Recharging for the New Year

A short post to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and enjoyable break from work.

Conversations with Consultants, FTSE clients, HR managers and recruitment agencies alike all seem to point to 2006 being a very hectic year for those of us working in the consulting industry. So do have a great break and come back in the New Year fully recharged and ready for a really busy year and sky-high utilisation rates!

Season's Greetings, Tony

PA Consulting vs. McKinsey vs. Bain ??

There's an interesting read on Ovum.com this week, analysing the strengths and positioning of PA Consulting Group. Not sure I agree with the bit about PA Consulting being up against McKinsey and Bain, I'd have thought there are other consulting firms they come up against much more often. But a good read nonetheless for anyone interested in PA...

Article link
Latest job openings at PA Consulting

Tony

Consultants - act now while the odds are stacked in your favour!

I was invited to join ~40 HR Directors and HR Managers from the world's top management consultancy firms last week, to review what's happening in the consultancy recruitment market. The conclusion reached was quite stark:

There's a shortage of good consulting candidates - relative to the huge recruitment targets that the firms are now trying to hit

The implications for candidates are clear - you are more in demand now than you have been at any time in the last 5 years and the competition for consulting jobs is lower because of a shortage of applicants. The conclusion - from the candidates' perspective - is that now is the time to start applying for consulting jobs while the odds are stacked in your favour. If you'd like to review the latest consulting jobs click here now.

Of course there are pockets of consulting that aren't doing so well, so there will be some candidates struggling to find work still. But for those whose skills are in demand (and particularly those wanting a role in the UK) there has not been a better time to be looking for work in a long long while. So strike now while the iron is hot!

Tony

Incommunicado because...

Hi all. Sorry for the long gap in posting to our Blog. This is a reflection of how incredibly busy the consulting market - and the consulting recruitment market - are right now.

Things picked up again a good while back, but now there's an added factor in the mix...

... consultancies (and banks) have been lavishing pay rises on their staff, countering job offers employees have received from competitors and talking up the year-end bonus prospects. This means people are less likely to move jobs now than they were 6 months ago - when a move was seen as the best way of securing a promotion / rise. Which means recruiters are having to work harder just to generate the same volumes of applicants as before.

So recruiters need to hit ever more aggressive recruitment targets to meet client demand; yet at the same time they're having to work harder - and spend more - just to generate the same volume of applicants as before. The pendulum has certainly swung now such that we are in a full-blown candidates' market.

Which in a round-about way explains why I've been so quiet on the blog. We've just been blown away with client demand these last weeks - which if you're a candidate looking for a consulting job right now is great news indeed.

PLEASE NOTE: that doesn't mean everyone reading this site can just walk into a consulting job. The entry hurdles for consulting are still incredibly high - in fact that's one contributor to the recruitment problem the industry is currently facing. If you are not an exact match for what a firm and their clients are looking for, it's still going to be tough to secure a role. But for strong candidates the opportunities out there and the range of organisations currently hiring has not been better anytime in the last 5 years.

Long may it continue! Tony

Latest hiring trends revealed

Apologies for the lack of postings the last couple of weeks. We were furiously working to ensure the Management Consultancy Careers Fair was as successful as possible for both our readers and management consultancy clients. It was a resounding success and I know from the 40 firms that were exhibiting that tons of interviews are now taking place as a result.

For those of you that couldn't attend I wanted to share the latest hiring trends that I gleaned from talking to firm representatives on their stands. Click the play button below for a 5 minute overview of who firms are most interested in hiring right now...



Regards, Tony

Buoyancy confirmed - consulting market on a roll

I've just stepped out of the Management Consultancies Association's annual conference to pen a short blog update on the healthy state of the market - as reported by the keynote speakers.

Having attended (indeed sponsored) the Institute of Management Consultancy's annual conference a couple of weeks back, it's been interesting today to hear many of the same messages emerging:

* Consultancies are experiencing robust growth in client demand - and double-digit growth is again expected in the next year

* Attracting and retaining talent is now the number 1 challenge facing consulting Partners

* Having to get deals approved by Procurement departments as well as by client decision-makers is a more and more prevalent requirement. A successful deal agreed over lunch with the CEO is now only half the battle. Getting over the procurement hurdle is at least as difficult

* Experience rather than talent is what clients are demanding in today's market. They want consultants on the team that have detailed experience in their sector - and are less interested in the "bright young things" with an MBA but no sector-specific insights they can bring to the project

Overall the mood at both events has been buoyant, with consultants quietly confident about business prospects and expecting that 2006 will be a vintage year.

Glad we're back in a market where everyone's cheery again... :-) Tony

Indian firms in push to gain consulting share

Just seen a sterling in-depth analysis of how the Indian IT giants (Tata, Wipro, etc.) are making a big push to raise consulting revenues - and why, from a strategic point of view, this is critical for them to achieve in the next years. You can find the full article here. Will be fascinating to see this battle unfold... Anyone any thoughts on who the winners will be? Tony

Tirade against consultants shows no signs of letting up...

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

A new set of figures about spend on external advisers is released by the UK government and in no time at all we've got national newspapers bemoaning the waste of taxpayers' money and the outrageous daily rates being paid to consulting gurus.

