blog, http://www.bltog.co.uk/

What’s on MyFace?

As well as using social networking sites such as Friends Reunited, MySpace and FaceBook to engage and recruit staff (as Ernst & Young are doing), employers are increasingly using these sites to carry out background checks. Although I haven’t heard of any consulting firms doing so, I’m sure they are. According to the Times, a survey of 600 British companies revealed that one in five had logged on to Facebook and other networking websites to vet potential employees. As Steve Bailey from BackgroundChecking.com noted in a recent article:

"We are increasingly asked to undertake media searches and Internet searches as part of our employee screening services and this looks to become a standard element in the future. The findings of these searches can provide valuable insight into personality and current and past events involving a particular candidate who has consented to background checks."

It seems that - finally – members of these social networking sites are realising what damage they might be doing to their career prospects through ‘inappropriate’ postings. Much has been made of the case of the Oxford undergraduate Alex Hill who was disciplined after the university accessed incriminating pictures on Facebook. Hill complained that "I don't know how this happened, especially as my privacy settings were such that only my friends and students in my networks could view my photos." The trouble of course is that it's not just about what you post. It's what others post about you. Here are two close calls I’ve heard about recently…

A friend – let’s call him James – was photographed on a beach. With his trousers down. And a firework between his buttocks. The sequence showed… well, it ended with a burnt bum. You can imagine the rest.

Another, a friend of a friend – let’s call her Alison – was mentioned in connection with some teenage shoplifting adventures.

Both are professionals in their late 30s/early 40s. The incidents were from years back. And – here’s the problem – they were posted on other people’s profiles. Now what would the outcome be if an employer or potential employer were carrying out a bit of due diligence?

Professional networking sites such as Linkedin.com and Xing.com are all very well. But social networking sites… I’m not so sure. Be careful. There’s more to them than you might think - undertaking due diligence on your own name might be a good start..

All views expressed in this article are those of Don Leslie and do not necessarily reflect the views of Top-Consultant.com

Deloitte win 2nd "Consultants Challenge"

2007-08-08T13:20:00.001+01:00

The Young MCA this week attracted 12 teams comprising 120 consultants to compete in the 2nd "Consultants Challenge" - a fun inter-firm competition in aid of the charity "Depaul Trust"

Top-Consultant.com sponsored the event for the 2nd year running and £1,600 was raised for charity during the night. This year we brought along ten of our team to "strengthen" any other firms who were short of team members on the night. A big thank you from us to all the firms for welcoming us into their teams with open arms (and my apologies to the KPMG team at this point, to whom my only significant contribution was a series of bull's eyes on the rifle range!).

FINAL RESULTS

With Accenture having won last year's event, this year's was keenly contested and the top six teams at the end of the night were:

1st place -- Deloitte (aka "Glitter")
2nd place -- PwC (aka "Police")
3rd place -- Atos Consulting (aka "Bowler Hats")
4th place -- BT Global Consulting (aka "Blues Brothers")
5th place -- Turner & Townsend (aka "Straw Hats")
6th place -- PA Consulting (aka "Vikings")

* aka names signifying the style of hat the teams had to wear throughout the competition!

A fun night was had by all and our thanks go to Natalia and the rest of the team at the MCA for organising such a great event.

PHOTO GALLERY

Deloitte celebrate winning the trophy, flanked by honorary Top-Consultant team member Sacha Jackson

The KPMG team successfully identify 6 mystery cities, leading me to realise that gap years have moved on a fair bit since my days in the early 90s!

Tony Restell, Top-Consultant.com

Get your copy: Consulting supplement in today's Times newspaper

2007-07-05T10:25:00.000+01:00

We've got a major consulting supplement appearing in today's Times newspaper. Looks like a good read for anyone wanting an update on trends and challenges in our industry.

You can get a free PDF of the supplement by clicking here

Happy reading!

Tony Restell
Top-Consultant.com

Consultants in the dock again

2007-06-19T10:17:00.000+01:00

So the Public Accounts Committee has found that of the £2bn + of public money being invested in the services of the consulting industry, around £500 million a year is being needlessly spent. If this is really the case, it seems staggering to me that consulting firms feel the full force of the resulting outcry. Surely if government mandarins squander 1/4 of all tax revenues entrusted to them, it is they that should be in the dock. If they'd spent this money jetting public sector workers around the world to watch every Formula 1 race in the calendar, it would be government rather than Formula 1 bosses in the dock.

Yet this is the peculiar way in which the media report on anything to do with the consulting industry. Conveniently overlooking the fact that these public sector contracts are not hugely lucrative (witness the low profit margins of public sector practices) and can be very risky (think back to the NHS NPfIT programme for an example of consulting firms getting burnt on public sector assignments). Instead we are greeted with headlines like the following and the blame is effortlessly shifted away from those who are truly culpable:

Anger as government pays £63 a second to consultants (The Scotsman)
Labour blows £2 billion-a-year on army of Whitehall advisers (Evening Standard)

Now of course there are examples of consulting projects that have failed to deliver - and a whole raft of reasons for such failures. But to suggest that the majority of this spend has yielded no return to the taxpayer is just farcical.

We are, it seems, doomed to a perception with the public that's just marginally above that of an estate agent or used car salesperson...

Tony Restell

2007-02-08T10:45:00.000Z

Last week was our annual recruiters' event in London, where we presented the latest recruitment trends to a packed house of management consultancy recruiters. The various findings (bonuses, pay rises, retention rates, candidate acquisition channels, etc.) will be reported in our newsletter over the coming month. But for now - for all those thinking of looking for a new career in consulting - I wanted to share with you just what a buoyant market this now is!

Based on data submitted by all the top consulting firms, we were able to calculate that to achieve revenue growth targets for the year, firms would need to hire the equivalent of 24% of their existing headcount over the coming 12 months. That's a phenomenal level of recruitment activity - and bodes well for anyone who's job-hunting in the next months.

As the chart shows, 18% revenue growth is expected in 2007 - a repeat of the growth seen in 2006. 7% of this revenue growth could come from an inflation of fee rates, but the rest needs to come from billing more days of consulting. With the top firms acknowledging they have no spare capacity at present, the rest of this growth (11%) has to come from bringing in new hires. Add to this the expected 13% staff churn rate for 2007 (up from 10.3% in the last year) and you have the 24% growth rate confirmed.

Exciting times for all you consulting candidates!

;-)

Tony

Your view counts!

2006-12-11T10:34:00.000Z

In recent weeks there've been many forum threads on Top-Consultant.com, discussing the relative merits of using a recruitment agency - or avoiding them altogether. There've also been some comments about the most - and least - professional agencies out there.

Our annual reader survey has just been launched and gives you the chance to find out how consulting candidates are currently looking for a job; which channels and providers they recommend other readers should use; what the general recruitment market conditions are likely to look like in the coming months - and much much more.

It takes just a couple of minutes to share your thoughts - and your views would be highly appreciated! Every contributor will receive a copy of the full PDF report, so to take part simply click here now.

For those anxious to progress their job search ASAP, it may be helpful to know that the two recruitment agencies our readers have voted for most highly in the past are BLT and Prism.

Happy job hunting and thank you for taking part in this year's survey.

Tony

Videos - Accenture, Atos Consulting, BearingPoint, BT....

2006-11-17T14:33:00.000Z

A short post to confirm that the careers fair recordings are now live - full length videos of all the presentations given by:

o Accenture
o Atkins Management Consultants
o Atos Consulting
o BearingPoint
o BT Global Consulting
o Celerant Consulting
o EDS Consulting Services
o Ernst & Young
o Hedra Plc
o KPMG
o Management Consultancies Association
o PA Consulting Group
o TATA Consultancy Services

To view these simply go to:
http://www.top-consultant.com/career_fair2006/contents.asp

Happy viewing! Tony

Careers Fair -- Videos

2006-11-01T12:33:00.000Z

A great big THANK YOU to everyone - consulting firms and readers alike - who made this year's Consultancy Careers Fair such a huge success.

I've just seen the video recordings of the presentations given by many of the top consulting brands on the day - many provide fantastic insights into what it would be like to work at that particular firm. These will all be available to watch on Top-Consultant.com within the next week and I hope they will really help you to make the right decision about your next consulting employer.

In the meantime, my colleagues have loaded up a photo album that gives a great impression of the scale and reach of the Consultancy Careers Fair. If you missed this year's event do take a look here...

Will have those videos ready for you to watch ASAP.

Tony

Management Consultancy recruitment update

2006-10-18T16:39:00.000+01:00

Following hot on the heels of last week's Consultancy Careers Fair, I wanted to take a few minutes to record my thoughts on the direction the management consultancy sector is headed, particularly as regards recruitment.

To listen to this 5 minute snapshot, simply turn up the volume on your computer and press the play button below.

Related link: Revealed -- How to ace your case study interview

And the brightest consultants are...

2006-09-27T11:18:00.000+01:00

Monday night saw the inaugural Young MCA Consultants' Challenge take place in central London, with a dozen teams entered from some of the biggest names in consulting. Comprising teams of ten, the various rounds challenged consultants to demonstrate the skills they use in their everyday lives - communication skills, risk assessment...

Top-Consultant.com were thrilled to be sponsors of the event, with £1,500 being raised on the night to support the DEPAUL TRUST.

Both Accenture and BT got off to slow starts, with the night looking like it might provide something of an upset. Could one of the smaller firms trounce the bigger names in our industry? Well as the leader board below confirms, Accenture emerged as eventual winners; a joint Tata Consultancy Services / Impact Plus team came second; BT came third.

And to give them their moment in the spotlight, here's the winning team from Accenture accepting the winner's trophy:

Thanks to Natalia, Joy, David and the rest of the team at the Management Consultancies Association for organising what was a fun night.

Tony

Martin Hancock - charitable donations please!

2006-09-19T11:07:00.000+01:00

Many of you will know Martin Hancock, who in 2006 was one of just 7 recruiters named Top Management Consultancy Recruiter in recognition of outstanding candidate feedback from Top-Consultant readers. Well Martin is embarking on what looks like a hellish endurance race together with colleague Tara Benton - and it's all in aid of the charity Sportability.

