| | By Bryan Hickson
The seventh annual
Management Consultancy
Recruitment Channel
Report has revealed
that far from ducking
their heads under the
parapet in the face of
market uncertainties,
more consultants are
planning to change jobs
this year than did last
year.(please see graph
below)
More than 1,150
responses were received
this year to the
candidate survey from
consultants at all the
major consulting firms
and niche consulting
firms, as well as from
candidates looking to
make a move into
consulting from
industry. Complemented
by responses to a
separate consultancy
recruiters’ survey, the
full report details the
trends, changes and
challenges faced by
candidates and
recruiters in the UK
management consultancy
market.
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In what is
undoubtedly a tougher
recruiting climate
following several months
of uncertainty and
fallout from the global
credit crunch, the
report reveals much more
optimism and drive for
growth than expected.
What was also unexpected
was the appetite among
consultants to venture
out into the recruitment
market.
A staggering 64% of
the 1,150 candidate
respondents reported
that they were either
more or much more likely
to change jobs in 2008
than in 2007 – and 2007
was widely recognised as
an exceptionally buoyant
recruitment year. Of
course, looking at this
another way, candidate
intentions suggest that
staff attrition will
actually worsen over the
coming year and,
interestingly, this puts
candidates at odds with
recruiters on the
matter.
Recruiters, and over | |
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| | 150 responded to the
survey this year,
indicated that their
expectation is that the
staff attrition problem
will ease slightly
overall in 2008. 38% of
them expect attrition
rates to improve while
only 26% expect rates to
worsen. Only time will
tell whose view is most
accurate, of course, but
there is no doubt that
retention will continue
to be a key challenge
for consulting firms
through the next 12
months.
Candidates and
recruiters do agree,
however, on the most
popular destination for
consultants leaving
their firms – another
consulting firm.
Recruiters were asked
where consultants were
moving on to when they
left their firms this
year and the industry
can take some comfort at
least from the fact that
the majority intend to
remain within
consulting. Looking at | |
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| | the rest of the data and
comparing it with last
year’s, there is an
increase in the
attraction to
consultants of moving
into industry and,
perhaps unsurprisingly
given the credit crunch,
a job in the City is
less attractive to
consultants – until
recently it was a
popular destination for
consultants looking to
hang up their laptops
and improve their
remuneration. These
recruiter findings are
accurately corroborated
by the candidate poll
results.
“We shall see a lot
of poaching from other
consultancies again this
year,” says Bryan
Hickson, sales director
of Top-Consultant.com
and author of the
report. “The report also
separately shows that
the appeal to recruiters
of experienced hires has
increased while at the
same time the appeal of
university leavers and | |
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| | MBA finalists has
fallen. We may see an
increased willingness
among consultancies to
bring in talent from
outside the industry as
the supply of
experienced consultants
fails to meet demand but
poaching will remain the
most likely source of
hires in 2008.”
2008 Recruitment
Channel Report – your
copy
This year’s report is
crammed with trend data
and the latest
statistics concerning
recruitment and
retention within the
consulting sector.
Recruiters wishing to
receive a complimentary
copy of the full report
should email their
contact details to Bryan
Hickson at
bryan@top-consultant.com
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