At this point I'd like to quote Mick James from a piece he wrote defending consultants earlier this year:

"I’m appalled by the inability of a national newspaper to even consider the possibility that some of this consultancy spend might represent value-for-money"

If you missed his sterling defence of the consulting profession, you can find it here:
How much longer do consultants have to keep justifying their very existence?

Reading the latest Scotsman article and Independent article it's hard not to be equally appalled. Where's the balance in these pieces, the journalistic integrity? In one there's a quote from an MP outraged at the government spending £1,000 an hour on consulting gurus. Sorry - £1,000 an hour?!?! Which planet?!

In the other the £2,000+ daily rates of some consultants are compared with the "daily earnings" of other professionals. A top lawyer, for example, can expect to be paid £1,200 a day. The implication being how can these consultants possibly be worth £2,000+ ? The only problem is the apples & pears nature of the comparison. The lawyer actually has take home pay of £1,200 a day, whereas the figure for consultants is their daily billing rate - only a fraction of which will be their take home pay! But of course, that wouldn't fit the thrust of the article - which is to show consultants in the worst possible light. My take? Success breeds envy...

Seen any other articles that are similarly biased against the profession? Or that rare breed - an article defending consultants? Do post them here if you would... Rgds, Tony

Staff shortages in consulting

Question: When is a jobs bonanza not a jobs bonanza?

Answer: When your skills don't match the skillsets consulting firms are actually looking to hire!

My last blog post attracted criticism from several candidates who felt there simply isn't a "jobs bonanza" in the management consulting market right now. The evidence they presented is that they've found it impossible to secure a new job in consulting this year. The caveat to my "Jobs bonanza" statement is, of course, that the demand profile for consulting services has shifted quite considerably over the last years - so those individuals that were in demand 5 years ago are not necessarily the same people firms would like to hire today. I do stand by my assertion that this is the best time in the last 5 years to be looking for a consulting job - but clearly only if you've got the skills that are in demand.

The results of our first Quarterly "Consulting Prospects" survey will be out in the next couple of weeks - and the survey findings highlight the areas within consulting that are growing most robustly (and thus the practice areas that are most likely to be hiring). Unsurprisingly practice areas like Manufacturing are on the demise, whilst the likes of Financial Services and TMT consulting are back in vogue. Watch this space for the full findings...

But back to the "Jobs bonanza" debate.

As sponsors of the MCA's riverboat cruise last week, I had the chance to meet with a couple of hundred consultants from the likes of Accenture, Capgemini, Atos Consulting, BT, Deloitte, etc. Having been challenged on the state of the recruitment market in consulting, I went to the event hoping to hear first hand from consultants just how busy they are and how aggressively they are now recruiting.

I wasn't disappointed.

In aggregate, I heard that the major consultancies are now bumping up against serious capacity constraints - they simply don't have the number of consultants necessary to meet accelerating client demand. Recruitment teams are under tremendous pressure and have been given some stratospheric hiring targets for the next year. To try and address the shortfall, consultancies are getting creative and I heard that firms are encouraging consultants to take extra pay in lieu of holidays; introducing initiatives to entice new mothers back into employment; bolstering employee referral schemes. In short, all the things you would expect organisations to do if they find they are turning away business owing to staffing shortages.

The key for those struggling to get hired, then, is to present oneself (in the form of one's CV / resume) as someone that has the skills that are currently in demand. If you can prove you have these skills you will get hired. Back in 2003 the state of the market was a valid impediment to even suitable candidates securing a consulting job; but in 2005 you need to look beyond this. A lack of interviews or offers is a reflection on the candidate rather than the market...

Tony

PS if you need help reworking your CV / resume, click here now

Jobs bonanza for consultants!

Have just returned from summer vacation, so apologies there've not been postings to our consulting blog for the last weeks. But the exciting news as I got back to my desk is that there's been an absolute flood of bookings from consulting firms committing to attend this October's management consultancy careers fair at Olympia.

It seems that firms are expecting a real hiring spree when the holiday season is over and I've returned to find we now have 40+ exhibitors at the careers fair - including prestigious employers like Accenture, Atos Consulting, BearingPoint, Capgemini, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, IBM, Infosys, PA Consulting, Proudfoot and Serco Consulting (to name but a few).

Would be great if you could join us there - if of interest do click on the image below for full details...



Hope to see you there in just a few weeks' time. Tony

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Concerned about a colleague's behaviour?

Are they binge drinking, gambling or taking recreational drugs to cope with life in the fast lane? Have you tried and failed to get through to them? Are you worried about the consequences for their career, health and home life?
betty tv is making a documentary series for Channel 4 which aims to help people in trouble turn their lives around and they have contacted Top-Consultant to see if we can help. They would like to speak to consultants who are worried about a colleague or friend.
Please call Kamala on 020 7290 0660, or e-mail kamala@bettytv.co.uk. All contact will be in strict confidence.

Breathtaking sights await consulting candidates

BT's fast-growing consulting business have been very shrewd and decided to make use of the BT Tower in London as an enticing venue for its next experienced hires careers event taking place on 26th July.

I was also invited to the BT Tower in the last months and I have to tell you it is simply breathtaking!! From the top you're so high up you feel like you're in the clouds - then you look down and see the London Eye way below... it really is quite an experience.