The Coast to Coast Race will be held over 2 days and will see the two cover a distance of 120 miles through a mix of fell and road running, on and off-road mountain-biking and kayaking.
Tara and Martin hope to raise as much money as possible for this worthwhile cause and you can contribute on a corporate or a personal basis via:
http://www.justgiving.com/prism

Martin & Tara need your help to reach their target of £1,000 - so please help make their effort worthwhile. Rgds, Tony

Talented young consultants - take the MCA challenge!

2006-09-14T07:32:00.000+01:00

In recent years our industry has seen a new priority emerge at the Management Consultancies Association – and that is to foster the development and enthusiasm of young consultants who will be the lifeblood of the industry’s future. Top-Consultant.com became sponsors of the Young MCA a year ago as part of a fun drive to broaden the reach of the Top-Consultant brand. Events to date have included a riverboat cruise and talks from networking experts, sporting idols and entrepreneurs. But now the Young MCA have gone a step further and are appealing to consultants’ competitive nature.

Hot on the heels of programmes such as The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den, the MCA have announced the launch of “The 2006 Young MCA Consultants’ Challenge” which will see teams of consultants pitted against one another to complete a series of tasks and challenges. Whilst intended to be a fun event, knowing the consulting industry you can imagine the rivalry there will be between firms to secure their place as leaders of the pack! And for those of you looking to broaden your consulting network, entries are now being sought from teams of young consultants interested in taking part in this month’s event.

The format will see teams of consultants from compete in three activities designed to test the skills management consultants use during their daily work. Top-Consultant are pleased to be sponsoring this charitable event and hope to see as many readers there as possible. For further details and to register a team see:
http://www.mca.org.uk/MCA/Events/EventDetails.aspx?EventID=164

Hope to see you there - Tony

NHS blow for consulting industry

2006-09-05T14:35:00.000+01:00

A number of high-profile consulting firms have been reeling from the impact the NPfIT project has had on their finances, with cash either coming into the businesses far slower than anticipated - or provisions having to be made for expected future losses on the work. This is having a very real effect on the consulting workforce, with many firms financially strapped and unable to push through the salary rises that many in the industry have been expecting from the resurgent industry.

As if these financial woes were not bad enough, the consulting industry is now to be hit by a further NHS blow in the form of bad press. The Guardian and Accountancy Age are just two publications that are today covering the news that the National Audit Office's review of the NPfIT project is to be reopened - only weeks after it was given a clean bill of health in an NAO report. The decision tees up weeks of potential bad press for the consulting industry, as problems with the project are dragged up again - and consultancies are made the scapegoats for what is proving to be a political dream that's exceptionally hard to realise. Expect this one to drag and drag through until Christmas time at least...

A lesson in consulting's murky past

2006-08-23T04:01:00.000+01:00

I was made aware quite some time ago of a new publication being launched this year, by Chris McKenna of Said Business School. Entitled "The World's Newest Profession: Management Consulting in the 20th Century", the book was set to chart the rise of the management consultancy profession and how alumni of the top consulting firms have come to yield such power in today's corporate world.

The publishers have yet to send through my review copy, but a piece in the Observer this last week reviews some of the key messages to emerge from the book. One observation is how the consulting "profession" came to exist thanks to changes in legislation in the US that essentially created a need for consulting professionals. It's then suggested that changes in legislation ever since - most recently in the form of Sarbox - have stimulated further waves of demand for our services and helped to sustain the growth of the consulting sector.

Unfortunately much that is published on the subject of consulting these days seeks to portray management consultants as underhand and undeserving of their success. Similar vibes emerge from this review of the book, though it is unclear whether it is the Observer's take on McKenna's work or the actual content of the book itself that is to blame.

Looks like an interesting read nonetheless, if only to gain an understanding of the roots of the consulting industry.

Enjoy. Tony

Consulting lifestyle issues

2006-08-01T10:17:00.000+01:00

Consulting lifestyle issues - has anything changed?

Just recently got back from vacation and one of the most pleasant aspects of my holiday was not worrying whether I'd get disturbed by urgent calls from the office. Partly this is an acknowledgement of the trust I have in our talented team (thanks all) - but it particularly stood out as it's a degree of relaxation totally at contrast with my experiences as a consulting employee. Back then (pre-2000) interruptions to weekends and holidays were a major source of discontent - and indeed even the possibility of being disturbed was enough to take some of the shine off of one's free time.

During the hols I met up with a friend who's now leaving consulting for these very reasons. Whilst on holiday, a call came in asking what time his plane was touching down on his return. The consulting firm in question wanted to figure out if there was a way of having the consultant get home from holiday, pack things and be back out on a transatlantic flight to start work with a new client that same day (a weekend, incidentally). This got me thinking, have consultancies really not moved on at all in this respect?!

So I thought it would be an interesting exercise to test the water with you all. Do you still:

o have a problem in your office that consultants are disturbed whilst on holiday or go away on holiday uneasy at the prospect that they might be called?

o leave the office for the weekend either knowing that you've got to come back in over the weekend or dreading the fact that you're likely to get a call asking you to?

o find a long-hours culture prevails?

I'd be interested in your feedback, because I'm convinced that simple company policies on these issues would make consulting employees sleep a lot easier and would have negligible impact on client delivery if the senior team members knew that they had to adhere to these rules.

So what have your recent experiences been - do you still suffer from these types of problems? Any others you'd like to flag up too? Post your comments below - I'm looking forward to reading them! Thanks, Tony

World Cup horror story

2006-07-05T15:53:00.000+01:00

Watching the World Cup these last weeks has brought back vivid memories of one of the grimmest days of my consulting career. I wonder if any readers have similar tales of the woes they've faced as a result of working in the high-paced world of consulting? What events have you missed out on or traumas have you faced? Do post your comments / stories below...

Mine relates to the England - Argentina match in the 1998 knock-out phase of the World Cup. Working on a strategy assignment for an airline, I was fortunate enough to be bumped up to first class on the night of the match. An avid football fan, I was however mortified to be on an overnight flight at the time of England's game - but still relatively junior in the firm there wasn't much I could do about it...

Anyway, the stewardesses came round and asked if the 1st class passengers had any particular requests for the flight. My colleague and I asked if the pilot could radio the ground and keep us abreast of the score situation in the England vs Argentina match. Much to our surprise our request was duly passed on to the cockpit and sure enough a short while after the match began we learnt that England had gone 1-0 down to an early goal.

Some time later, with dinner served, the pilot piped up that England had fought back and the scoreline was now 1-1. We regained our appetite, the beef wellington tasted somehow better and we felt a new wave of belief in the team.

Then around what must have been full-time he came on again - Michael Owen had scored a wonder-goal and England were 2-1 to the good. Buoyed by the news and the fact that only minutes of the game remained, we got ourselves some champagne and toasted England's passage to the next round - while all those around us settled down for a night's sleep.

*****

My eyes squinted open to the sound of the pilot on the PA system again. Pulling my blanket off I heard him say "for those of you who were following the England match, the news isn't so good. It was back to 2-2 by half time and then Beckham got a red card. It went to penalties and England will be on a plane home later today..."

What a depressing way to start a week of consulting! It's one thing to have your beloved team lose at the World Cup - but to celebrate a historic victory only then to discover that you lost was truly horrible.

The pilot had, it seems, been receiving updates only sporadically and had had to stop the announcements once passengers started going to sleep. So much for the feel-good factor of flying first class!! And so much for the desirable jet-set lifestyle...

Got any such tales of your own from your time as a consultant? Do feel free to post them below.

Tony

7 tips for candidates

2006-05-22T15:04:00.000+01:00

Management Consultants typically change jobs every 3-4 years, seeking greater fulfilment, financial reward, recognition, appreciation.

What is absolutely critical when you're moving is to ensure you:
i) move for the right reasons
ii) find a firm that can genuinely deliver on the changes you want to see happening in your career / life
iii) do what's necessary to maximise your chances of success in this move

With this in mind I've been "penning" a tips report for consulting candidates, possibly as a prelude to writing a book on the subject. If you'd like a free copy of the PDF tips report, just email me on tonyr@top-consultant.com referencing the blog as the place you heard about the report...

Tony

McKinsey -- Opus Dei?

2006-05-17T08:22:00.000+01:00

Saw an interesting article on Bloomberg this week in which McKinsey and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants are said to be "secretive societies" much like Opus Dei. Very topical - and as an ex-RB consultant myself, something that immediately caught the eye.

The article actually centres on the publication of a new "consulting exposé" book, which critiques the secretive worlds of firms such as McKinsey & Roland Berger. And whilst I've slammed the work of David Craig for being too one-sided, this new release appears at first glance to be more balanced...

"Consultancies have a strong ability to create priorities. What they can do is force companies and executives to set goals. And they can ask strategically important questions because they come from outside and have certain experience. They can also use knowledge from previous consulting contracts to help clients."

So we're not all bad then - not all out to plunder our clients with no tangible return for our fees. There's also a valid commentary on clients' increasing professionalism in managing the consulting projects they initiate - and taking some responsibility themselves for seeing that the project does not get waylaid.

My German's pretty shaky though, so I'll have to leave the detailed appraisal to others. If any readers want to add comments on this new work, feel free to do so here...

Tony

Hiring friends of friends...

2006-05-03T09:46:00.000+01:00

Just came across an interesting article for recruiters desperately struggling to reach their sky-high recruitment targets. You'll recall that back when we published our 2006 Recruitment Channel Report we highlighted the fact that candidates' preferred method for finding a new job was through a personal referral channel. That's to say a consultant's career path can be greatly influenced by the opinions of friends and alumni - and that they are particularly likely to apply to a firm where an existing contact has been able to get them a "foot in the door". Firms with really cutting edge referral schemes are able to gain a big advantage as a result.

"Using the buddy system" caught my attention because it expands both on why such schemes hit the mark when it comes to attracting candidates... and also quantifies the potential impact of such schemes. One example is given in which a firm is recruiting 30% of its new hires through friends of friends.

Since Top-Consultant will only ever be one component of a firm's recruitment strategy, I find these types of insights fascinating - and I hope you do too. Click the link above for the full article.

Rgds, Tony

Consultants Reunited?

