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The graduate
programme will also
hopefully smooth out a
recruitment issue at
more senior levels,
which saw PwC needing to
find over 90 experienced
hires in three years’
time.
“Would we have been
able to do that?” asks
Unwin. “What happens to
your culture if you
bring that number of
people in?”
While the firm will
continue to target
individuals and teams
from outside as before,
Unwin believes the
increased number of
“home-grown” people will
give the firm greater
consistency.
“It’s as much about
the type of firm we
are,” he says. “Yes,
it’s a big business, but
it has to have a feel
about it that makes
people comfortable, that
makes them want to work
there.”
This will crucially
depend on the behaviour
of senior people.
“If our people are
just treated as
delivering revenue to
partners, then it won’t | |
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| | work,” he says. “But if
we get behaviour right,
particularly at the
partner level, then we
can handle growth.”
Unwin is also keen to
stress that growth is
not an end in itself.
“The reason this
profession grew was
because it was very
sales-driven; people
never thought of saying
no to a client,” he
says. “You’ve got to be
brave enough to say no
to clients, to say there
are others better than
us in some things.”
Unwin is very clear
that there will be a
major consolidation in
the consulting market,
particularly at the
lower level. While this
will largely be to the
benefit of the larger
firms, they will need to
keep their discipline
and focus.
“There will be fewer,
broader-based
consultancies, but
people will place bets
in different sectors,”
he says. “There are
three or four main areas
where we think we can
add value: for example,
the high-level
management of cost. But
in any sector you are in
there will be a flavour
– for example, in
financial services cost | |
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| | might involve
back-office
consolidation, while in
another industry it
might be different.”
Unwin believes that
the key to the success
of his plan will rest on
four factors. “First, we
need to make sure we
don’t take our eyes off
the market, and
secondly, we need to get
the organisation to
think through all the
things that will go into
the future consultancy
model,” he says. “Then
we need to create
broader leadership group
– we need all directors
and partners to be
leaders as well.”
Finally, Unwin
believes it comes down
to confidence. “We need
to show that we are
confident people, that
we are people who go to
market together, and
that we are very clear
both about what we are
taking to market and
which clients we are
taking it to,” he says.
The short message is
that in a tight market
PwC is in a bullish mood
– worrying for the
competition perhaps, but
a very positive note for
the industry.
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