So if you're free the evening of 26th July and would be interested in finding out more about consulting career opportunities at BT then take a look here and be sure to register in the next days. This is an opportunity not to be missed...

Tony

Tips for engaging consultants

Whilst much of the press seems intent on maligning the consulting industry this month, I was pleased to see a more measured article in today's FT counselling clients on how to get the best return from their investment in consultants. Rather than castigating investment in consultants as money down the drain, this piece gives some good insights into how and when to use consultants effectively. A good read for clients and consultants alike. See:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f6f90514-e6a7-11d9-b6bc-00000e2511c8.html

Rgds, Tony

Careers Fair preview... Management Consultancy Careers Fair coming to London

In just over 3 months I hope you'll be joining us for the largest Management Consultancy Careers Fair ever to be staged in the UK (and arguably the world!). We used to run smaller events for 200 candidates to meet with recruiters from half a dozen consulting firms. But this year the demand for new consulting hires has gone ballistic and so in partnership with the Management Consultancies Association we've organised a far more impressive event...

We're expecting some 350 company representatives and recruiters to be at Olympia, who combined will be looking to make several thousand new consulting hires this year. Already we've got many of the world's leading consultancies and niche players signed up to attend (Accenture, Capgemini, DiamondCluster, IBM, PA Consulting...). You'll be able to find out about opportunities both in the UK and across Europe.

Anyway, the reason for alerting you via my blog is because the reservation system went live today. As there are only enough places for 1% of our readers to attend, you'll want to get in quick if this sounds like the type of event you don't want to miss.

You can get full details of who'll be there and how to sign up by going to:
http://www.top-consultant.com/UK/events/Article_display.asp?ID=48

Look forward to seeing you there, Tony

The Guardian takes a dislike to consultants

A number of articles in the Guardian these last weeks leave me pretty convinced. The Guardian has taken a dislike to consultants.

First there were a series of articles in which deep concern was expressed at the increasing role of consultants in the thinking of Number 10 and - horror of horrors - the appointment of some ex-McKinsey advisers into key government roles. The appointees are likely to drive through radical changes in the management and measurement of government departments, to push for efficiency gains and the adoption of online approaches to streamline departments.

Most organisations I know would love to hire as employees a team of ex-McKinsey consultants. Bring all that expertise in house, have the ability to push through more initiatives internally without the need for calling in consultants - and be in a position of strength when negotiating with consultancies for those engagements that are still deemed necessary. Most FTSE firms are trying to hire lots of ex-consultants, yet because this is happening in the public sector it is labelled as scandalous. Ridiculous.

This was followed up in the last days by another article in which the Observer / Guardian Unlimited tore shreds out of consultants for their unethical practices and client scams. This was all based on the rantings to be found within David Craig's recent book about how consultants rip off their clients. I've already submitted a letter of complaint to the Editor, copied below. If you'd like to do the same simply email: politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk

I write in response to Nick Cohen's article "Natural born billers" in which the majority of management consultants are made out to be charlatans and common thieves. I am concerned by the ease with which the author David Craig has been able to persuade mainstream media to tout his views of the consulting industry. We are, after all, talking about a chap who has a book to sell here.

I am a former management consultant myself and now work in the recruitment sector. Both sectors have a few rotten eggs - as does any sector where there's significant money to be made or lost - but the vast majority of professionals are going about their business in an honest and upright manner and delivering huge value to clients both in the public and private sectors.

If we look at the Enron scandal and how the reputations of Andersen employees were tarnished worldwide, we see how easily the media can fan the flames of isolated incidents and turn them into widely held beliefs and prejudices. In the case of Enron it was accountants worldwide that were dragged through the wringer and whose integrity was questioned; by promoting this book's premise you are taking consulting in the same direction on the basis of what can only be described as very limited testimony.

As you are undoubtedly aware, repeat business in the consulting industry is absolutely key and I would put it to you that any professional that succeeds in doing business with FTSE clients year after year is clearly doing a great many things right. Most consulting firms generate the majority of their revenues from repeat clients - which must result either from the success of the engagements or be down to gross negligence on the part of most FTSE Directors. Are you seriously suggesting the majority of FTSE Directors simply have the wool pulled over their eyes and pay up year after year? I thought not.

Finding examples of bad practice is easy in any industry, but portraying these practices as industry norms is doing both your readers and the country a gross disservice. I trust you will strike a more balanced view in your future commentaries

Yours faithfully

Tony Restell
Company Director
___________________________________________
www.Top-Consultant.com
Switchboard: +44 (0)207 667 6880

Monitor + A.T.Kearney = ?

Rumour has it in today's FT that the management buy-out of A.T.Kearney has collapsed and that another suitor has been lined up to takeover the firm within the next 4 months. The FT touts Monitor as the likely buyer.

Is this what's really going down in the States, or is it just a smoke-screen? I'm reminded of the saying "if you've got multiple buyers you've got a sale; if you've got one buyer you've got a giveaway". Could the appearance of a new prospective buyer simply be a ploy to secure better terms for the management buyout?

This ongoing saga reminds me of the rumours that abounded at the time of the collapse of Arthur D Little, which saw first PA Consulting then Monitor Group and then Mercer Management Consulting all talked of as potential suitors. Let's hope the A.T.Kearney situation is swiftly resolved before too many of its consultants decide that with all the uncertainty they are better off just moving on to pastures new...