2006-04-20T17:33:00.000+01:00

We've been toying with the idea of totally revamping Consultants Reunited to make it a more useable tool for staying in touch with former colleagues and associates - and I wondered if you'd like to provide any input re. the changes you'd like us to make?

When we set the service up we were very conscious of the fact that we didn't want random people to be able to contact you unless they did genuinely know you. Otherwise we felt you'd end up with random headhunters, contractors and the like all contacting you looking for work or wanting to sell their services...

However, we acknowledge we've gone too far in the other direction and although there are thousands and thousands of consulting alumni registered, activity is being restricted because it's hard to find others that you know...

So my question to you is - what changes could we make that would move the service in the right direction, without turning it into a LinkedIn type service where you end up being contacted by people that are not genuine contacts at all?

Anyone with any thoughts, please post them as a comment here. All contributions gratefully received. Rgds, Tony

Quarterly update

2006-04-03T10:41:00.000+01:00

Once every quarter I like to record a short update aimed at candidates looking for a job in consulting. We're in contact with tons of management consultancy recruiters, so this is a good way for us to impart to you what the state of the market is really like - and what you need to do to secure a new job given current market conditions.

I've just recorded the latest soundbite. Just turn up your volume and hit the play button below to tune in:

Regards, Tony

Accenture's NHS woes

2006-03-31T07:52:00.000+01:00

Richard Granger has been taking a tough stance with Accenture over delays on its multi-billion NHS "Connecting for Health" contracts, forcing the global consultancy to take a $450m pre-tax profit hit in anticipation of future losses on the contract.

Accenture is facing calls to change personnel on the project and there seems to be a determination that public sector coffers will not bear the brunt of setbacks on the contracts. Accenture, meanwhile, is thought to be looking for a renegotiation of the contracts. Expect a turbulent few months of press coverage on this one...

Here are just a few takes on the situation:

NHS contract delays hit Accenture (BBC)
Accenture Gets a Little Sick (Motley Fool)
British agency expects Accenture to deliver on contract (Reuters)
UK NHS Blasts Accenture Over Delays (Datamonitor Computerwire)

I don't envy the consultants working on those assignments, do you?! Tony

Recruitment websites

2006-03-16T16:35:00.000Z

Thanks to the 1,300+ management consultancy candidates that took part in this year's poll. It's critical for us as a means of keeping track on whether or not we're still the number 1 choice for candidates looking for a job in consulting.

Fortunately this year's results again show that we are top of the pile, with the majority of all respondents voting us their preferred site for finding a consulting job. THANK YOU for taking part and giving us this glowing endorsement.

Tony

Fast-growing start-up consultancies

2006-03-06T10:41:00.000Z

Each year we run a reader poll to discover the fastest-growing new consultancies in the industry. These can be some of the most exciting places to work, but they don't always make it onto the public's radar until they've already achieved fame and fortune. By discovering them in their early stages we can both help them to become established - and also give readers some pointers of firms they might wish to target as employers...

If you work for a fast-growing new firm, you've got just a few weeks to submit your firm as a candidate for inclusion in the 2006 report. You can nominate a firm by visiting this URL.

Looking forward to sharing the results with you around Easter time. Tony

Recruitment Consultants

2006-02-28T10:50:00.000Z

We've just finished compiling the results of this year's candidate survey, detailing the recruitment agencies you've had the best experiences of using, the job boards and newspapers you read most often and so on. Tons of insights and useful data for both management consultancy candidates and management consultancy recruiters alike. The full report is now downloadable (details below), but in particular I wanted to give special recognition to 7 recruitment consultants who were highly rated by our readers. We're always being asked for recommendations of recruiters that candidates should speak with - so here's a definitive list as voted for by you the Top-Consultant readership!

The following 7 individuals consistently exceeded candidate expectations in providing a thoroughly professional interface between candidate and client. Congratulations to:

>> Chris Sale - Prism Executive Recruitment

>> Martin Hancock - Prism Executive Recruitment

>> Angela Heath - Beament Leslie Thomas

>> Andrew Bott - EM Consulting

>> Nick Coppin - Acumen Search (formerly @ Madison Maclean)

>> Karl Mann - The Cornell Partnership

>> Victoria Lack - Prism Executive Recruitment

Hats off to all 7 of you!

Tony

PS a full copy of the report can be downloaded from this page

Salaries in Consulting

2006-02-06T16:44:00.000Z

Big £$ salaries and Management Consulting used to go hand-in-hand, back in the good old dot-com days. With the consultancy market having rebounded of late, our suspicion has been that firms would be forced to pay more - come the 2005/06 pay review window...

... and now at last we can prove that this has indeed been the case. Our salary benchmarking report has just been published, based on data from over 1,000 participating management consultants. What's interesting is the wide range in salaries, pay rises / promotions and bonus payments of late. There have been some real winners in the recent consulting upturn - and others that have fared much less well.

Which category do you fall into?

Well now you can find out, because this report is available as a free download to all Top-Consultant readers. You can get your copy (in PDF format) from:
http://www.top-consultant.com/salary_report_2006.pdf

Any feedback on this year's report much appreciated. Do post your comments below...

Tony

Networking skills

2006-01-27T06:47:00.000Z

Whenever you see the most successful consulting Partners in action, they seem to be natural networkers. People that can work a room, talk to anyone and everyone - and leave an event having made precious business contacts... that over time accumulate into an enviable business network and stream of new client leads.

Mention "networking" to consultants - or indeed any professional - earlier in their career and it seems to be a notion that fills people with dread. I for one love to be in a room of people that want to talk to me - but put me in a room full of strangers where I must make the first move: that's a totally different proposition! Are you the same?!

Having admitted to this, I personally loathe identifying a professional weakness like this and doing nothing about it. And so through some introductions via Ecademy I came across an organisation that specialises in teaching people how to network. We asked them to lay on an event especially for Top-Consultant readers and here's what they have devised for us. I'll feed back some of the gems of advice from the event on this blog mid-March time. But would be great to see lots of you there in person, so if you can make it on 10th March then do sign up for the event here.

And for those of you who are already experts at working a room, do please share your tips and your success stories by posting a comment here... Cheers, Tony

Recruiters adamant: 2006 will be a bumper year for candidates!

2006-01-19T14:04:00.000Z

Here's some cheery news to share with everyone interested in the health of the management consultancy sector. For our forthcoming recruiters' event we asked the 250 attendees (a mix of HR managers and recruitment consultants) to assess the likely buoyancy of the consultancy recruitment market in 2006 - always a good indicator of how healthy the consulting market as a whole is looking...

On the back of a buoyant 2005, an incredible 81% of recruiters believe recruitment levels will be higher still in 2006. The remainder almost all believe the market will be as buoyant as it was in 2005. What other sector can boast that only 1% of executives believe the market will be quieter in 2006 than it was in 2005??

Here's to a bumper year for us all!

Tony

PS Here are those results in full:

Q. Do you envisage your company will make more hires / placements in 2006 than in 2005?

Significantly more hires / placements than in 2005
(35.53%)

More hires / placements than in 2005
(46.49%)

A similar number of hires / placements to 2005
(16.67%)

Fewer hires / placements than in 2005
(0.44%)

Significantly fewer hires / placements than in 2005
(0.44%)

Recharging for the New Year

2005-12-22T14:30:00.000Z

A short post to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and enjoyable break from work.

Conversations with Consultants, FTSE clients, HR managers and recruitment agencies alike all seem to point to 2006 being a very hectic year for those of us working in the consulting industry. So do have a great break and come back in the New Year fully recharged and ready for a really busy year and sky-high utilisation rates!

Season's Greetings, Tony

Consultants - have your say!

2005-12-14T14:28:00.000Z

It's that time of year again... it's the season to be merry...

... or equally it is the month each year when we give you the opportunity to have a right go at that recruitment consultant who's been totally unprofessional and hopeless in helping you get a new consulting job. Or to praise one that's worked miracles for you. And - on a more serious note - to identify the best strategies and recruitment partners for finding a consulting job in 2006.

So if you've done any job-hunting in the last year and want to have your say click here now. Our annual recruitment channel survey is published in February and this is your chance to both contribute to the findings and receive a free copy in due course. 1,000+ management consultants take part every year, if you've got 2 minutes to take part then head over to:
http://www.top-consultant.com/rc_questionnaire.asp

Many thanks & wish you all a fantastic run-up to Christmas. Tony

Sign of the times...

2005-12-06T16:48:00.000Z

It's an interesting sign of the times to see the consultant survey we've just been asked to run...

With the market for candidates getting ever tighter, what this survey tells me is that consulting firms are increasingly anxious to keep their existing staff happy and to maximise the chances of readers like you staying with your existing firm rather than moving on. You see the survey is all about gauging how Management Consultants like you perceive their work/life balance, career development... and all those other soft factors that make you decide to either stay with a firm or quit.

The results of this one are going to be examined in quite some detail by the vast majority of the top consulting brands. So if you'd like to make your thoughts known and would like to see a copy of the end report then click here to take part in the survey now.

This sudden angst to keep consulting staff happy ties in to a recent meeting I had with HR Managers & HR Directors from the world's leading consultancies. All spoke of their desire to grow their consultant headcounts by double-digit figures in the next year; yet none were prepared to stretch their hiring criteria to accept a wider pool of candidates...

... well no prizes for guessing that if you all want to employ 10% more staff but the pool of potential hires hasn't grown at all - well that's a lot of firms that are going to be left shy of their recruitment targets in a year's time. Or more likely, many will have had to compromise on their entry criteria - just as they did in the dot-com boom.

This explains the heightened concern about retaining staff and the industry desire to have this survey undertaken. If you're worried about hitting the recruitment targets necessary to grow 10%, the last thing you want is a chunk of the workforce moving on that must then also be replaced (and where will these replacements come from if entry criteria aren't relaxed?). Ergo, firms are acutely aware of the need to keep employees happy - and want these survey findings to tell them what they need to change to achieve this.

It's not every day you get to tell your bosses what's wrong with your job (not unless you're giving them a resignation letter at the same time anyway). So if you'd like to take the opportunity and take part in the survey then here's where you need to go.

We are in a candidate-driven market make no mistake about it. Long may it continue!

Tony

PA Consulting vs. McKinsey vs. Bain ??

