career guide to management consulting

The Inside Careers Guide to
Management Consultancy
Published in association with
the Institute of Management Consultancy and
the Management Consultancies Association
Inside Careers
www.insidecareers.co.uk
Contents
Foreword – IMC Judith Wainwright
Foreword – MCA Ian Watmore 6
7
The profession
Management consultancy in the UK Sarah Taylor
What is a management consultant? Joan Fisher and Sarah Taylor 10
Types of consultancy 13
Choosing a firm 14
The consultant-client relationship Geoffrey Kitt 15
The Institute of Management Consultancy Ian Barratt 16
The Management Consultancies Association Bruce Petter 18
The future of the industry Fiona Czerniawska 20
Frequently asked questons 22
26
Recent graduates
Strategy and business modelling consultant Alexander Orman
Management consultant Adam Jay 28
HR consultant Alasdair Wood 32
IT consultant April White 35
Human capital consultant Amanda Nealon 37
Analyst in government and public services Peter Chew 40
42
Career paths
Strategy consultant Tabitha Elwes
Change management Penny Bickerstaff 46
Partner in a consultancy Anthould Madden 49
E-commerce Richard Martin 51
54
Finding the right job

Routes into consultancy Angela Heath
Setting up a management consultancy Calvert Markham 58
Salaries in management consultancy Don Leslie 60
Salary fee survey Richard Martin 64
67
Education, training and development

Training in a large firm Katherine Pigott
The CMC qualification Caroline Barker 70
MBAs: the key to consultancy Nunzio Quacquarelli 72
Masters’ programmes in management consultancy Sally Woodward and 75
Allan Williams 82
Continuing professional development Calvert Markham 84
Company profiles
Accenture 88
Aon Limited 90
The Boston Consulting Group 92
Customer Systems 94
Deloitte 96
Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow 98
IAMCO 100
LEK Consulting 102
McKinsey & Co. 104
Mercer Human Resource Consulting 106
Mercer Oliver Wyman 110
Metapraxis 111
OC & C Strategy 112
PA Consulting 113
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 114
Spectrum 116
Towers Perrin 118
Watson Wyatt Worldwide 122
ZS Associates 123
Recruiter listing 125

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authors, who have asserted their right to be
identified as the author under s.78 of the Acknowledgements
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. We are indebted to the Institute of Man-
agement Consultancy and the Management
This compilation © 2003 Cambridge Market Consultancies Association for their support,
Intelligence Ltd in particular to Joan Fisher and Sarah Taylor,
for their help throughout the preparation of
the Guide and for reviewing the text for
ISBN 1 86213 084 6 balance and accuracy.
Printed and bound in the Netherlands by

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Foreword
Foreword — IMC
The Institute supports Today more than ever management

this guide each year to consultancy needs people who work
encourage a steady flow within a recognised framework of profes-
of new talent into our sional qualifications, standards and ethical
profession. I have to behaviour. Recent events have shown
accept that I am now old that this can no longer be taken for granted
enough to see universi- – and indeed is not by clients or
ty-age daughters and government organisations.
sons of family and friends choosing their The Institute of Management
careers. Consultancy leads the professional com-
Many are keen to pursue a career in munity to develop standards on behalf of
consulting. When I ask why, they favour a all the stakeholders in consultancy. For
combination of three factors – great example we have recently published a
money, a jet-setting lifestyle and the Competence Framework that defines the
chance to tell MDs how to run their qualities demonstrated by successful
companies. I have no wish to discourage management consultants and is being
the new generation of consultants. But adopted internationally. Certain firms (we
sadly none of these assumptions is call these Certified Practices) have consul-
altogether true, although consultants are tant training and development schemes
still quite well remunerated. that explicitly develop these competences,
Nevertheless, after 22 years I still find providing their consultants with a
my work as a management consultant recognised, portable qualification. We also
addictive and I know many others like me. provide access to a ready-made network
So what keeps us hooked? For me of fellow professionals. See our website at
there are three things: www.imc.co.uk for more information.
I hope many of you will choose a
• It’s a lifestyle choice. (If you relish consultancy career and wish you every
working for many different companies, a success.
succession of different challenges and
never quite knowing what’s around the
corner then it could be for you. If not you
probably won’t like it.)
• The satisfaction of making a difference
and seeing people take over your ideas
and put them into practice successfully. Judith Wainwright FCMC
• The opportunity to work with and get to President 2003
know a wide range of talented people Institute of Management Consultancy
coming from different cultures.
6 | www.insidecareers.co.uk
Foreword
Foreword — MCA
I started working in scenario, more consultants will be able to