Tony

Wipro on the acquisition trail?

Is it just me or are the moves and counter-moves of US / European consulting firms and their Indian counterparts starting to look like mirror-images of one-another?

Both seem to be positioning themselves so as to have a strong go-to-market presence in the richer developed countries, whilst being able to resource sizeable chunks of the assignments won in operations based in the lesser developed nations. The outsourcing of consulting service provision to cheaper parts of the world if you like.

The likes of Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro are all trying to grow their presence in the mature markets of Europe and the US to leverage off their Indian operations. An article on Wipro earlier this year in the Economic Times (see here) claimed Wipro boss Azim Premji had plans to acquire businesses in European markets such as France, Germany and the UK. Whilst in the FT this week there's an article (see here) in which Premji highlights US and Indian acquisitions as being potentially imminent, with European deals still of interest but less well progressed.

The major US and European consultancies, meanwhile, are busy building operations out in the likes of India and China - so the footprints of all look pretty similar.

Consulting is certainly looking like a more and more homogenous service offering. Where's the differentiation in the market?!

Tony

Consulting vs Outsourcing

Have just been ploughing my way through the latest report from the Management Consultancies Association and it's a pretty remarkable read. Take a look at this chart:



No matter how much has been written about outsourcing in the last years, it's hard to take on board just how much this business line has transformed the face of consulting and the companies that make up the consulting world. These latest figures show that outsourcing has now outgrown all your traditional consulting business lines taken in combination! (as a former strategy consultant, I intentionally sideline IT consulting from this comparison, call it a force of habit)

The MCA have been kind enough to allow us to reproduce some of the key charts and data and you'll find the full write-up of the report findings if you click here. I think you'll find some of the patterns and trends quite eye-opening! Tony

Clients killing the consultant-client relationship

My recent comments challenging a scathing critique of the consulting industry have in turn generated a flood of feedback from our loyal readers. Many of you felt the original article was outrageously one-sided, whilst a few of you actually admitted that consultants’ clients can sometimes be taken for a ride.

The whole debate reminded me of a pertinent statement John Niland made at a recent Top-Consultant seminar. He said consultants should, at all costs, avoid situations where the client ends up receiving a bill based on a calculation involving day rates. His argument was essentially that the very concept of day rates puts the interests of clients and the short-term interests of the consultancy fundamentally in conflict. (As an aside, John will be speaking in London on 17th June – details here for those of you interested)

So if John’s theory is right, are purchasing departments shooting their organisations in the foot by forcing consultancies down a day-rates approach to pricing? Many consultancies would say they are…

Fixed Fee vs Day Rate billing

Given a fixed fee project a consultancy can deliver on the assignment as it sees fit and earn its profit by working smart and by creating a winning solution that turns the client into a lifetime customer. The consultancy is incentivised to achieve results quickly and cost-effectively, because it’s their margins that are eroded if they don’t.

What happens all too often in practice is that consultancies are engaged to provide a consulting team on a day-rate basis where there's additional profit to be made each day that the team remains on site. This creates an incentive for scope creep, where the boundaries of the agreed project are pushed further and further and cost overruns are passed onto the client.

In this kind of scenario, the essential challenge of completing an assignment on time and within budget is sidelined. The client 's interests are no longer aligned with those of the consultancy, pure and simple.

However where does this problem originate and are consultancies therefore really to blame? In my own experience, it is clients’ insistence on breaking proposals down into the component team members, their day rates and volume discounts that poisons the consultant-client relationship. Clients are scared of committing to a fixed budget - and therefore paying “excessively” for actual services delivered. The temptation to challenge the fee by breaking it down into its parts is just too much.

Oh for a world where consultants were paid an agreed amount for an agreed project deliverable and then left to run the project like the mini-business-venture that it is. Unfortunately the proliferation of purchasing departments and PSLs is driving the consulting industry further and further down the day-rates path – and away from this ideal. So the consultant-client relationship is increasingly poisoned and consultants take the rap, when actually we're on the receiving end of pushy purchasing departments. I kind of feel this is like the pot calling the kettle black!! Anyone out there agree with this sentiment or care to add additional thoughts?

Tony

Big firms cranking up recruitment drives

I've met with several of the biggest brands in consulting this last week and I have to tell you the news is all good - for candidates that is. Without exception consultancies are all talking about the need to hit recruitment targets that - in their words - are "scarily high". The combination of growing client demand and worsening staff attrition has elevated recruitment (and retention) to being firms' number 1 priority for the remainder of 2005.

BT's new series of recruitment evenings for consultants in the early stages of their consulting careers is just the latest in a raft of company careers events that add to the perception that recruitment drives are being accelerated. Such events were commonplace during the dot-com boom, but being costly to organise they are something you tend to only see taking place when firms are pulling out all the stops to recruit. It's telling that Accenture, BT, Ernst & Young, IBM and PA Consulting have all invested in such events during the first half of 2005.

We'll be revealing details of our October Careers Fair in the next 10 days and the number of top brand consultancy firms attending is a further indication of the buoyancy of the market.

What's happening in your firm? Do post your anonymous comments below - would be great to share reader insights from as many firms as possible.