2005-12-01T08:59:00.000Z

There's an interesting read on Ovum.com this week, analysing the strengths and positioning of PA Consulting Group. Not sure I agree with the bit about PA Consulting being up against McKinsey and Bain, I'd have thought there are other consulting firms they come up against much more often. But a good read nonetheless for anyone interested in PA...

Article link
Latest job openings at PA Consulting

Tony

Consultants - act now while the odds are stacked in your favour!

2005-11-23T08:37:00.000Z

I was invited to join ~40 HR Directors and HR Managers from the world's top management consultancy firms last week, to review what's happening in the consultancy recruitment market. The conclusion reached was quite stark:

There's a shortage of good consulting candidates - relative to the huge recruitment targets that the firms are now trying to hit

The implications for candidates are clear - you are more in demand now than you have been at any time in the last 5 years and the competition for consulting jobs is lower because of a shortage of applicants. The conclusion - from the candidates' perspective - is that now is the time to start applying for consulting jobs while the odds are stacked in your favour. If you'd like to review the latest consulting jobs click here now.

Of course there are pockets of consulting that aren't doing so well, so there will be some candidates struggling to find work still. But for those whose skills are in demand (and particularly those wanting a role in the UK) there has not been a better time to be looking for work in a long long while. So strike now while the iron is hot!

Tony

Incommunicado because...

2005-11-11T12:11:00.000Z

Hi all. Sorry for the long gap in posting to our Blog. This is a reflection of how incredibly busy the consulting market - and the consulting recruitment market - are right now.

Things picked up again a good while back, but now there's an added factor in the mix...

... consultancies (and banks) have been lavishing pay rises on their staff, countering job offers employees have received from competitors and talking up the year-end bonus prospects. This means people are less likely to move jobs now than they were 6 months ago - when a move was seen as the best way of securing a promotion / rise. Which means recruiters are having to work harder just to generate the same volumes of applicants as before.

So recruiters need to hit ever more aggressive recruitment targets to meet client demand; yet at the same time they're having to work harder - and spend more - just to generate the same volume of applicants as before. The pendulum has certainly swung now such that we are in a full-blown candidates' market.

Which in a round-about way explains why I've been so quiet on the blog. We've just been blown away with client demand these last weeks - which if you're a candidate looking for a consulting job right now is great news indeed.

PLEASE NOTE: that doesn't mean everyone reading this site can just walk into a consulting job. The entry hurdles for consulting are still incredibly high - in fact that's one contributor to the recruitment problem the industry is currently facing. If you are not an exact match for what a firm and their clients are looking for, it's still going to be tough to secure a role. But for strong candidates the opportunities out there and the range of organisations currently hiring has not been better anytime in the last 5 years.

Long may it continue! Tony

Latest hiring trends revealed

2005-10-13T14:12:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the lack of postings the last couple of weeks. We were furiously working to ensure the Management Consultancy Careers Fair was as successful as possible for both our readers and management consultancy clients. It was a resounding success and I know from the 40 firms that were exhibiting that tons of interviews are now taking place as a result.

For those of you that couldn't attend I wanted to share the latest hiring trends that I gleaned from talking to firm representatives on their stands. Click the play button below for a 5 minute overview of who firms are most interested in hiring right now...

Regards, Tony

Buoyancy confirmed - consulting market on a roll

2005-09-29T13:59:00.000+01:00

I've just stepped out of the Management Consultancies Association's annual conference to pen a short blog update on the healthy state of the market - as reported by the keynote speakers.

Having attended (indeed sponsored) the Institute of Management Consultancy's annual conference a couple of weeks back, it's been interesting today to hear many of the same messages emerging:

* Consultancies are experiencing robust growth in client demand - and double-digit growth is again expected in the next year

* Attracting and retaining talent is now the number 1 challenge facing consulting Partners

* Having to get deals approved by Procurement departments as well as by client decision-makers is a more and more prevalent requirement. A successful deal agreed over lunch with the CEO is now only half the battle. Getting over the procurement hurdle is at least as difficult

* Experience rather than talent is what clients are demanding in today's market. They want consultants on the team that have detailed experience in their sector - and are less interested in the "bright young things" with an MBA but no sector-specific insights they can bring to the project

Overall the mood at both events has been buoyant, with consultants quietly confident about business prospects and expecting that 2006 will be a vintage year.

Glad we're back in a market where everyone's cheery again... :-) Tony

Feedback please

2005-09-21T10:14:00.000+01:00

Earlier this year we introduced a new Jobs-by-email service for Top-Consultant readers. You specify the types of jobs you are interested in and then once a week you'll get an alert of all the new jobs that have been posted that match these criteria. If you haven't registered for this yet, you can do so here for free.

Anyway, following our acquisition by DMGT / Jobsite we're just looking to upgrade various parts of the site and we'd appreciate feedback from readers who are subscribed to this jobs alert - what do you like about it & what would you change? Please do post your comments below, thanks Tony

Indian firms in push to gain consulting share

2005-09-07T02:21:00.000+01:00

Just seen a sterling in-depth analysis of how the Indian IT giants (Tata, Wipro, etc.) are making a big push to raise consulting revenues - and why, from a strategic point of view, this is critical for them to achieve in the next years. You can find the full article here. Will be fascinating to see this battle unfold... Anyone any thoughts on who the winners will be? Tony

What a week!

2005-08-30T07:35:00.000+01:00

Forgive the lack of posts to the Management Consultants' Blog in recent days, but two stratospheric changes have taken place here in the last days...

First, after many months of preparatory work and negotiation, Top-Consultant.com was this week acquired by DMGT and will henceforth become a subsidiary of the leading recruitment site Jobsite. All the team here will remain in place, so the main change you will see is an increase in investment and more rapid improvements in our services and technology.

:-)

For the full release click here.

Then, just a couple of days later, my wife Imogen gave birth to a beautiful baby boy James. Our first. I'll spare you the photos (!) but having come two weeks early you can imagine we were caught a little by surprise (so much for first babies always being late!).

Huge thanks to Simon over at The Shilston Partnership and Nick over at Madison Maclean for all their words of advice in preparing for fatherhood. Most appreciated guys. It's a wonderful feeling when clients are also your friends.

That's all for now. We'll be back to full speed here just as soon as I've got my head around the art of changing nappies! Tony

Tirade against consultants shows no signs of letting up...

2005-08-19T07:45:00.000+01:00

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

A new set of figures about spend on external advisers is released by the UK government and in no time at all we've got national newspapers bemoaning the waste of taxpayers' money and the outrageous daily rates being paid to consulting gurus.

At this point I'd like to quote Mick James from a piece he wrote defending consultants earlier this year:

"I’m appalled by the inability of a national newspaper to even consider the possibility that some of this consultancy spend might represent value-for-money"

If you missed his sterling defence of the consulting profession, you can find it here:
How much longer do consultants have to keep justifying their very existence?

Reading the latest Scotsman article and Independent article it's hard not to be equally appalled. Where's the balance in these pieces, the journalistic integrity? In one there's a quote from an MP outraged at the government spending £1,000 an hour on consulting gurus. Sorry - £1,000 an hour?!?! Which planet?!

In the other the £2,000+ daily rates of some consultants are compared with the "daily earnings" of other professionals. A top lawyer, for example, can expect to be paid £1,200 a day. The implication being how can these consultants possibly be worth £2,000+ ? The only problem is the apples & pears nature of the comparison. The lawyer actually has take home pay of £1,200 a day, whereas the figure for consultants is their daily billing rate - only a fraction of which will be their take home pay! But of course, that wouldn't fit the thrust of the article - which is to show consultants in the worst possible light. My take? Success breeds envy...

Seen any other articles that are similarly biased against the profession? Or that rare breed - an article defending consultants? Do post them here if you would... Rgds, Tony

Staff shortages in consulting

2005-08-15T14:44:00.000+01:00

Question: When is a jobs bonanza not a jobs bonanza?

Answer: When your skills don't match the skillsets consulting firms are actually looking to hire!

My last blog post attracted criticism from several candidates who felt there simply isn't a "jobs bonanza" in the management consulting market right now. The evidence they presented is that they've found it impossible to secure a new job in consulting this year. The caveat to my "Jobs bonanza" statement is, of course, that the demand profile for consulting services has shifted quite considerably over the last years - so those individuals that were in demand 5 years ago are not necessarily the same people firms would like to hire today. I do stand by my assertion that this is the best time in the last 5 years to be looking for a consulting job - but clearly only if you've got the skills that are in demand.

The results of our first Quarterly "Consulting Prospects" survey will be out in the next couple of weeks - and the survey findings highlight the areas within consulting that are growing most robustly (and thus the practice areas that are most likely to be hiring). Unsurprisingly practice areas like Manufacturing are on the demise, whilst the likes of Financial Services and TMT consulting are back in vogue. Watch this space for the full findings...

But back to the "Jobs bonanza" debate.

As sponsors of the MCA's riverboat cruise last week, I had the chance to meet with a couple of hundred consultants from the likes of Accenture, Capgemini, Atos Consulting, BT, Deloitte, etc. Having been challenged on the state of the recruitment market in consulting, I went to the event hoping to hear first hand from consultants just how busy they are and how aggressively they are now recruiting.

I wasn't disappointed.

In aggregate, I heard that the major consultancies are now bumping up against serious capacity constraints - they simply don't have the number of consultants necessary to meet accelerating client demand. Recruitment teams are under tremendous pressure and have been given some stratospheric hiring targets for the next year. To try and address the shortfall, consultancies are getting creative and I heard that firms are encouraging consultants to take extra pay in lieu of holidays; introducing initiatives to entice new mothers back into employment; bolstering employee referral schemes. In short, all the things you would expect organisations to do if they find they are turning away business owing to staffing shortages.

The key for those struggling to get hired, then, is to present oneself (in the form of one's CV / resume) as someone that has the skills that are currently in demand. If you can prove you have these skills you will get hired. Back in 2003 the state of the market was a valid impediment to even suitable candidates securing a consulting job; but in 2005 you need to look beyond this. A lack of interviews or offers is a reflection on the candidate rather than the market...

Tony

PS if you need help reworking your CV / resume, click here now

Jobs bonanza for consultants!