management consul- take part in projects based on new invest-
tancy in the early ments as companies innovate for the
Thatcher years, and am upturn. This reflects the era of the nineties
still here over two which were, in retrospect, boom times for
decades later. Having delivering innovation.
joined the consultancy So what can the newest recruits to this
world straight from dynamic sector look forward to? I am
university, my friends would say this hopeful that they will be able to take part in
merely proves that I am incapable of a rejuvenated level of investment and the
getting another job. They may be right – services associated with achieving the
but I would contend I am still here because very best results from these investments.
a career in consultancy provides incredible But there are two additional factors that
variety of challenge and opportunity. will dominate the assignments for consul-
Over the years I have worked in many tants in the coming years.
industries – government, banking, utilities, First, the Internet revolution continues
retailing, capital markets, telecoms and so quietly changing the way businesses
on. And I have worked all over the world, operate. Despite the hype and the crash of
from Jesmond to Johannesburg, from 2001, the underlying growth trend has
West London to Wellington and Man- continued, but this time on a strong and
chester to Minneapolis. So if variety is one sustainable foundation, as evidenced by
of your personal career goals – then I am companies such as eBay and Amazon
sure you will not be disappointed with emerging as thriving global brands.
consulting. In addition, the growth in business
Of course, the demands of consulting transformation through outsourcing
are heavy on your personal time and provides the opportunity for consulting
commitment, and it may include long staff to help clients truly transform their
stretches away from home. For the right business processes and operations. It also
people, however, this can be exhilarating leads to big changes in corporate culture
and fulfilling – no one can pre-determine and the chance to help unleash the
this for you and you must decide what is potential of whole workforces.
right for you. The great challenge about being a
So what are the current opportunities consultant is adapting over a career to
for people aspiring to a career in consul- many industries, countries and economic
tancy? Most industries have faced a tough cycles. But it is also a great reward as I
time in the past couple of years, forcing have found in my career. I commend a
the continued deferring of investment. This career in consulting to you as a result.
has driven consultancies towards helping
companies cut cost and survive the down- Ian Watmore
turn. President 2003
But this will change if and when Management Consultancies Association
the global economy rebounds. In this MD of Accenture UK
www.insidecareers.co.uk | 7
The profession
The profession
Inside Careers
Management consultancy in the UK
Sarah Taylor, Deputy Director of the MCA
In the 30s and 40s the first UK consultancy firms practised the
application of scientific measurement to business organisation, as
pioneered by Frederick Taylor in the USA (1856—1915). Inbucon,
Urwick, Orr & Partners, the P-E Consulting Group and PA
Management Consultants represented 75 per cent of the UK sector
in 1956 (£4 million) when they established the Management
Consultancies Association (MCA).
US strategy house McKinsey opened an Watston Wyatt, also started to extend their
office in London in 1959 and broke the services to include consultancy on wider
mould by offering a different type of human resources issues such as perfor-
consultancy. With a relatively small number mance management and leadership skills.
of consultants at the time, they quickly
acquired an impressive list of clients Recent developments
including Shell, ICI, Dunlop, the BBC and Over the last ten years, IT decisions have
British Rail. moved from the backroom to the board-
In the post-war years organisations room as technology has become a key
became more complex and this fuelled the business driver. Enterprise Resource
growth of the audit firms’ consulting Planning (ERP) was the first major IT
subsidiaries. In the 1960s much of the investment for many large corporations.
growth in management consultancy was The need for Y2K compliance provided an
among firms such as Coopers & Lybrand extra impetus for IT consultancy in the late
Associates, Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co, 90’s. Consultants had a key role to play in
Price Waterhouse Associates and Deloitte ensuring that business processes were
Haskins and Sells. The computerisation of appropriately re-engineered and that those
finance departments contributed to the within the organisation supported and
expansion of the consultancy offerings of implemented the changes.
the audit firms and a spate of mergers and The explosion in internet usage in the
acquisitions created a demand for restruc- late 1990s gave rise to a number of pure
turing consultancy. internet consultancies such as Scient,
As PC networks became more Viant, Razorfish and Sapient. These firms
widespread in the 80s, the large IT had to grow at a phenomenal rate to keep
product and service firms such as IBM, pace with client demand, often luring
Unisys and CSC started to offer their own consultants away from the more traditional
consultancy services, initially to generate firms with offers of share options and
sales of hardware or software but later as a flexible working. The dot.com boom came
value-added service which was to become to an abrupt end within a couple of years
more profitable than their traditional core as the much-hyped profits failed to
business. materialise and investors withdrew their
Actuarial firms dealing in pensions and backing. Many of those firms either
remuneration, such as Towers Perrin and disappeared completely or were acquired
10 www.insidecareers.co.uk
Management Consultnacy in the UK
by other organisations. growing client concern by separating their