Tony

A.T. Kearney sale to go ahead

The future of A.T. Kearney has been the subject of speculation for longer than I can remember. First ATK is essential to the future of EDS, then it's not...

... this weekend though it's looking more likely than ever that A.T. Kearney will be sold by EDS for several hundred million $s, following an interview between EDS CEO Michael Jordan and Reuters in which Jordan confirmed plans to sell the ATK business later this year - and through a sale of the business to the firm's senior executives rather than to a competitor. For the full story see Reuters

Anyone know of any reason this wouldn't go through this year?

Tony

Independent knifes consulting industry

I do believe I've just read the most shamefully one-sided article ever to be written about the consulting industry. The offending publication is The Independent and the article is entitled "Think outside the box: don't waste money on advisers"

The piece goes to great lengths to characterise consultants as dishonest individuals who charge outrageous amounts for their advice and singularly fail to deliver any value to their clients. We aren't quite referred to as criminals, but certainly our business activities and ethics are portrayed as being the lowest of the low. Reputable names like McKinsey, Accenture & Capgemini are all dragged through the mud and I struggled to find a single positive comment about the profession anywhere in the article.

I've nothing against consulting projects and firms being put under the spotlight when they fail to deliver - but surely a reputable publication like The Independent should at least be putting forward both sides of the argument??!

I hope plenty of you read this article and are outraged by the slander to your professional integrity. Then next time you are deciding where to spend your advertising budget, be sure to have this piece fresh in your mind.

In the meantime, keep busting a gut for your clients - mostly they will appreciate your efforts and initiative, despite The Independent's best efforts to demean what it is you do

Tony

Old boy network meets its match!

Ask any Partner at a consulting firm how important their network is and chances are you'll find it's an integral tool in how they go about winning new work. Small wonder so much is written about the importance of the "Old Boy Network" then!

So hats off to the Management Consultancies Association for organising a Young MCA networking group. I was invited to the launch event last week, kindly hosted by BT Consulting and Systems Integration at the magnificent BT Tower in London, with the guest speaker sponsored by Atos Consulting.

And what an event it was!

~100 young consultants were there from many of the World's leading firms including the likes of Accenture, Atos Consulting, BT, Deloitte, etc. During an excellent opening presentation we learnt how to "work a room", a skill seen as critical for all aspiring Partners. We learnt the importance of icebreakers, elevator pitches and how to extricate oneself from a dead-end conversation!

All valuable skills which we then got to put into practice during a networking / drinks session atop the BT Tower. A truly excellent initiative and can I say thanks to all those readers that came and sought me out during the evening. Very uplifting!

There are a whole series of similar events planned during 2005 and these will be open to consultants from any of the MCA member firms (to check if your firm is a member see: http://www.mca.org.uk/MCA/Members/MemberList.aspx). The objective of the Young MCA group is "networking, sharing of knowledge and best practice, in a fun environment with a fundraising element where possible."

To find out more about joining the group and the forthcoming events planned simply contact Natalia Kay at the MCA: natalia.kay@mca.org.uk

Hope to see you at a future event! Tony

Bryan Hickson appointed Sales Director of Top-Consultant.com

A great many of you will have met Bryan Hickson over the years. Bryan spent several years as a Management Consultancy recruitment specialist with recruitment agency BLT. Indeed, give or take, he was Top-Consultant's first ever client! During that time he helped hundreds of candidates to progress their careers in consulting and secure new consulting opportunities. So many of you will know Bryan either through the help he's provided in finding a consultancy job - or indeed the service he's provided you as a recruiter.

When the downturn bit, Bryan opted to study for an MBA and upon graduation I was delighted that Bryan approached me to see if we could use his talents here at Top-Consultant.com. Thankfully the market was picking up at the beginning of 2004 and so Bryan joined the team alongside me in a sales capacity. What a great hire he's proven to be and now - just a year on - we're delighted to reward Bryan with promotion to the role of Sales Director. All those of you that know Bryan please do send him a word of congratulations to bryan@top-consultant.com!

Business has doubled year-on-year and so the sales / account management team have been further strengthened in the last months with the additions of Dawn Fowler and Alfredo Herrera. Both Dawn and Alfredo are from the USA and hiring them is a sign of our commitment to grow the US jobs board and achieve the same success in the US market that we have here in the UK. Any clients out there wishing to find out about trialing our US jobs board please do email either dawn@top-consultant.com or alfredo@top-consultant.com. Dawn and Alfredo will also be working with Bryan and I to ensure our UK advertisers achieve the greatest possible success on our site as we all work to tackle the "War for Talent" that's brewing here in the UK market.

Anyway, I just wanted to publicly acknowledge the great jobs Bryan, Dawn & Alfredo are doing here at Top-Consultant. Moreover Imogen and I are expecting our first baby early in September and it's a huge relief to us to see what a great sales team we now have in place - and indeed what a great team we have managing all aspects of the business. So thanks all and congratulations again to Bryan

Tony

Accenture / Capgemini deal unveiled

Interesting developments in the US this last week, with Accenture acquiring the North American Healthcare practice of Capgemini. Several hundred Capgemini consultants will overnight become Accenture consultants, a fact which has heartened the financial community... the fact that Accenture is happy to engage ex-Capgemini consultants is seen as a positive endorsement of CG's talent!