2005-08-08T14:08:00.000+01:00

Have just returned from summer vacation, so apologies there've not been postings to our consulting blog for the last weeks. But the exciting news as I got back to my desk is that there's been an absolute flood of bookings from consulting firms committing to attend this October's management consultancy careers fair at Olympia.

It seems that firms are expecting a real hiring spree when the holiday season is over and I've returned to find we now have 40+ exhibitors at the careers fair - including prestigious employers like Accenture, Atos Consulting, BearingPoint, Capgemini, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, IBM, Infosys, PA Consulting, Proudfoot and Serco Consulting (to name but a few).

Would be great if you could join us there - if of interest do click on the image below for full details...

Hope to see you there in just a few weeks' time. Tony

Concerned about a colleague's behaviour?

2005-07-27T15:31:00.000+01:00

Are they binge drinking, gambling or taking recreational drugs to cope with life in the fast lane? Have you tried and failed to get through to them? Are you worried about the consequences for their career, health and home life?
betty tv is making a documentary series for Channel 4 which aims to help people in trouble turn their lives around and they have contacted Top-Consultant to see if we can help. They would like to speak to consultants who are worried about a colleague or friend.
Please call Kamala on 020 7290 0660, or e-mail kamala@bettytv.co.uk. All contact will be in strict confidence.

Financial Services + Public Sector consulting show best prospects for growth

2005-07-12T14:49:00.000+01:00

There are some fascinating results emerging from our first Quarterly Barometer of the Consulting Industry (if you haven't taken part yet, click here to do so right away).

The respective health of the US and UK consulting markets are portrayed - as viewed by you our readers. We also look at the consulting sectors that hold the best promise for growth and the preliminary results show consultants are very bullish about prospects for the following sectors:

Public Sector
Financial Services
Healthcare & Pharma
Telecoms, Media & Entertainment

Also fascinating are the new technologies and emerging business trends that you feel will present consultancies with considerable new revenue streams in the next years. The full report will be published at the end of the quarter. To be one of the first to receive a free copy of this, simply take part in the short survey today.

Rgds, Tony

London bomb blasts

2005-07-12T12:32:00.000+01:00

July 7th was a distressing day for all those of us who work, live or know people in Central London. Our thoughts go out to everyone who was caught up or affected by last Thursday's events.

Following the bomb blasts, the Institute of Management Consultancy was compelled to postpone its much-anticipated annual conference - due to take place the very next day. The event has now been rescheduled to 9th September and our thanks go to the 160 attendees and speakers for their flexibility and understanding regarding this late change of date.

Full details of the rescheduled conference can be found by clicking here

In the meantime, our thoughts are with all those affected by events in London on July 7th - and particularly those poor individuals who still do not know the whereabouts or fate of their loved ones.

Tony Restell

Director, Top-Consultant.com

Breathtaking sights await consulting candidates

2005-07-05T16:48:00.000+01:00

BT's fast-growing consulting business have been very shrewd and decided to make use of the BT Tower in London as an enticing venue for its next experienced hires careers event taking place on 26th July.

I was also invited to the BT Tower in the last months and I have to tell you it is simply breathtaking!! From the top you're so high up you feel like you're in the clouds - then you look down and see the London Eye way below... it really is quite an experience.

So if you're free the evening of 26th July and would be interested in finding out more about consulting career opportunities at BT then take a look here and be sure to register in the next days. This is an opportunity not to be missed...

Tony

Tips for engaging consultants

2005-06-27T12:30:00.000+01:00

Whilst much of the press seems intent on maligning the consulting industry this month, I was pleased to see a more measured article in today's FT counselling clients on how to get the best return from their investment in consultants. Rather than castigating investment in consultants as money down the drain, this piece gives some good insights into how and when to use consultants effectively. A good read for clients and consultants alike. See:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f6f90514-e6a7-11d9-b6bc-00000e2511c8.html

Rgds, Tony

Careers Fair preview... Management Consultancy Careers Fair coming to London

2005-06-24T12:30:00.000+01:00

In just over 3 months I hope you'll be joining us for the largest Management Consultancy Careers Fair ever to be staged in the UK (and arguably the world!). We used to run smaller events for 200 candidates to meet with recruiters from half a dozen consulting firms. But this year the demand for new consulting hires has gone ballistic and so in partnership with the Management Consultancies Association we've organised a far more impressive event...

We're expecting some 350 company representatives and recruiters to be at Olympia, who combined will be looking to make several thousand new consulting hires this year. Already we've got many of the world's leading consultancies and niche players signed up to attend (Accenture, Capgemini, DiamondCluster, IBM, PA Consulting...). You'll be able to find out about opportunities both in the UK and across Europe.

Anyway, the reason for alerting you via my blog is because the reservation system went live today. As there are only enough places for 1% of our readers to attend, you'll want to get in quick if this sounds like the type of event you don't want to miss.

You can get full details of who'll be there and how to sign up by going to:
http://www.top-consultant.com/UK/events/Article_display.asp?ID=48

Look forward to seeing you there, Tony

The Guardian takes a dislike to consultants

2005-06-21T09:54:00.000+01:00

A number of articles in the Guardian these last weeks leave me pretty convinced. The Guardian has taken a dislike to consultants.

First there were a series of articles in which deep concern was expressed at the increasing role of consultants in the thinking of Number 10 and - horror of horrors - the appointment of some ex-McKinsey advisers into key government roles. The appointees are likely to drive through radical changes in the management and measurement of government departments, to push for efficiency gains and the adoption of online approaches to streamline departments.

Most organisations I know would love to hire as employees a team of ex-McKinsey consultants. Bring all that expertise in house, have the ability to push through more initiatives internally without the need for calling in consultants - and be in a position of strength when negotiating with consultancies for those engagements that are still deemed necessary. Most FTSE firms are trying to hire lots of ex-consultants, yet because this is happening in the public sector it is labelled as scandalous. Ridiculous.

This was followed up in the last days by another article in which the Observer / Guardian Unlimited tore shreds out of consultants for their unethical practices and client scams. This was all based on the rantings to be found within David Craig's recent book about how consultants rip off their clients. I've already submitted a letter of complaint to the Editor, copied below. If you'd like to do the same simply email: politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk

I write in response to Nick Cohen's article "Natural born billers" in which the majority of management consultants are made out to be charlatans and common thieves. I am concerned by the ease with which the author David Craig has been able to persuade mainstream media to tout his views of the consulting industry. We are, after all, talking about a chap who has a book to sell here.

I am a former management consultant myself and now work in the recruitment sector. Both sectors have a few rotten eggs - as does any sector where there's significant money to be made or lost - but the vast majority of professionals are going about their business in an honest and upright manner and delivering huge value to clients both in the public and private sectors.

If we look at the Enron scandal and how the reputations of Andersen employees were tarnished worldwide, we see how easily the media can fan the flames of isolated incidents and turn them into widely held beliefs and prejudices. In the case of Enron it was accountants worldwide that were dragged through the wringer and whose integrity was questioned; by promoting this book's premise you are taking consulting in the same direction on the basis of what can only be described as very limited testimony.

As you are undoubtedly aware, repeat business in the consulting industry is absolutely key and I would put it to you that any professional that succeeds in doing business with FTSE clients year after year is clearly doing a great many things right. Most consulting firms generate the majority of their revenues from repeat clients - which must result either from the success of the engagements or be down to gross negligence on the part of most FTSE Directors. Are you seriously suggesting the majority of FTSE Directors simply have the wool pulled over their eyes and pay up year after year? I thought not.

Finding examples of bad practice is easy in any industry, but portraying these practices as industry norms is doing both your readers and the country a gross disservice. I trust you will strike a more balanced view in your future commentaries

Yours faithfully

Tony Restell
Company Director
___________________________________________
www.Top-Consultant.com
Switchboard: +44 (0)207 667 6880

Monitor + A.T.Kearney = ?

2005-06-21T09:42:00.000+01:00

Rumour has it in today's FT that the management buy-out of A.T.Kearney has collapsed and that another suitor has been lined up to takeover the firm within the next 4 months. The FT touts Monitor as the likely buyer.

Is this what's really going down in the States, or is it just a smoke-screen? I'm reminded of the saying "if you've got multiple buyers you've got a sale; if you've got one buyer you've got a giveaway". Could the appearance of a new prospective buyer simply be a ploy to secure better terms for the management buyout?

This ongoing saga reminds me of the rumours that abounded at the time of the collapse of Arthur D Little, which saw first PA Consulting then Monitor Group and then Mercer Management Consulting all talked of as potential suitors. Let's hope the A.T.Kearney situation is swiftly resolved before too many of its consultants decide that with all the uncertainty they are better off just moving on to pastures new...

Tony

Wipro on the acquisition trail?

2005-06-07T12:54:00.000+01:00

Is it just me or are the moves and counter-moves of US / European consulting firms and their Indian counterparts starting to look like mirror-images of one-another?

Both seem to be positioning themselves so as to have a strong go-to-market presence in the richer developed countries, whilst being able to resource sizeable chunks of the assignments won in operations based in the lesser developed nations. The outsourcing of consulting service provision to cheaper parts of the world if you like.

The likes of Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro are all trying to grow their presence in the mature markets of Europe and the US to leverage off their Indian operations. An article on Wipro earlier this year in the Economic Times (see here) claimed Wipro boss Azim Premji had plans to acquire businesses in European markets such as France, Germany and the UK. Whilst in the FT this week there's an article (see here) in which Premji highlights US and Indian acquisitions as being potentially imminent, with European deals still of interest but less well progressed.

The major US and European consultancies, meanwhile, are busy building operations out in the likes of India and China - so the footprints of all look pretty similar.

Consulting is certainly looking like a more and more homogenous service offering. Where's the differentiation in the market?!

Tony

Thanks Corey

2005-06-07T09:25:00.000+01:00

When we founded Top-Consultant.com back in 2000, there were very few genuine internet marketing gurus you could learn from. One of the exceptions - and a big contributor to the growth of Top-Consultant - was Corey Rudl. I could write a whole book just on the things we've learnt from Corey. A true pioneer.

Corey died this week, aged just 34 and married within the last year.

