4 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES THURSDAY APRIL 21 2011

Working inMANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY

A SPECIAL REPORT www.ft.com/recruit | twitter.com/ft_recruitment

Group’s biggest everrecruitment driveWhile some managementconsultancies are talking of recruitingtens of thousands more people overthe next few years, PA ConsultingGroup’s target for new hires this yearis a more modest 300­400, writesAndrew Baxter.

That is still a big number, however,for a firm with only 2,000 employeesworldwide, of which 1,500 areconsultants. The new people will all beconsultants, too, and the increase ofat least 20 per cent in their numberrepresents the London­based firm’sbiggest ever recruiting drive.

The push is “a response to themarket and our attempt to get anincreased share of that market”,according to Jonathon Hogg, head ofPA’s business transformation group.

Key client sectors such as financialservices have stabilised after thecredit crisis and are showing signs ofgrowth, he says, so clients’ appetitefor consulting has reappeared.

Other industries such as lifesciences have been less affected bythe recession and the dynamics andpressures are very different, says MrHogg. But they still need consultantsas they tackle issues such as the endof important patents and competitionfrom generic producers.

In overall charge of finding those300­plus new people is Kate Wood,PA’s global head of HR, who cut hercommercial teeth during 17 years atMarks and Spencer, and then workedas an HR professional in real estatebefore joining the consultancy fouryears ago.

Ms Wood says PA is open to all thedifferent techniques that are used tofind new talent, but she sees her in­house recruitment team as the coresource.

While this team is vital to PA’sstaffing needs, Ms Wood is happy toadmit that a big part of the task ofidentifying possible new recruits isdone for her. “I think more than 35per cent of our new joiners comefrom referrals,” she says. “We tryhard to ensure our own people knowwhat kind of people, and where, weare recruiting.”

Read this interview in full atwww/ft.com/recruit

Firms placinga premiumon experience

It is not yet 13 years since ZahraBarololoumi joined Accenture.Still in her 30s, she has risen tomanage an international team of

60 people who provide technologyservices to a big client in the oil andgas industry.

“What keeps me in this job? Twothings: the quality of the people andthe variety of the work,” she says.“The opportunities just keep on com-ing.”

She has been part of a team imple-menting a medical diagnostics systemwithin the National Health Servicethat she says has revolutionised can-cer care in the UK. She was alsoinvolved in the UK’s launch of video-on-demand technology.

Ms Barololoumi also believes vari-ety is key when looking at qualities innew additions to her team: “I like tohave a good mix of ‘types’ – analyti-cal, expressive, practical – who drivethings forward and get things done,”she says. Industry experience andtechnical experience are importantbut the role for “soft skills” shouldnot be underestimated.

All who work for her are expectedto be “organised, resourceful and bereal team players with great problem-solving abilities”. Empathy and self-awareness also come high on her list.“I need some with in-depth technicalanalysis skills, some who are ‘peoplepersons’ – and some who are both, if Ican find them,” she says.

According to Fiona Czerniawska, co-founder of industry research organisa-

tion Sourceforconsulting.com andauthor of several books on the indus-try, about half of management consul-tancy firms have more than recoveredfrom staffing cuts made during therecession and, on average, are employ-ing 7.4 per cent more staff than in2007.

There is huge demand for places atgraduate level – but an equal hungeramong the main firms to grab the besttalent. Applications for 2011 graduatetraining places at Ernst & Young wereup 135 per cent on the previous yearby the end of March, according to DanRichards, the firm’s head of recruit-ment.

The big strategy houses – such asMcKinsey, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bainand AT Kearney – tend to look atgraduates with first class honoursdegrees from top universities and Aand A* grades at A-level.

At other large firms the require-ments are slightly lower. At Ernst &Young, for example, recruiters gener-ally look for graduates with a 2:1 and300 Ucas points, says Mr Richards.