This is all part of Capgemini's new strategy which seems to focus on solidifying the french firm's position in key markets whilst pulling out of non-core markets. The sign of things to come in the consulting sector do you think - more M&A deals on the way? Do post your thoughts...

For further details of this deal, see Reuters coverage, Capgemini's press release & Accenture's press release

Tony

Recruiters flock to Management Consultancy careers fair

I gave you a heads-up a few weeks back that we would be organising the LARGEST CAREERS FAIR for Management Consultants ever to take place in London. Well it's too early for candidates to book their places - but do make sure you etch Friday 7th October irremovably into your diary (OK, so don't go pressing your PalmPilot screens too hard!). We'll be announcing registration details here soon, but for right now we're concentrating on registering recruiters to attend so that the lineup is as varied and comprehensive as possible...

On which note I can only say that recruiters are flocking to attend - so much so it's turning into a stampede! Brochures are going out to all our clients right now and I can tell you that within hours of receiving these firms are calling us back to find out more or reserve a place.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is this is going to be a massive event and if you are at all serious about jobs in consulting you need to set 7th October aside and ensure you will be in London (at Olympia) that day.

Hope to see you then - and anyone wanting a brochure that hasn't yet received a copy can email my colleague Bryan Hickson on bryan@top-consultant.com

Tony

Is it more pay or something else that you want from your employer?

A blog I posted here in February 05 revealed just how seriously consultancies were taking the issue of retention and improving the work/ life balance as a means of improving retention rates. We got some fascinating insights from consultants who've now got it so good with their current employer that they wouldn't dream of moving (more on this before the end of this post)

But now things have gone further and consulting recruiters have asked Top-Consultant to conduct an anonymous poll to discover what steps they could take that would really motivate you to stay working for their firm (rather than choosing to leave). If you haven't taken part yet, do take 2 minutes to complete the survey by clicking the link below. We'll report back on the findings here in a couple of weeks - but so far the initial results look REALLY interesting!...

Click to take part in survey now!

Thanks to everyone for taking part and making this survey really insightful - and for those of you who missed the original post and all the comments from consultants about the great work/ life balances they are enjoying (yes it is achievable!!!) then click here now

Tony

Infosys gets global recognition

One of the most imposing consulting trends of this decade must surely be the rise of the Indian competitors. Firms such as Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Infosys have risen to become recognised brands in our market. Now the global financial community has had its say... and it seems there's great belief in the business models and future of these firms amongst financiers too...

You see Infosys this week attained an international credit rating of BBB from Standard & Poor's, the first firm in India to get a higher-than-sovereign rating according to S&P (see The Telegraph India and Reuters for details). How much stronger an endorsement could you possibly want? And more importantly, are these firms lining themselves up with the credit needed to launch an acquisition bid either in Europe or the US? Any readers got any insights or views? Do post them as comments below... Tony

3,000 candidates to attend UK's largest-ever management consultancy careers fair

Picture this if you will (and in case you can't tell, I'm pretty excited to be sharing this news with you!)...

It's October 7th and you've just entered London's Olympia and the place is swarming with thousands of candidates all eager to secure a new career in consulting... and all around you are consulting recruiters from 50 firms - all with immediate requirements to hire new staff and a team of representatives for you to meet.

What I'm describing here is the largest management consultancy careers fair ever to take place in London (to our knowledge in any case) - and you've guessed it, we've taken the plunge and are organising it!

Date - Friday 7th October 2005
Location - Olympia Conference Centre (Earl's Court), London

We'll be sending recruiters further details of this event in the coming fortnight, the brochure's just being finalised and then will be sent to recruiters and recruitment consultants at all the major firms. Candidates will be able to register to attend from late April and we've made provisions to be able to accommodate 3,000 candidates on the day. That may sound a lot, but it means we have space for less than 1% of our readers so you will need to reserve your place early to guarantee your attendance.

- How can I find out more? -

Watch this space - all will be announced here in due course! Given the limited space for both recruiters and candidates, for now I just wanted our blog readers to be the first to know about this.

Hope to see you there in a few months' time.

Tony

NPfIT contracts to be snatched from consultancies?

Comments made by Richard Granger at a healthcare computing conference this week have sparked furious media speculation that the multi-£billion contracts won by consulting firms last year could be in danger of being awarded to new providers if performance targets are not met.

This may all be play-acting to scare providers into redoubling their efforts. It would undoubtedly be a minefield to try and negotiate the handover of contracts to new providers - to say nothing of the political fallout that would result from admitting there's been another failed public sector consulting project...

Is this a bluff or for real? Any NPfIT consultants out there care to comment?...

Tony
PS you'll find a selection of the media coverage at: Ovum, E-Health Insider and The Register

Merger of Siemens Business Services and Atos Origin on the cards?

There's been considerable media coverage these last 2 weeks regarding a possible merger of the IT services arm of Siemens (Siemens Business Services) with French rival Atos Origin. German investment bank Sal. Oppenheim issued a research note claiming that Siemens is in advanced negotiations with Atos Origin. The CEO of Siemens remarked on a conference call that all strategic options for the future of the SBS unit are being considered, whilst Atos Origin have refused to comment on the market speculation - both of which are adding fuel to the flames. Analysts believe there is merit in the deal as Atos Origin currently has only a modest presence in the German market but strategically is looking to expand in Benelux, the U.K. and Germany. Here are some examples of the recent media coverage:
Datamonitor
interactive investor
Dow Jones Newswires

Any readers got any insights re. what's happening? Do post your comments below...