It's amazing to think you can feel saddened by the loss of someone you've never met and only ever had dealings with online. Just goes to show how much the internet has transformed all our lives. Our thoughts go out to all Corey's family as they struggle to cope with this tragic loss.

Tony

Consulting vs Outsourcing

2005-06-06T18:25:00.000+01:00

Have just been ploughing my way through the latest report from the Management Consultancies Association and it's a pretty remarkable read. Take a look at this chart:

No matter how much has been written about outsourcing in the last years, it's hard to take on board just how much this business line has transformed the face of consulting and the companies that make up the consulting world. These latest figures show that outsourcing has now outgrown all your traditional consulting business lines taken in combination! (as a former strategy consultant, I intentionally sideline IT consulting from this comparison, call it a force of habit)

The MCA have been kind enough to allow us to reproduce some of the key charts and data and you'll find the full write-up of the report findings if you click here. I think you'll find some of the patterns and trends quite eye-opening! Tony

Clients killing the consultant-client relationship

2005-05-31T17:40:00.000+01:00

My recent comments challenging a scathing critique of the consulting industry have in turn generated a flood of feedback from our loyal readers. Many of you felt the original article was outrageously one-sided, whilst a few of you actually admitted that consultants’ clients can sometimes be taken for a ride.

The whole debate reminded me of a pertinent statement John Niland made at a recent Top-Consultant seminar. He said consultants should, at all costs, avoid situations where the client ends up receiving a bill based on a calculation involving day rates. His argument was essentially that the very concept of day rates puts the interests of clients and the short-term interests of the consultancy fundamentally in conflict. (As an aside, John will be speaking in London on 17th June – details here for those of you interested)

So if John’s theory is right, are purchasing departments shooting their organisations in the foot by forcing consultancies down a day-rates approach to pricing? Many consultancies would say they are…

Fixed Fee vs Day Rate billing

Given a fixed fee project a consultancy can deliver on the assignment as it sees fit and earn its profit by working smart and by creating a winning solution that turns the client into a lifetime customer. The consultancy is incentivised to achieve results quickly and cost-effectively, because it’s their margins that are eroded if they don’t.

What happens all too often in practice is that consultancies are engaged to provide a consulting team on a day-rate basis where there's additional profit to be made each day that the team remains on site. This creates an incentive for scope creep, where the boundaries of the agreed project are pushed further and further and cost overruns are passed onto the client.

In this kind of scenario, the essential challenge of completing an assignment on time and within budget is sidelined. The client 's interests are no longer aligned with those of the consultancy, pure and simple.

However where does this problem originate and are consultancies therefore really to blame? In my own experience, it is clients’ insistence on breaking proposals down into the component team members, their day rates and volume discounts that poisons the consultant-client relationship. Clients are scared of committing to a fixed budget - and therefore paying “excessively” for actual services delivered. The temptation to challenge the fee by breaking it down into its parts is just too much.

Oh for a world where consultants were paid an agreed amount for an agreed project deliverable and then left to run the project like the mini-business-venture that it is. Unfortunately the proliferation of purchasing departments and PSLs is driving the consulting industry further and further down the day-rates path – and away from this ideal. So the consultant-client relationship is increasingly poisoned and consultants take the rap, when actually we're on the receiving end of pushy purchasing departments. I kind of feel this is like the pot calling the kettle black!! Anyone out there agree with this sentiment or care to add additional thoughts?

Tony

Big firms cranking up recruitment drives

2005-05-26T08:05:00.000+01:00

I've met with several of the biggest brands in consulting this last week and I have to tell you the news is all good - for candidates that is. Without exception consultancies are all talking about the need to hit recruitment targets that - in their words - are "scarily high". The combination of growing client demand and worsening staff attrition has elevated recruitment (and retention) to being firms' number 1 priority for the remainder of 2005.

BT's new series of recruitment evenings for consultants in the early stages of their consulting careers is just the latest in a raft of company careers events that add to the perception that recruitment drives are being accelerated. Such events were commonplace during the dot-com boom, but being costly to organise they are something you tend to only see taking place when firms are pulling out all the stops to recruit. It's telling that Accenture, BT, Ernst & Young, IBM and PA Consulting have all invested in such events during the first half of 2005.

We'll be revealing details of our October Careers Fair in the next 10 days and the number of top brand consultancy firms attending is a further indication of the buoyancy of the market.

What's happening in your firm? Do post your anonymous comments below - would be great to share reader insights from as many firms as possible.

Tony

A.T. Kearney sale to go ahead

2005-05-16T12:32:00.000+01:00

The future of A.T. Kearney has been the subject of speculation for longer than I can remember. First ATK is essential to the future of EDS, then it's not...

... this weekend though it's looking more likely than ever that A.T. Kearney will be sold by EDS for several hundred million $s, following an interview between EDS CEO Michael Jordan and Reuters in which Jordan confirmed plans to sell the ATK business later this year - and through a sale of the business to the firm's senior executives rather than to a competitor. For the full story see Reuters

Anyone know of any reason this wouldn't go through this year?

Tony

Independent knifes consulting industry

2005-05-09T13:18:00.000+01:00

I do believe I've just read the most shamefully one-sided article ever to be written about the consulting industry. The offending publication is The Independent and the article is entitled "Think outside the box: don't waste money on advisers"

The piece goes to great lengths to characterise consultants as dishonest individuals who charge outrageous amounts for their advice and singularly fail to deliver any value to their clients. We aren't quite referred to as criminals, but certainly our business activities and ethics are portrayed as being the lowest of the low. Reputable names like McKinsey, Accenture & Capgemini are all dragged through the mud and I struggled to find a single positive comment about the profession anywhere in the article.

I've nothing against consulting projects and firms being put under the spotlight when they fail to deliver - but surely a reputable publication like The Independent should at least be putting forward both sides of the argument??!

I hope plenty of you read this article and are outraged by the slander to your professional integrity. Then next time you are deciding where to spend your advertising budget, be sure to have this piece fresh in your mind.

In the meantime, keep busting a gut for your clients - mostly they will appreciate your efforts and initiative, despite The Independent's best efforts to demean what it is you do

Tony

Old boy network meets its match!

2005-05-09T09:56:00.000+01:00

Ask any Partner at a consulting firm how important their network is and chances are you'll find it's an integral tool in how they go about winning new work. Small wonder so much is written about the importance of the "Old Boy Network" then!

So hats off to the Management Consultancies Association for organising a Young MCA networking group. I was invited to the launch event last week, kindly hosted by BT Consulting and Systems Integration at the magnificent BT Tower in London, with the guest speaker sponsored by Atos Consulting.

And what an event it was!

~100 young consultants were there from many of the World's leading firms including the likes of Accenture, Atos Consulting, BT, Deloitte, etc. During an excellent opening presentation we learnt how to "work a room", a skill seen as critical for all aspiring Partners. We learnt the importance of icebreakers, elevator pitches and how to extricate oneself from a dead-end conversation!

All valuable skills which we then got to put into practice during a networking / drinks session atop the BT Tower. A truly excellent initiative and can I say thanks to all those readers that came and sought me out during the evening. Very uplifting!

There are a whole series of similar events planned during 2005 and these will be open to consultants from any of the MCA member firms (to check if your firm is a member see: http://www.mca.org.uk/MCA/Members/MemberList.aspx). The objective of the Young MCA group is "networking, sharing of knowledge and best practice, in a fun environment with a fundraising element where possible."

To find out more about joining the group and the forthcoming events planned simply contact Natalia Kay at the MCA: natalia.kay@mca.org.uk

Hope to see you at a future event! Tony

Bryan Hickson appointed Sales Director of Top-Consultant.com

2005-04-26T15:14:00.000+01:00

A great many of you will have met Bryan Hickson over the years. Bryan spent several years as a Management Consultancy recruitment specialist with recruitment agency BLT. Indeed, give or take, he was Top-Consultant's first ever client! During that time he helped hundreds of candidates to progress their careers in consulting and secure new consulting opportunities. So many of you will know Bryan either through the help he's provided in finding a consultancy job - or indeed the service he's provided you as a recruiter.

When the downturn bit, Bryan opted to study for an MBA and upon graduation I was delighted that Bryan approached me to see if we could use his talents here at Top-Consultant.com. Thankfully the market was picking up at the beginning of 2004 and so Bryan joined the team alongside me in a sales capacity. What a great hire he's proven to be and now - just a year on - we're delighted to reward Bryan with promotion to the role of Sales Director. All those of you that know Bryan please do send him a word of congratulations to bryan@top-consultant.com!

Business has doubled year-on-year and so the sales / account management team have been further strengthened in the last months with the additions of Dawn Fowler and Alfredo Herrera. Both Dawn and Alfredo are from the USA and hiring them is a sign of our commitment to grow the US jobs board and achieve the same success in the US market that we have here in the UK. Any clients out there wishing to find out about trialing our US jobs board please do email either dawn@top-consultant.com or alfredo@top-consultant.com. Dawn and Alfredo will also be working with Bryan and I to ensure our UK advertisers achieve the greatest possible success on our site as we all work to tackle the "War for Talent" that's brewing here in the UK market.

Anyway, I just wanted to publicly acknowledge the great jobs Bryan, Dawn & Alfredo are doing here at Top-Consultant. Moreover Imogen and I are expecting our first baby early in September and it's a huge relief to us to see what a great sales team we now have in place - and indeed what a great team we have managing all aspects of the business. So thanks all and congratulations again to Bryan

Tony

Accenture / Capgemini deal unveiled

2005-04-26T09:00:00.000+01:00

Interesting developments in the US this last week, with Accenture acquiring the North American Healthcare practice of Capgemini. Several hundred Capgemini consultants will overnight become Accenture consultants, a fact which has heartened the financial community... the fact that Accenture is happy to engage ex-Capgemini consultants is seen as a positive endorsement of CG's talent!

This is all part of Capgemini's new strategy which seems to focus on solidifying the french firm's position in key markets whilst pulling out of non-core markets. The sign of things to come in the consulting sector do you think - more M&A deals on the way? Do post your thoughts...

For further details of this deal, see Reuters coverage, Capgemini's press release & Accenture's press release

Tony

How can we help?

2005-04-20T17:10:00.000+01:00

I got an email this week that really made my day. Perhaps we could make your day too?