But Ms Czerniawska’s research sug-gests the recession has changed man-agement consultancy firms’ organisa-tional priorities at a more fundamen-tal level, with a growing emphasis onhiring senior, experienced staff.

“The battle to recruit the best sen-ior people isn’t just a sign consultingfirms are trying to recoup recentlosses, but reflects clients’ increasingdesire to work with – and willingnessto pay for – more experienced people,and pointedly not junior consultants,”she says.

That trend, she adds, has the poten-tial to change the structure of manyfirms, making the “pyramid model”,in which project teams are dominatedby juniors led by a handful of senior

staff, appear less viable. It could alsochange the way large managementconsultancies compete “becausesmaller firms have often differenti-ated themselves through the seniorityof their people”.

Kevin Power is an example. He waschief technology officer at United Util-ities, the water company, and madethe shift to management consultancyin September when he joined Xantus,a small firm that helps large organisa-tions with IT strategies.

He has escaped the “coal face” ofin-house IT departments and nowfocuses solely on strategic thinking.In his first seven months he has beeninvolved in planning the Asia-Pacifictechnology for a multinational phar-maceutical company, as well as guid-ing a large government departmenton an “efficient IT” project.

In addition to strategic thinking,however, experienced candidates look-ing to enter the world of managementconsultancy will be expected to dis-play commercial savvy, says Adam

Lindley, a recruitment specialist atHarvey Nash.

Most firms are looking for “360-degree consulting skills”, including anelement of sales where consultantsare expected to be able to increase thefootprint of a current project or tospot opportunities for follow-upprojects and convince clients of theirmerits. At manager level or abovethese sales skills are considered essen-tial, he adds.

Candidates from outside the consul-tancy industry also need to preparethemselves for a cultural change andbe prepared to work extremely hard,warns Don Leslie, one of the founder-directors of Beament Leslie Thomas, arecruitment firm which specialises inhiring on behalf of management con-sultancy firms.

Management consultancy andinvestment banking, he highlights,are the “two top career choices formid-career changers”, but the averagespell in a consultancy role lasts nolonger than three to five years

because the pace of working life is soextreme.

“Expect to spend around 70 per centof your working year away fromhome. That means three nights in ahotel and four days on the client site,which may be five hours journey timefrom home. The working week aver-ages 50 hours, and towards the end ofa project 70 hours a week is notuncommon,” he says.

“It is an extremely demandingindustry, in the sense that standardsare high and people are expected towork hard,” agrees Alan Leaman,chief executive of the ManagementConsultancies Association. “But it’salso an immensely rewarding environ-ment in which to work.”

Experience required: recruitment is increasingly geared towards hiring senior staff rather than fresh graduates dreamstime

ON FT.COMJessica Twentyman asks Don Leslie,director of Beament Leslie Thomas, forhis tips on attaining a consulting rolewww.ft.com/recruit

Jessica Twentyman looksat the skills and aptitudesthat will make a candidateattractive to the industry

FINANCIAL TIMES THURSDAY APRIL 21 2011 ★ 5

Do ‘up or out’ policies still spread fear?

Up or out, the policy ofrequiring employees to raceup the promotion ladder orface being eased out, is com-

monly regarded as a sign of the con-sulting industry’s hard-nosedapproach to doing business.

But how widespread is this prac-tice? And is it still relevant in an agewhen human capital management hasbecome more sophisticated at dealingwith diversity – of background andaspiration?

Although management consultancyis frequently associated with this pol-icy of requiring staff to move up ormove out, this approach is employedin other sectors including law, themilitary and universities – where aca-demic staff who fail to attain tenurecan be required to leave.

Among consultants “that approachhas been most closely associated withstrategy houses”, says Alan Leaman,chief executive of the ManagementConsultancies Association. “There areaspects other firms employ but theyare not so out and proud about it. Buteven there I am sure it is changingsince they are more concerned aboutgrowing people and giving themcareer options.”