Tony

Could you make £ millions with your consulting skills?

Taking your consulting skills and using them to become a self-made millionaire. Is it possible... and could you be the next to do it? Have you got what it takes - or indeed can such skills be learnt?

The exciting answer to all these questions is "Yes" - that's to say most readers of this blog really can aspire to running their own successful business, within a matter of just months if you really apply yourself.

Very rarely do I bother to read any "get rich quick" schemes. Most are scams or worthless or both. But when one of our readers sent us a copy of a new millionaire course he had been working on, it seemed only courteous to take a listen - and how glad I am now that I did!

The course is based on personal insights from 25 highly successful entrepreneurs who have launched businesses from scratch - many on a shoestring budget - through sheer dedication and determination. They include the founders of First Tuesday, Cobra Beer, Yo! Sushi and Ecademy.com - and amongst them are ex-consultants from firms like Bain and Ernst & Young. So you see consultants can and do make the transition from consulting to successful entrepreneur.

As an entrepreneur myself, what really impressed me was that so many of the insights in the course are things we have had to learn the hard way in our business - so if we'd learnt these lessons through a course like this a few years ago... well that would have had a tremendous impact on our business.

If you've any aspirations to work for yourself running a successful business then do take a few minutes to check this out. We've agreed a £100 discount for all Top-Consultant readers, so the cost should be no obstacle (when you click the "Buy" button the discount will be automatically applied). To find out more, click here now - I think you'll agree this is time and money well spent.

Regards, Tony

15% growth for PA Consulting

PA Consulting Group have revealed they plan to grow the consulting business by 15% this year at a time when the domestic UK market has embarked on a new period of robust growth that has seen many leading firms ramp up their recruitment efforts quite considerably.

As part of the strategy a new recruitment drive has just been launched with a series of three careers evenings planned for April 2005 (click for details). Targetting those with IT Strategy, IT Management, IT Infrastructure of IS Implementation expertise, these events will broaden the appeal of PA Consulting by allowing candidates to meet the team before actually deciding whether to apply to the firm or not.

In a tighter candidate market I can't help thinking such strategies will become crucial. If job adverts only reach candidates who want to work for a particular firm, consultancies need to find a way to engage candidates who are interested in their firm but not yet persuaded to apply. Exhibiting at careers fairs and running dedicated careers evenings allows firms to convert interest into applications and as the War for Talent becomes more acute I foresee these approaches becoming more and more critical.

Any current jobseekers out there have a view on this? Could you be won over by a firm you hadn't considered applying to if you met their team and were persuaded they could take your career in the right direction? Do post your thoughts below, would be interested in the feedback...

Tony

US market picking up

It's heartening to see that the consulting boom that's taken hold in the UK market is also now being felt in the States. An interesting commentary in CareerJournal (part of the Wall Street Journal) details the uptick in both the consulting market and the implications for recruitment in the US market. Makes for pretty encouraging reading (details here)

In the rebounding US market high-level rainmakers can apparently now expect to command a base salary of up to $1 million, whilst M.B.A.s are once again seeing pay offers in excess of $100,000. This upwards pay spiral is mirroring what we've seen in the UK market where recruitment picked up some 12+ months ago. Any US readers out there able to provide anecdotal evidence about the improving hiring market in the States? Do please post your comments below.

Tony

A.T. Kearney for sale?

There's been much speculation in the press these last days that Partners at A.T. Kearney could be presented with the option of orchestrating a management buyout of the consulting business from parent EDS. I always feared ATK would struggle once subsumed by EDS and would love to see the business reinvigorated by a return to some form of Partnership model. Can you see this happening or is it all just a lot of smoke to please the markets?

(For more details click for write-ups in the Computer Business Review, Interactive Investor and Dallas Business Journal)

Tony

US cross-cultural training providers

Who are the consultancies in the U.S. that provide cross-cultural training and coaching, especially for India and China?

Consulting in France

Bryan from Top-Consultant. Just seen another anonymous request for a thread. This time we've been asked for comments on market trends in France:

"I'd be interested to see a thread on the consulting market evolutions in France : trends in market size by segment (strategy/organization/IT/HR, etc.), by type of clients (big corporations, middle market, public clients), trends in recruiting, etc."

Can anyone help?

Consulting in the Middle East

Hi again - Bryan from Top-Consultant. I was just browsing through the blog (it's been a long and busy day once again) when I saw this request for a thread:

"I would like to know some details regarding Consulting business in Middle East and Saudi Arabia. Who are are the key players and what type of talent they look ? Any suggestions for the companies / recruiters currently hiring from North America for the assignments in Middle East or Saudi Arabia."

In response to this anonymous posting, I'd suggest she/he has a look at Serco Middle East - who've recently been running a campaign on the site. Good luck!

BPM thread

Hi everyone - Bryan here from Top-Consultant. Stephen Hamilton has suggested we start a thread on BPM..:

"I would like to see a thread on the different points of view related to BPM. Many of the industry analysts only look at BPM from the IT perspective, while not mentioning the Business perspective. The client market is more and more confused from all of the Software hype. Many do not realize the steps they must undertake as an enterprise prior to deploying a BPM technology solution."