Here's the email. Take a read and then let's see how we can help you...

"A couple of months ago, I sent you an e-mail thanking you for your 'Top Consultant' course, which was an invaluable insight into the world of Consulting and which had come at an excellent time as I was interviewing with both Accenture and Deloitte and about to embark on the 'dreaded' Case Study Interview. This was very daunting for me, as I had never undertaken such an exercise during an interview before. However, with your advice from the course and after purchasing your guide to Case Study Interviews I felt much more prepared and not so frightened of the concept.

I am now extremely happy to inform you that I have secured a position with Accenture as a Senior Consultant working within their Human Performance Global Service Line. I do not believe I would have been so successful on the case study, had I not seen your guide prior to the meeting. In fact my interviewer at Accenture (a Senior Manager) told me it was "the best analysis of a case study" he had ever seen!!

So thank-you Tony for producing such an excellent course and for sharing your knowledge of the consultancy world with your readers. Please continue to share your updates and inform us of any courses which can assist in the career development of a Consultant - this is very much appreciated!!"

... Well you can imagine I was feeling pretty good about what I do for a living when this one came through! But it got me thinking what else could we offer on this site that would really make a difference to readers' career progression? And in a nutshell that's the purpose of this blog post. I'd like your opinion.

What does Top-Consultant not offer right now that you'd really like us to offer? What information about consulting would you like to see that we don't provide? What things frustrate you about progressing your consulting career that we might be able to help with?

Post your comments on this blog and I'll monitor these in the coming days as a source of inspiration for new resources we should develop for the site. Oh and if you've got any success stories to share about how the site has already helped you in your consulting career, do post those too!!

;-) Tony

IBM wobbles - but consulting still going strong

2005-04-15T09:58:00.000+01:00

It's been a shaky 24 hours for IBM as its latest quarterly results announcement came in below expectations. IBM's share price has taken quite a hit - and dragged down the likes of Capgemini with it. But the results were blamed on many factors, including weakness in economies in France, Germany, Italy and Japan and low growth in the non-consulting business lines.

However, every cloud has its silver lining. For you and I at least. You see the consulting business continued to grow at 6% and more importantly the pipeline of Q2 Global Services deals is up considerably - meaning consulting at least should continue to thrive.

So when you see doom & gloom stories about IBM in the coming days - of which there are bound to be many - do remember that this is one giant company and that the consulting business is doing just fine.

For further coverage, take a look at CBS, Bloomberg or ZDNet

Tony

Recruiters flock to Management Consultancy careers fair

2005-04-13T08:30:00.000+01:00

I gave you a heads-up a few weeks back that we would be organising the LARGEST CAREERS FAIR for Management Consultants ever to take place in London. Well it's too early for candidates to book their places - but do make sure you etch Friday 7th October irremovably into your diary (OK, so don't go pressing your PalmPilot screens too hard!). We'll be announcing registration details here soon, but for right now we're concentrating on registering recruiters to attend so that the lineup is as varied and comprehensive as possible...

On which note I can only say that recruiters are flocking to attend - so much so it's turning into a stampede! Brochures are going out to all our clients right now and I can tell you that within hours of receiving these firms are calling us back to find out more or reserve a place.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is this is going to be a massive event and if you are at all serious about jobs in consulting you need to set 7th October aside and ensure you will be in London (at Olympia) that day.

Hope to see you then - and anyone wanting a brochure that hasn't yet received a copy can email my colleague Bryan Hickson on bryan@top-consultant.com

Tony

Is it more pay or something else that you want from your employer?

2005-04-10T17:56:00.000+01:00

A blog I posted here in February 05 revealed just how seriously consultancies were taking the issue of retention and improving the work/ life balance as a means of improving retention rates. We got some fascinating insights from consultants who've now got it so good with their current employer that they wouldn't dream of moving (more on this before the end of this post)

But now things have gone further and consulting recruiters have asked Top-Consultant to conduct an anonymous poll to discover what steps they could take that would really motivate you to stay working for their firm (rather than choosing to leave). If you haven't taken part yet, do take 2 minutes to complete the survey by clicking the link below. We'll report back on the findings here in a couple of weeks - but so far the initial results look REALLY interesting!...

Click to take part in survey now!

Thanks to everyone for taking part and making this survey really insightful - and for those of you who missed the original post and all the comments from consultants about the great work/ life balances they are enjoying (yes it is achievable!!!) then click here now

Tony

Infosys gets global recognition

2005-04-05T08:21:00.000+01:00

One of the most imposing consulting trends of this decade must surely be the rise of the Indian competitors. Firms such as Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Infosys have risen to become recognised brands in our market. Now the global financial community has had its say... and it seems there's great belief in the business models and future of these firms amongst financiers too...

You see Infosys this week attained an international credit rating of BBB from Standard & Poor's, the first firm in India to get a higher-than-sovereign rating according to S&P (see The Telegraph India and Reuters for details). How much stronger an endorsement could you possibly want? And more importantly, are these firms lining themselves up with the credit needed to launch an acquisition bid either in Europe or the US? Any readers got any insights or views? Do post them as comments below... Tony

3,000 candidates to attend UK's largest-ever management consultancy careers fair

2005-03-30T13:30:00.000+01:00

Picture this if you will (and in case you can't tell, I'm pretty excited to be sharing this news with you!)...

It's October 7th and you've just entered London's Olympia and the place is swarming with thousands of candidates all eager to secure a new career in consulting... and all around you are consulting recruiters from 50 firms - all with immediate requirements to hire new staff and a team of representatives for you to meet.

What I'm describing here is the largest management consultancy careers fair ever to take place in London (to our knowledge in any case) - and you've guessed it, we've taken the plunge and are organising it!

Date - Friday 7th October 2005
Location - Olympia Conference Centre (Earl's Court), London

We'll be sending recruiters further details of this event in the coming fortnight, the brochure's just being finalised and then will be sent to recruiters and recruitment consultants at all the major firms. Candidates will be able to register to attend from late April and we've made provisions to be able to accommodate 3,000 candidates on the day. That may sound a lot, but it means we have space for less than 1% of our readers so you will need to reserve your place early to guarantee your attendance.

- How can I find out more? -

Watch this space - all will be announced here in due course! Given the limited space for both recruiters and candidates, for now I just wanted our blog readers to be the first to know about this.

Hope to see you there in a few months' time.

Tony

NPfIT contracts to be snatched from consultancies?

2005-03-23T14:53:00.000Z

Comments made by Richard Granger at a healthcare computing conference this week have sparked furious media speculation that the multi-£billion contracts won by consulting firms last year could be in danger of being awarded to new providers if performance targets are not met.

This may all be play-acting to scare providers into redoubling their efforts. It would undoubtedly be a minefield to try and negotiate the handover of contracts to new providers - to say nothing of the political fallout that would result from admitting there's been another failed public sector consulting project...

Is this a bluff or for real? Any NPfIT consultants out there care to comment?...

Tony
PS you'll find a selection of the media coverage at: Ovum, E-Health Insider and The Register

Merger of Siemens Business Services and Atos Origin on the cards?

2005-03-16T07:30:00.000Z

There's been considerable media coverage these last 2 weeks regarding a possible merger of the IT services arm of Siemens (Siemens Business Services) with French rival Atos Origin. German investment bank Sal. Oppenheim issued a research note claiming that Siemens is in advanced negotiations with Atos Origin. The CEO of Siemens remarked on a conference call that all strategic options for the future of the SBS unit are being considered, whilst Atos Origin have refused to comment on the market speculation - both of which are adding fuel to the flames. Analysts believe there is merit in the deal as Atos Origin currently has only a modest presence in the German market but strategically is looking to expand in Benelux, the U.K. and Germany. Here are some examples of the recent media coverage:
Datamonitor
interactive investor
Dow Jones Newswires

Any readers got any insights re. what's happening? Do post your comments below...

Tony

Could you make £ millions with your consulting skills?

2005-03-14T09:57:00.000Z

Taking your consulting skills and using them to become a self-made millionaire. Is it possible... and could you be the next to do it? Have you got what it takes - or indeed can such skills be learnt?

The exciting answer to all these questions is "Yes" - that's to say most readers of this blog really can aspire to running their own successful business, within a matter of just months if you really apply yourself.

Very rarely do I bother to read any "get rich quick" schemes. Most are scams or worthless or both. But when one of our readers sent us a copy of a new millionaire course he had been working on, it seemed only courteous to take a listen - and how glad I am now that I did!

The course is based on personal insights from 25 highly successful entrepreneurs who have launched businesses from scratch - many on a shoestring budget - through sheer dedication and determination. They include the founders of First Tuesday, Cobra Beer, Yo! Sushi and Ecademy.com - and amongst them are ex-consultants from firms like Bain and Ernst & Young. So you see consultants can and do make the transition from consulting to successful entrepreneur.

As an entrepreneur myself, what really impressed me was that so many of the insights in the course are things we have had to learn the hard way in our business - so if we'd learnt these lessons through a course like this a few years ago... well that would have had a tremendous impact on our business.

If you've any aspirations to work for yourself running a successful business then do take a few minutes to check this out. We've agreed a £100 discount for all Top-Consultant readers, so the cost should be no obstacle (when you click the "Buy" button the discount will be automatically applied). To find out more, click here now - I think you'll agree this is time and money well spent.

Regards, Tony

15% growth for PA Consulting

2005-03-08T12:51:00.000Z

PA Consulting Group have revealed they plan to grow the consulting business by 15% this year at a time when the domestic UK market has embarked on a new period of robust growth that has seen many leading firms ramp up their recruitment efforts quite considerably.

As part of the strategy a new recruitment drive has just been launched with a series of three careers evenings planned for April 2005 (click for details). Targetting those with IT Strategy, IT Management, IT Infrastructure of IS Implementation expertise, these events will broaden the appeal of PA Consulting by allowing candidates to meet the team before actually deciding whether to apply to the firm or not.

In a tighter candidate market I can't help thinking such strategies will become crucial. If job adverts only reach candidates who want to work for a particular firm, consultancies need to find a way to engage candidates who are interested in their firm but not yet persuaded to apply. Exhibiting at careers fairs and running dedicated careers evenings allows firms to convert interest into applications and as the War for Talent becomes more acute I foresee these approaches becoming more and more critical.