Another phenomenon of the past ten IT consulting and audit operations, in some
years has been the massive growth in the cases under a new name; Atos Origin
outsourcing industry, that is, the delivery of acquired KPMG Consulting’s UK and
non-core services (usually IT) by a third- Netherlands operations; KPMG Inc
party organisation. Here again, manage- rebranded as ‘BearingPoint’; IBM acquired
ment consultants can make the difference PwC’s consulting arm.
between a highly successful outsourcing
contract and one that delivers little value. The UK consultancy market today
More recently, outsourcing has been The worldwide market for management
extended to other business processes consultancy is currently worth $100 billion,
such as HR or even customer-facing having grown from less than $10 billion
functions. over the past decade. Approximately one
tenth of that work is generated by UK
Consultancy post-Enron based consultancy firms. The UK and
Some time before the Germany are by far the
corporate scandals largest markets in
of 2001 most of the The worldwide Europe, each repre-
Big Five audit firms senting 27 per cent
had already taken market for management of the total. In third
steps to separate consultancy is currently place, France repre-
their IT consultancy sents 16 per cent of
business from their worth $100 billion dollars. the total European
audit services, partly Approximately one tenth market (47.5 billion
due to the SEC euros).
scrutiny in the
of that work is The economic
States but also to generated by UK-based downturn has had a
raise capital for major impact on UK
investment in tech-
consultancy firms. consultancy income
nology and staff. with MCA member
KPMG Consultancy’s flotation in the USA firms reporting growth of just four per cent
and Cap Gemini’s acquisition of Ernst & for 2002 compared with 17 per cent in
Young’s consultancy arm in 2000 were the 2001. The total UK consultancy market is
first stages in what was to be a dramatic currently estimated at £9 billion.
restructuring of a major part of the consult- For several years now, IT and
ing industry. outsourcing-related consulting have
After the Enron revelations, worldwide accounted for half of all fee income.
scrutiny of corporate governance and audit Financial services work generates about
practice led to some redistribution of 25 per cent of UK fee income and the pub-
clients owing to concerns about conflict of lic sector and retailing represent about 12
interest. As Andersen disintegrated, three per cent each.
of the former Big Five firms responded to With continuing consolidation amongst
Management consultancy in the UK
the largest players, we are seeing the time, and may sometimes share the
emergence of a number of niche consul- rewards as well as the risks of a project.
tancy firms working in specific sectors or Consultancy firms which have historically
offering a particular type of consultancy. competed are now working together on
Whilst lacking the global reach and tech- client projects and there will be continuing
nological resources of the big firms, they convergence within and outside the
are able to offer more competitive rates industry as firms co-operate and merge in
and deep vertical expertise. The big firms order to better service their clients.
are also facing increasing competition from
Sarah Taylor is Deputy Director of the
offshore IT service providers who have
management Consultancies Association,
access to a highly skilled but low cost work
force. the trade association for UK-based firms.
Sarah has worked with business-to-busi-
At the same time the consultant/client ness marketing for 20 years and has
relationship is changing. The boundaries considerable knowledge of the consulting
are blurring. Consultants can become part industry, having worked for both the IMC
of the client organisation for periods of and the MCA.
What is a management consultant?
Management consultancy: Management Consultant:

MCA definition IMC definition
The Management Consultancies The Institute of Management Consultancy

Association (MCA) has defined a (IMC) has defined a management
management consultancy as, ‘the consultant as, ‘an independent and
creation of value for organisations, qualified person who provides a
through the application of knowledge, professional service
techniques and assets, to improve to business, the public and other
performance. This is achieved through undertakings by:
the rendering of objective adcive • identifying and investigating problems
and/or the implementation of business concerned with strategy, policy, mar-
solutions.’ kets, organisation, procedures and
methods
• formulating recommendations for
Within such a broad definition, manage- appropriate action by factual investiga-
ment consultants can be invited into an tion and analysis, with due regard for
organisation for a huge variety of reasons: broader management and business
from the requirement for urgent strategic implications
advice to turn around an ailing retail chain, • discussing and agreeing with the client
to dealing with large-scale change the most appropriate course of action
management within a government depart- • providing assistance where required
ment; from the marketing and design of a by the client to implement these
credit card for a major institution to the recommendations.’
installation of an enterprise-wide IT system
for a bank.
The MCA recently surveyed business
as to the reasons why they employed Owing to the often-confidential nature of
external consultants. The most common consultancy work, there remains con-
factor was the provision of skills or knowl- siderable uncertainty as to some of the
edge that the business lacked. Other functions that management consultants
important reasons included the ability to perform. This problem is exacerbated by
offer an independent view of the problem the ever-changing role of consultants and
and original thinking on the issues. the continuing evolution of the market.
Types of consultancy
At one end of the market the larger firms offer end-to-end solutions
and at the other end, niche firms offer specialist skills and industry
knowledge. Within organisations, consultants tend to specialise in
one or more areas, such as corporate strategy, human resources and
information technology, within a particular industry. Until recently,
practices could be divided into four main types:
Generalist
These large consulting firms offer a wide business appraisal of the company. Within
range of services from strategy consulting this category are firms like Bain & Co.,
and human resources to IT and in some The Boston Consulting Group and
cases outsourcing on a global basis. Many McKinsey & Co.
of these grew out of the audit firms, for
example Accenture, Deloitte Consulting Human resource consulting
and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Some These firms offer specialist advice ranging
developed within IT service companies, from personnel policy, manpower plan-
for example IBM Business Consulting ning, job enrichment, job evaluation and
Services, LogicaCMG and Computer industrial relations. They include organisa-
Sciences Corporation. tions like Aon Consulting, Hewitt Bacon &
Woodrow, Mercer Human Resource
Strategy consulting Consulting, Towers Perrin and Watson
Smaller than the generalists in the UK, Wyatt.
the majority of these organisations are
American. As the term suggests, they pri- Niche firms
marily offer strategic advice to companies Much of the growth in UK consulting has
on a project-by-project basis. This involves been as a result of consultants leaving the
long range planning, the reorganisation of larger firms and setting up their own
a company’s structure, rationalisation of consultancy firms in a particular sector or
services and products, and a general offering a specialist service.
Choosing a firm
A large global firm offers a broader range of opportunities in total