What are your thoughts?

Capgemini expects strong growth rebound in 2005

Capgemini have just released their latest results and the picture looks encouraging. The second half of 2004 represented a considerable strengthening over the first half of 2004 - and revenue growth of 10% is being predicted for 2005. Retention rates have deteriorated a little, so this should point to quite a few career opportunities for Top-Consultant readers in the coming months. There's a video interview with CEO Paul Hermelin on Capgemini's site, discussing these results and the prospects for the next 12 months. Click here to view the webcast interview with CEO Paul Hermelin

Tony

Work / life balance the new key to keeping consultants happy?

Yesterday's careers event for consulting candidates was fascinating for all sorts of reasons. 13 major consulting brands were there and that gave us some great insights into the changing dynamics of recruiting & retaining consultants.

The biggest thing that struck me though was the focus on getting the work-life balance issue right. Just about every firm present stressed the initiatives they were working on to improve the consultancy lifestyle. And I really think the firms were being genuine...

... every one of them recognised that consulting is consulting and that the client is king. So consulting is always going to be tough and there was no attempt to hide this. But there was also an acknowledgement that graduates leaving University are now much more concerned about having a good quality of life than they were 10 years' ago. And that encouraging women back into consulting after a career break is a key strategy for addressing the current skills shortage.

Encouraging working from home, installing broadband, stressing to clients that consultants might only be on site 3 days a week... these were just some of the many initiatives the firms are putting into place to make the consulting lifestyle more palatable.

I think most agreed they hadn't done everything they could do and that they're constantly on the look-out for new initiatives to improve things further.

Any readers got any examples of great policies that are in place at your firm? Things that really make a difference and make the harder sides of the career more bearable? Please do post your contribution using the link below... Tony

Consulting Times launches tomorrow!

Post updated 18th Feb. The first edition is now available at:
http://www.consulting-times.com/currentedition/1.aspx

********

Be sure to check your inbox on Friday 18th Feb. This is the launch date for our new monthly consulting magazine Consulting Times, which will be distributed free to all Top-Consultant subscribers.

This launch edition features a couple of exclusives including "the 20 fastest growing consulting firms" plus the fascinating results of our bonus & salary survey (over 1,500 consultants polled from firms like McKinsey, BCG & Bain; Accenture, Capgemini & Deloitte).

With the demise of paper-based consulting magazines during the last recession, we've had a lot of feedback from readers that the industry would benefit from a new monthly publication. Our aim is to quickly grow the readership of this publication to over 200,000 professionals. Future editions will be available in PDF and potentially also distributed in paper copy via the post.

Hope you like the new publication! Tony

Scottish consulting market booming

A post today in Edinburgh's Evening News makes for encouraging reading for those UK consultants with aspirations of pursuing a consulting career outside of London. In a detailed commentary on Accenture's scottish business, the paper looks at the growth story of Accenture's Edinburgh office - established just last year to complement the Aberdeen office and service Edinburgh's increasingly important FS market with consultants based in the city itself (rather than parachuting consultants in from other offices, as presumably had been the norm prior to that).

Could we be seeing a growing regional market for consulting in the UK? If your firm is also expanding in the UK regions, do post a comment here - would be interesting to see how widespread a trend this is... Tony

US Strategy Consulting - why are so many firms looking for strategists?

Hi there - Bryan here from Top-Consultant.

I was approached by a journalist from 'Time' last week who was researching a piece on the state of the US strategy consulting market. He was particularly interested in why there's been such an upswing in recruitment activity for strategy consultants by firms that 2 or 3 years ago we would not have thought of as being interested in recruiting in this area.

I suggested that many consultancy clients see some consulting services, IT for instance, as increasingly commoditised, and consultancy firms selling these services have taken to focussing not on killer applications but killer service. IT houses have taken to trading upwards and are effectively giving away strategy services on the back of larger IT project wins.

Is this your reading of what's happening? Is this sustainable? How are the strat-houses countering?

Upturn in global consulting market predicted

Came across an interesting report this morning - Kennedy Information's "The Global Consulting Marketplace 2004-2006: Key Data, Trends & Forecasts". Here in the UK we've seen the consulting market rebound for 18 months or more - and particularly so these last 9 months. But this report sheds light on the global picture.

Kennedy's report suggests industry growth will run at 5% through til the end of 2006, a healthy improvement on the stagnant growth of recent years. The 3 fastest-growing areas for consulting are predicted to be healthcare(1), public sector(2) and financial services consulting(3) - which together with Retail and Comms / Media will make up the 5 largest market segments during the period.

Any readers with a view on how their country's consulting market is recovering, please post your comments on this blog...

Salary / Bonus survey results to be published

A quick heads-up for those of you who've been asking when we would be publishing our latest salary / bonus survey analysis. We've been number-crunching and there are some pretty interesting figures have emerged. All will be revealed in the first-edition of our new publication Consulting Times due out next week (all newsletter subscribers will get a copy). Tony

Accenture - forthcoming London events

I've just heard Accenture has some really exciting London events coming up in March. Just as soon as we've got the full scoop you'll be the first to know - check back here later this week for full details. Tony