Any current jobseekers out there have a view on this? Could you be won over by a firm you hadn't considered applying to if you met their team and were persuaded they could take your career in the right direction? Do post your thoughts below, would be interested in the feedback...

Tony

US market picking up

2005-03-04T14:03:00.000Z

It's heartening to see that the consulting boom that's taken hold in the UK market is also now being felt in the States. An interesting commentary in CareerJournal (part of the Wall Street Journal) details the uptick in both the consulting market and the implications for recruitment in the US market. Makes for pretty encouraging reading (details here)

In the rebounding US market high-level rainmakers can apparently now expect to command a base salary of up to $1 million, whilst M.B.A.s are once again seeing pay offers in excess of $100,000. This upwards pay spiral is mirroring what we've seen in the UK market where recruitment picked up some 12+ months ago. Any US readers out there able to provide anecdotal evidence about the improving hiring market in the States? Do please post your comments below.

Tony

A.T. Kearney for sale?

2005-03-01T16:48:00.000Z

There's been much speculation in the press these last days that Partners at A.T. Kearney could be presented with the option of orchestrating a management buyout of the consulting business from parent EDS. I always feared ATK would struggle once subsumed by EDS and would love to see the business reinvigorated by a return to some form of Partnership model. Can you see this happening or is it all just a lot of smoke to please the markets?

(For more details click for write-ups in the Computer Business Review, Interactive Investor and Dallas Business Journal)

Tony

US cross-cultural training providers

2005-02-28T19:19:00.000Z

Who are the consultancies in the U.S. that provide cross-cultural training and coaching, especially for India and China?

Consulting in France

2005-02-28T18:04:00.000Z

Bryan from Top-Consultant. Just seen another anonymous request for a thread. This time we've been asked for comments on market trends in France:

"I'd be interested to see a thread on the consulting market evolutions in France : trends in market size by segment (strategy/organization/IT/HR, etc.), by type of clients (big corporations, middle market, public clients), trends in recruiting, etc."

Can anyone help?

Consulting in the Middle East

2005-02-28T18:00:00.000Z

Hi again - Bryan from Top-Consultant. I was just browsing through the blog (it's been a long and busy day once again) when I saw this request for a thread:

"I would like to know some details regarding Consulting business in Middle East and Saudi Arabia. Who are are the key players and what type of talent they look ? Any suggestions for the companies / recruiters currently hiring from North America for the assignments in Middle East or Saudi Arabia."

In response to this anonymous posting, I'd suggest she/he has a look at Serco Middle East - who've recently been running a campaign on the site. Good luck!

BPM thread

2005-02-28T17:48:00.000Z

Hi everyone - Bryan here from Top-Consultant. Stephen Hamilton has suggested we start a thread on BPM..:

"I would like to see a thread on the different points of view related to BPM. Many of the industry analysts only look at BPM from the IT perspective, while not mentioning the Business perspective. The client market is more and more confused from all of the Software hype. Many do not realize the steps they must undertake as an enterprise prior to deploying a BPM technology solution."

What are your thoughts?

Capgemini expects strong growth rebound in 2005

2005-02-24T15:30:00.000Z

Capgemini have just released their latest results and the picture looks encouraging. The second half of 2004 represented a considerable strengthening over the first half of 2004 - and revenue growth of 10% is being predicted for 2005. Retention rates have deteriorated a little, so this should point to quite a few career opportunities for Top-Consultant readers in the coming months. There's a video interview with CEO Paul Hermelin on Capgemini's site, discussing these results and the prospects for the next 12 months. Click here to view the webcast interview with CEO Paul Hermelin

Tony

Work / life balance the new key to keeping consultants happy?

2005-02-22T10:45:00.000Z

Yesterday's careers event for consulting candidates was fascinating for all sorts of reasons. 13 major consulting brands were there and that gave us some great insights into the changing dynamics of recruiting & retaining consultants.

The biggest thing that struck me though was the focus on getting the work-life balance issue right. Just about every firm present stressed the initiatives they were working on to improve the consultancy lifestyle. And I really think the firms were being genuine...

... every one of them recognised that consulting is consulting and that the client is king. So consulting is always going to be tough and there was no attempt to hide this. But there was also an acknowledgement that graduates leaving University are now much more concerned about having a good quality of life than they were 10 years' ago. And that encouraging women back into consulting after a career break is a key strategy for addressing the current skills shortage.

Encouraging working from home, installing broadband, stressing to clients that consultants might only be on site 3 days a week... these were just some of the many initiatives the firms are putting into place to make the consulting lifestyle more palatable.

I think most agreed they hadn't done everything they could do and that they're constantly on the look-out for new initiatives to improve things further.

Any readers got any examples of great policies that are in place at your firm? Things that really make a difference and make the harder sides of the career more bearable? Please do post your contribution using the link below... Tony

Consulting Times launches tomorrow!

2005-02-17T08:01:00.000Z

Post updated 18th Feb. The first edition is now available at:
http://www.consulting-times.com/currentedition/1.aspx

********

Be sure to check your inbox on Friday 18th Feb. This is the launch date for our new monthly consulting magazine Consulting Times, which will be distributed free to all Top-Consultant subscribers.

This launch edition features a couple of exclusives including "the 20 fastest growing consulting firms" plus the fascinating results of our bonus & salary survey (over 1,500 consultants polled from firms like McKinsey, BCG & Bain; Accenture, Capgemini & Deloitte).

With the demise of paper-based consulting magazines during the last recession, we've had a lot of feedback from readers that the industry would benefit from a new monthly publication. Our aim is to quickly grow the readership of this publication to over 200,000 professionals. Future editions will be available in PDF and potentially also distributed in paper copy via the post.

Hope you like the new publication! Tony

Scottish consulting market booming

2005-02-15T14:19:00.000Z

A post today in Edinburgh's Evening News makes for encouraging reading for those UK consultants with aspirations of pursuing a consulting career outside of London. In a detailed commentary on Accenture's scottish business, the paper looks at the growth story of Accenture's Edinburgh office - established just last year to complement the Aberdeen office and service Edinburgh's increasingly important FS market with consultants based in the city itself (rather than parachuting consultants in from other offices, as presumably had been the norm prior to that).

Could we be seeing a growing regional market for consulting in the UK? If your firm is also expanding in the UK regions, do post a comment here - would be interesting to see how widespread a trend this is... Tony

US Strategy Consulting - why are so many firms looking for strategists?

2005-02-14T13:35:00.000Z

Hi there - Bryan here from Top-Consultant.

I was approached by a journalist from 'Time' last week who was researching a piece on the state of the US strategy consulting market. He was particularly interested in why there's been such an upswing in recruitment activity for strategy consultants by firms that 2 or 3 years ago we would not have thought of as being interested in recruiting in this area.

I suggested that many consultancy clients see some consulting services, IT for instance, as increasingly commoditised, and consultancy firms selling these services have taken to focussing not on killer applications but killer service. IT houses have taken to trading upwards and are effectively giving away strategy services on the back of larger IT project wins.

Is this your reading of what's happening? Is this sustainable? How are the strat-houses countering?

Dell Launches New Recruitment Campaign Targetting Consultants

2005-02-14T11:55:00.000Z

Hi everyone!
My name is Dawn and I work at www.Top-Consultant.com making sure we have the positions you are looking for and do I have some great ones to tell you about now!

Dell (yes that Dell!) just posted roles targetting consultants and we are really excited about this as they have never been on our site before.

Check them out with this link and see if they are up your alley:
http://www.top-consultant.com/UK/career/appointments.asp?firm=dell

My best,
Dawn

Upturn in global consulting market predicted

2005-02-14T08:36:00.000Z

Came across an interesting report this morning - Kennedy Information's "The Global Consulting Marketplace 2004-2006: Key Data, Trends & Forecasts". Here in the UK we've seen the consulting market rebound for 18 months or more - and particularly so these last 9 months. But this report sheds light on the global picture.

Kennedy's report suggests industry growth will run at 5% through til the end of 2006, a healthy improvement on the stagnant growth of recent years. The 3 fastest-growing areas for consulting are predicted to be healthcare(1), public sector(2) and financial services consulting(3) - which together with Retail and Comms / Media will make up the 5 largest market segments during the period.

Any readers with a view on how their country's consulting market is recovering, please post your comments on this blog...

Salary / Bonus survey results to be published

2005-02-10T18:13:00.000Z

A quick heads-up for those of you who've been asking when we would be publishing our latest salary / bonus survey analysis. We've been number-crunching and there are some pretty interesting figures have emerged. All will be revealed in the first-edition of our new publication Consulting Times due out next week (all newsletter subscribers will get a copy). Tony

Confirmation of Accenture careers events

2005-02-10T16:50:00.000Z

OK I promised you an alert as soon as details of the Accenture London careers events were confirmed. There are two confirmed dates and we've been asked to extend an invitation to our readers, so here goes:

1) For women only, on 7th March. Details at:
http://www.top-consultant.com/accenture_womens_event.asp

2) For all experienced hires, quite a spectacular event this one - on board the London Eye and at the London Aquarium! Details at:
http://www.top-consultant.com/UK/career/appointmentstwo.asp?ID=9422

** The market's pretty buoyant **

Have to say all the enquiries we've been getting from consultancies about helping them organise careers events, run more extensive recruitment campaigns and the like... seems like a pretty strong sign things are back to the boom days again - at least as far as hiring is concerned. Long may it continue and hope you all benefit! ;-) Tony

Accenture - forthcoming London events

2005-02-08T17:08:00.000Z

I've just heard Accenture has some really exciting London events coming up in March. Just as soon as we've got the full scoop you'll be the first to know - check back here later this week for full details. Tony

What topics & content would you like to see added to our Management Consultants' Blog?

2005-02-08T09:55:00.000Z

Good morning. www.Top-Consultant.com broke through the quarter of a million readers mark this last month. Having reached this milestone we are launching this Management Consultants' Blog to provide running commentary on issues relevant to consultants - and to allow our readers to respond and contribute in turn.

Any ideas or comments on topics you would like us to cover would be much appreciated - please post your comments below.

Regards, Tony Restell