“It makes a lot of sense for firms tobe clear about what they are doing,”says Fiona Czerniawska, a director ofSourceforconsulting.com, a researchorganisation. “Up or out may seemdraconian but people do move in andout. Staff turnover in consulting isbetween 15 and 20 per cent a year sopeople stay on average five to sixyears.”

“We don’t have an explicit ‘up orout’ policy or way of thinking,”explains Russ Hagey, senior partnerand chief talent officer at Bain & Co,the strategy consultancy that, alongwith McKinsey, has been most closelyassociated with this robust approachto managing human relations.

“That would be short-sighted.Instead we take a view of the life-cycle of our talent pipeline. It startswith how we think about professionaldevelopment and training. We focuson helping people build the skills tobe successful at Bain and post-Bain.”

Consultancy, in particular, faces the

challenge of constructing careers forpeople who, having devised manage-ment strategies for other businesses,want to apply their skills to running abusiness of their own. This means theconsultancy firms can expect a con-stant leakage of their best people intosenior jobs in the corporate sector.

John Donahoe, chief executiveofficer at eBay, is a former Bain con-sultant, as is Kenneth Chenault,chairman and chief executive ofAmerican Express. Former McKinseyconsultants include James McNerney,chairman and chief executive of Boe-ing, and Vittorio Calao, chief execu-tive at Vodafone.

Keeping on good terms with thesepeople requires HR policies that leavethem with a good impression of theirformer employer, so that it is stronglyplaced to win future consulting jobsor to win friends and influence from

former employees who have gone intothe public sector. In some casesformer employees have returned toBain after a spell in the outside world,enabling the firm to broaden therange of experience offered to clients.

Graduate and MBA recruits to Bainare presented with “a vision of terrificprofessional development involvingan extensive global training pro-gramme and an on-the-job learningenvironment,” says Mr Hagey. “Wetalk about the prospects of being apartner. But more importantly wetalk about building general manage-ment skills.” With 500 employeesmaking partner from a total headcount of 3,500, clearly not everyonecan make it to the top.

To build long-term relationshipswith staff, Bain maintains an internaljobs bank, posting vacancies withinthe firm and at clients while also

including opportunities put up byexecutive search companies and Bainalumni. There is an “externship” pro-gramme to place employees with out-side companies for six months and anactive programme to reach out toformer staff who might be temptedback to the firm.

“It requires us to up our game inter-nally to see that we create a cultureand a value proposition so that stay-ing at Bain is highly valued,” MrHagey explains. But at the same timethe firm works on its “departure cul-ture”. “We focus on how peopledepart so that we do it in a construc-tive and helpful way.”

This is the company perspective –but how do employees and formeremployees view it? Some appear to bemore willing to acknowledge the “upor out” approach but all accept it aspart of the results-driven nature of

the job. “The mentality of the firm isup or out,” says one in a jobs websiteposting. “It can be stressful but every-one hired has the potential of risingup within the company.”

“If you work hard and demonstrateyour capabilities, then you will beimmediately rewarded,” says another.“It is quite stressful at times becauseif you don’t perform well, you defi-nitely will hear about it.”

Within the consultancy industrythere does appear to be a willingnessto acknowledge a greater degree ofdiversity in career planning than inthe past. “This is a talent businessand it is all about attracting thebrightest and best but not everyonecan be the boss,” says Mr Leaman.

“It is not just about a standardpathway that you must follow. It is allabout looking at the options and find-ing the strengths of an individual and

how best to exploit them.”Kate Wood, global head of human

resources and recruitment at PA Con-sulting, says: “We don’t need every-body to be a partner. But we do wanteveryone to do a great job. Individualshave different career aspirations atdifferent times in their lives. Every-one has a career plan, refreshed everyyear, so they know where they aregoing.” PA has 136 partners out of atotal head count of just over 2,000staff.