but a new recruit might be constrained in one opportunity for some
time. The support for a consultant in one of the global firms is
superb. The methodologies, case studies, training courses and sup-
port material are usually extensive, comprehensive and thorough.
A smaller firm (say 30 to 150 consultants) any gaps in knowledge and experience.
will still have extensive materials, perhaps Although no organisational framework
more localised opportunities, but an indi- is common to all consultancies, most have
vidual will normally sample a wider variety established a formal career structure for
of assignments. The even smaller practices their staff: a consultant progressing to
might specialise (by sector or physical responsibility for the detailed day-to-day
area) and offer as extensive an experience conduct of an assignment and later
as the larger firms within the constraints of the team leader in a multi-disciplined
their chosen business scope. assignment. At this stage there may
When considering a prospective em- also be opportunities to conduct surveys
ployer, pick the consultancy environment designed to diagnose clients’ problems
that best suits your personality and your and establish agreed terms of reference for
aspirations. Talk to the existing staff and future consulting work.
talk to consultants in other consulting Consultancy projects can last a few
models. Remember, too, that having made hours or several years depending on the
a choice, the other options could be revisit- nature of the advice and the demands of
ed when you decide to change your horizons the client. They can involve an individual or
to meet your long-term career needs. they can require a team of hundreds. They
can be based at one site or across several
What to expect international borders.
On joining a large firm of management
consultants, the new entrant will normally Summary
receive several months of induction and The management consultancy role is
training whilst also being under the becoming increasingly important in assist-
guidance of an experienced consultant. ing line management to handle the
During the induction and training period, problems of innovation and change.
the diagnostic skills of the trainee consul- Management consultancy offers a
tant are developed and the professional career without limitations and restraints; it
standards of their firms are impressed on offers a training ground for those wanting
their mind. Particular attention is drawn to to broaden their managerial experience
the writing of clear English and the ability and a ladder of promotion to senior man-
to present thoughts and ideas verbally to agement positions in industry to those who
clients. In addition, the opportunity will be are prepared to accept the challenges and
taken to provide additional training to fill disciplines of the profession.
The consultant-client relationship
Geoffrey Kitt BA (Econ) FCMA FRSA
FCMC, a former President of the IMC,
currently works for IBM
Global Services
When assignments go wrong, inevitably consultant and client have

a rather different perception of the situation. The client will usually
believe that the consultant just regurgitated what he or she had been
told, did not come up with any original ideas and produced
recommendations which were either impractical or otherwise
unacceptable. So all the client got was a report which could not be
used and a fee note.
From the consultant’s perspective it may if they come up with a conclusion you will
look a little different: the client did not not welcome. And as a consultant you
provide an adequate briefing. They could need to know where the line is between
never make time available for meetings but being ‘unprejudiced’ by earlier experience
still wanted everything done in a hurry. and not having the technical knowledge to
They lacked the management skills or meet the client’s requirements. All of this
courage to implement the recommenda- amounts to a degree of honesty between
tions contained in the report. The report consultant and client at the start of the
was, of course, a model of clarity and project which, if absent, will make it pretty
persuasiveness. difficult to achieve a satisfactory outcome.
The truth, of course, lies somewhere
between these two extremes. There will Keeping the channels of
rarely have been a single failure which communication open
rendered the whole project valueless: there Most consulting assignments provide for
will have been a number of minor failures, periodic reviews of progress. Sometimes,
probably by both consultant and client. particularly in large public sector projects,
It may be instructive to identify some of these look more like set-piece battles and
the major pitfalls so that both parties can do not, therefore, fulfil the important need
edge around them – or at least recognise for lots of informal contact. The consultant,
when they have fallen into them. Like most in particular, should wish to test his or her
relationships, that between a consultant views and conclusions as the work
and a client will be most fruitful (and long- progresses. It is amazing just how far and
lasting) if it is based on a degree of trust how quickly a project can go off track if
and mutual respect. this does not take place. Blind alleys can
be fascinating places in which to carry out
Putting your cards on the table lengthy research at your client’s expense.
Some projects go wrong right from the From the client’s perspective it will be
start. As a client, it is one thing not to lead reassuring to see that the project is running
the consultants by concealing your own to schedule and that any problems are
views, but it is quite another not to give dealt with before they achieve threatening
them enough information to carry out the proportions. It is inevitable that the pres-
project. Before engaging consultants you ence of consultants within an organisation
may also need to consider what you will do will give rise to reactions ranging from mild
The consultant-client relationship
interest to outright hostility if there is no project with a knowledge of the client’s

