| Consulting firms turn away work because of top talent shortage |
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| | A new report by
consulting industry
watcher
Sourceforconsulting.com
has found that a
shortage of senior
management consultants
in the UK, combined with
an increasing demand
from clients for more
senior skills, is
forcing a third of
consulting firms to turn
away work.
The report, named
The balancing act:
trends in consulting
firm recruitment and
sponsored by Mindbench,
surveyed 60 management
consulting firms, which
is equivalent to around
50% of the UK’s
consulting market.
At the same time,
more than half of
consulting firms have
recovered from the staff
losses they suffered as
a result of the
recession, with the
financial services
sector seeing
significant increases in
the number of
consultants. The report
says that this growth in
headcount has happened
relatively recently,
fuelled by a growing
expectation that the
worst of the downturn is
over and that clients
are starting to spend
again. The recruitment
demand is at its
strongest at senior
levels.
Taking a closer look
at the financial
services sector, almost
three quarters (72%) of
consulting firms
increased the number of
consultants in their
financial services
practice; nearly half by
more than 20%. Over the
next six months nearly | |
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| | all firms (92%) expect
to increase headcount in
this area, and
two-thirds of those
expect to do so by more
than 20%.
Ed Haigh, head of
content and marketing at
Sourceforconsulting.com,
commented: “The
increasing shift towards
recruiting the best
senior people isn’t just
a sign that consulting
firms are trying to
recoup recent losses as
a result of the
recession, but it
reflects clients’
increasing desire to
work with – and
willingness to pay for –
more experienced people,
rather than junior
consultants. This has
the potential to change
both the structure of
many firms and the basis
of competition.”
Public sector –
firms expect consultant
numbers to rise?
Surprisingly, over
half (54 %) of firms
expect the number of
consultants in their
public sector practice
to grow. Given that the
talk in central
government departments
is of a moratorium,
rather than a mere
reduction in consulting
spend, the report says
that this may surprise
many people.
The report says that
there may be three
possible explanations
for this predicted rise
in public sector
consultants:
• Consulting firms
are simply in denial
about the scale of
cutbacks in the public
sector.
• There will still be | |
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| | areas of the public
sector that are spending
on consulting services.
This holds some water:
as a previous Source
report on the current
state of management
consulting in the public
sector found that not
all public sector
organisations will cut
back to the extent
central government
departments have.
Health, where the GP
commissioning initiative
is being rolled out, is
a notable case in
point.
• Demand for some
firms is expected to be
relatively strong. Big
Four firms, mid-sized
operational firms, and
some small specialists
top the list.
Operational
performance experts in
demand
Nearly six in every
10 firms say they’ve
increased the number of
operational performance
consultants over the
last six months and an
even greater proportion
– about eight in every
10 firms – say they
expect to do so in the
next six months.
Richard Stewart,
founder of Mindbench,
sponsor of the report,
concluded: “The best
people have always been
the hardest to find, but
when finding them
becomes a commercial
imperative – one linked
to the very model which
firms operate – then
it’s vital that HR
directors have a
coherent strategy in
place to turn challenge
into opportunity.” | |
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