“Up or out” is not a label that theconsultancies are keen to own up to.A more nuanced approach is calledfor, reflecting staff aspirations bothduring and after their time at thefirm. But there is no less pressure todeliver the best for clients, and forindividual consultants the realityremains they will still be judged ontheir ability to deliver.

Working in Management Consultancy

A day in the life of...

Shamus Rae, a partner at KPMG, is amanagement consultant providingoutsourcing, shared services, andoffshoring advice. He tells Gill Plimmerabout his day:

6am If I’m in the UK I try and see mykids at least two mornings a week butunfortunately today isn’t one of them.It’s definitely a high­energy lifestyle. Ihave my iPad next to my bed so I cancheck for client e­mails and updates tomy calendar.

My secretary runs my life while myteam co­ordinates what my prioritiesshould be. About 70 per cent of my lifeis spent outside the office, either indelivery or sales mode.

I’m a cyclist and try to ride 120km aweek but this morning I don’t have time.I live in Islington and am catching thetrain to Gatwick Airport for an 8ammeeting – hardly a salubrious place fora meeting. I get all the good jobs.

I am meeting a representative from apharmaceutical company who’s flown infrom Milan. No, I can’t tell you who –most of my work tends to deal withcost­cutting so it’s highly confidential.

8am I grab breakfast at an airportcoffee shop. The company I am meetingis looking at how its operations shouldbe structured so I’ll be seeing thiscontact perhaps once a month.

I have a lot of experience in how toorganise operations: I’ve worked withinvestment banks, which are very goodat organising their middle and backoperations on a global basis, so I’ll be

imparting some of the lessons fromthem to this pharmaceutical company.

11am I catch up with e­mails on thetrain back to London: I get around 200or 300 a day so I filter out the ones Ihave to react to quickly. I answer clientand then team e­mails, then internal e­mails. If I can’t sleep at night I get upand work through them. This morning Iwas in the kitchen at 3am and my wifewas already working.

12 noon I’m going to be doing work foran investment bank that wants to cutmiddle and back office staff, so I amtrying to coach a new recruit there. I’mpreparing him so that if the bank has anopportunity to restructure, he’ll knowwhat to do. This particular job isn’t oursyet but the bank is a client so we’rehoping we’ll get the work.

1.30pm A sandwich, and back to theoffice. I spend an hour or so with someof our new management consultantswho haven’t worked in a partnershipbefore. It’s quite different for them; theywere used to a hierarchical structure.Historically, they would have approachedthe client on their own but we don’tencourage or reward sole trading. Weare teaching them a more collaborativeway of working.

2.30pm I’m pitching to a retail bankclient. The bank has requestedproposals to restructure its middle andback office operations so we arecompeting with other management

consultants. Like most banks, it wantsto reduce costs but it’s thinking harderabout how it is doing it than during thelast recession. Banks are thinking muchmore strategically.

The growth of my team sums this up.Two and a half years ago we had 10people in the UK and five in theNetherlands; now we have 150 and areturning work away. There are morepeople wanting advice on cost savings.

4.30/5pm I am going back to theoffice and working through more e­mails. The pricing negotiation for theretail banking client is due at 6pm overthe phone.

7pm I’m taking someone I want to hireto the Plateau for dinner. I often go tothe Hospital Club in Covent Gardenbecause it is outside the consulting andCity world. I have dinners three or fournights a week, so although I love redmeat I try to eat soup and fish. My wifeis an environmentalist so I ask forsustainable fish; if it’s a weekend I’llsuccumb to steak.

9/9.30pm I’m catching a cab homeand picking up voice messages on theway. I’m a news junkie so I might turnon the TV when I get home – or watchsomething like “House” to wind down.This is a business for going grey early.The people I encourage to move on arethose who can’t give clients the sameenergy in the last working hour as theydid in the first. We charge by the hourso we have to deliver.

Career managementCharles Batchelor reportson the pressure to makeprogress – or risk beingshown the door

Shamus Rae: ‘It’s definitely a high­energy lifestyle’