| | By Mick James
Anyone trying to grow
a consultancy in these
straitened times will
tell you the importance
of having a strong
employer brand. It’s no
longer possible or
desirable to simply wave
a chequebook at the
market, and candidates
are in any case more
discerning than that
these days, asking
penetrating questions
about culture, career
progression and company
ethics.
So for a consultancy
to be named “Best Place
to Work in the UK” (by
the Great Place to Work
Institute no less) is
quite an achievement.
Even more so when you
learn that the winner is
not a global Big Four
consultancy with legions
of HR people but a
smallish, niche
consultancy with its
roots in the wholesale
energy and utilities
sectors.
Baringa Partners has
been successfully
growing at 25%-30% per
annum for the last seven
years, a big task but
one that has been made
considerably easier by
the company’s remarkably
low churn rate of 3%.
David Edwards, a
partner in Baringa’s
energy practice, puts
this down to a strong
focus on culture coupled
with a highly selective
recruitment process:
“We’re a pure
meritocracy; we’re not a
company who will hold
people back just because
the economy suffers a
downturn,” he says.
“People come to us and
say ‘I know I’m in the
top percentile at my
firm but there’s a
freeze on promotion’.”
However, that person
will also need to fit
the company profile:
“People may have been
exceptional in the
company they worked for
and can tick every other
box but it is important
that we feel that they
will thrive in the
culture we have created
at Baringa and that they
have a strong desire to | |
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| | contribute to all
aspects of the company’s
future growth,” he
says.
Baringa traces its
roots to a US
consultancy called the
Structure Group, which
grew up in the late
1990s on the back of
energy deregulation and
naturally saw
opportunities in Europe.
However, the two arms of
the company began to
diverge over time, with
the US firm based
strongly around a
software product, while
the European firm became
more of a pure business
and IT change
consultancy. The two
partnerships completed
their formal separation
in 2009 with the
rebranding of the
European firm as Baringa
Partners.
Now the firm
specialises in energy
and utilities and over
the past couple of years
has also grown a
successful financial
services division
focused on retail
banking, insurance and
capital markets.
“As a company that
focuses on domain
expertise, it was a big
step to add another
vertical,” explains
Edwards. “But we felt
financial services was a
fairly organic step-out.
For example, there’s a
clear overlap from
trading energy into
other commodities and
capital markets. It’s
been very successful and
we haven’t diluted our
brand with existing
clients. On the contrary
– they appreciate the
cross-industry
perspective.”
Baringa may look in
the future for other
industry areas –
resources, chemicals or
telecoms are
possibilities – which
follow the same logic
and fit with the brand.
The model for expansion
will be the same as into
financial services –
recruiting a lead
partner to grow the
practice combined with
strong support and
integration with the
existing business. | |
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| | Similarly, the firm is
looking for a lead
partner to grow an
office in Germany to
serve their clients in
the region.
“We’ve also made a
move into delivery
excellence and have
brought in a partner to
build a strong
horizontal around
programme and project
management,” says
Edwards.
Other areas of
development include
broadening the scope of
the consultancy, adding
both strategy and
business advisory
capability and post
implementation support
services.
When not bringing in
specific outside
expertise, the firm will
be actively looking to
promote partners from
within and it has
created two partners in
the last 18 months.
Edwards recognises
that at 150 fee earners,
Baringa has reached one
of those inflection
points where maintaining
growth and preserving
the company culture
becomes a challenge.
Nonetheless, he believes
the company is building
a strong infrastructure
and platform for growth,
which will sustain it
for at least the next
three to five years:
“As we get bigger, it
will become more of a
challenge and we will
have to be more
innovative about how we
organise,” says Edwards.
“We may have to break
down the business to
more manageable chunks
so we can maintain the
same sense of ownership
and individuality.”
At the moment Baringa
is the proud owner of
the Best Place to Work
Award, and as the
company pushes ahead
with growth, Edwards
confirms that the award
really is helping with
recruitment – a reminder
to all consultancies of
the importance of
delivering to
consultants as well as
to clients. | |
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