The balancing act: trends in consulting firm recruitment
Invitation to free breakfast seminar to launch HR research findings – Tuesday 14th December 2010
HR departments in consulting firms are no strangers to tough decisions: theirs is the unenviable task of balancing supply with demand. Doing so successfully requires them to be able to read the market and stay one step ahead of it – recruiting before an upturn and reacting quickly and proportionately to signs of a downturn. If that can be a tricky business in benign market conditions then it’s likely to feel downright scary at the moment, yet our research suggests a broad consensus amongst firms that now is the time to recruit: 57% expect to increase the number of consultants employed by their firm in the next six months, and many expect to do so by more than 20%. Time will tell whether that’s as prescient as it’s bold, or whether firms are fundamentally misreading the market.
But while HR’s balancing act has been brought into sharper focus by economic uncertainty, the act itself has been running for as long as professional services firms have existed. What’s arguably of greater significance is the detail behind the general trends. It’s by looking at who firms are recruiting, and for what, that the interesting stories emerge. What they contain is evidence of change, both to the services clients are demanding from consulting firms and to something more fundamental: the consulting firm business model itself.
Our event on 14th December celebrates the launch of a new report into recruitment in the consulting industry. It offers an opportunity to get the very latest information about who firms are hiring by grade, service and sector, and to hear first hand from our analysts Fiona Czerniawska (Source co-founder and leading industry commentator) and Edward Haigh (author of the report) about what the research means for you.
About the research
Source carried out a survey into HR trends in consulting firms in October 2010, surveying 70 HR managers, partners and consultants in the UK’s leading consulting firms (60% of responses came from organisations with more than 50 consultants; 20% with more than 1000 consultants). Survey respondents will receive a printed copy of our report at the event.
Event details
Venue: Charlotte Street Hotel, London,W1T 1RJ
Date: Tuesday 14th December, 8-10am (breakfast will be served)
Cost: Free of charge, with thanks to our sponsors, Mindbench
Who can attend?: Individuals responsible for HR matters in management consulting firms (either HR managers or consultants)
RSVP: Please confirm your attendance by email to Julie Cleasby or phone 0845 293 0992 by Friday 26th November
We would like thank Mindbench, the award-winning management consultancy recruitment firm, for sponsoring this research and event.