preparation before the work starts and if comfort zone. It may be possible to
relationships are not managed throughout persuade a client to accept and act upon a
the project. One good way of pushing recommendation outside this area, but it
morale through the floor is to not bother will be very much harder. The most reliable
telling your staff that consultants have technique for achieving this is to expand
been engaged until they turn up trying to the comfort zone until it encompasses your
arrange meetings with people. The consul- recommendations. I recall once being
tants can also use up more of your money briefed by a client in the public sector at
if they are required to explain the purpose the start of a project. One unusual feature
of their project to everybody they meet. of this briefing was that I was left in no
doubt about what I was expected to
Acceptable recommendations recommend. This attempt at influencing
Just suppose that we have successfully me was so blatant that my client’s
avoided these pitfalls before and during assistant was moved to warn her boss that
the work. Success is ‘consultants are only so
certain, right? Wrong. good at taking
Consultants are A recommendation dictation’. When I
often, and on some eventually recom-
occasions rightly so, in only useful if a client mended something
accused of produc- will do something with it else I was at least
ing expensive but prepared to have to
useless ‘shelfware’ that improves his or her justify my views with
– elaborate reports position. some vigour. The
that do not prompt opportunity for test-
action. Many organi- selling recommenda-
sations have large collections of such tions before committing them irrevocably
material. I have very strong views on this to a final report can make the difference
issue. A meticulously researched, carefully between a satisfied client and a notable
framed and objectively correct recommen- reluctance to pay for the advice given.
dation which a client will not accept is of In conclusion, there is really no magic
no value. Equally, as consultants we do our formula that makes the relationship
clients no service by merely telling them between consultant and client work. It’s all
what they want to hear. Some of them an ACT – based on Anticipation,
actually object to this, calling it ‘watch Communication and Test-selling.
borrowing’.
A recommendation is only useful if a Geoffrey Kitt BA (Econ) FCMA FRSA FCMC
client will do something with it that is a former President of the Institute of
improves his or her position. Clients may Management Consultancy. He has 25
be unwilling to accept the ‘right’ answer for years’ experience of management consul-
very good reasons. Therefore, it is impor- tancy, and works for IBM Global Services.
tant that the consultant approaches the
The Institute of Management
Consultancy Ian Barratt, Chief Executive, IMC
Recent years have been a challenging time for management

consultants as individuals and the sector as a whole. Some drivers
have become almost familiar friends, i.e. globalisation, technology,
labour market fluidity and the development of portfolio careers.
But they have been joined by the blurring of boundaries
within management consultancy and between internal/external
consultancies.
Clients are also changing. They are tions. These links are an invaluable part of
becoming more sophisticated and the raising the profile of the Institute but also
case for consultancy spend based solely projecting its views to decision-makers.
on objectivity in approach is no longer suf-
ficient. A clear benefit to the bottom line Responding as a community on wider
must be demonstrable and is reflected in business issues is equally important. The
the growing use of risk/reward contractual well-publicised failures in corporate gover-
models. There is also the challenge heard nance during 2001 and 2002 have thrown
at our Annual Conference in 2003 that the the role of all professional advisers into
sector needs to increase its effectiveness sharp relief. We believe that the damage
and productivity, especially when demand is done to the confidence of the public and
sluggish, with no technological driver for markets means that there is an urgency in
expansion likely before 2005. the need to provide reassurance that
These challenges have increased the extends across all professional services
need for a professional community in two firms, including management consultancy.
respects. Firstly, in a world where virtual This underpinned our approach to self-
offices and home-working are becoming regulation, developed with the help of our
more and more common, networking member practices, academics and clients.
maintains contact with fellow professionals. Our contention is that any self-regulatory
We continue to recruit new members and regime must not fetter the ability of UK
engage them positively in all aspects of the management consultants to compete for
Institute's work. With this success comes business, with the opportunities for other
the realisation that the Institute must UK companies to follow in their wake that
represent the full range of the profession, they may bring. This implies that there
from the multinational practices to the sole should be no formal role for Government.
practitioner. We offer a range of ways in The issue is whether the Government can
which consultants can talk to each other, lend its support to what we are trying to
with business and the wider community. achieve by arguing that self-regulation
Our Regions and Special Interest Groups is best delivered through a modern, pro-
allow our members not only to develop fessional approach, i.e. through standards
ideas around common interests but also, backed by disciplinary arrangements.
through the events they hold, to develop We currently deliver this approach
links with a wide range of other organisa- through our CMC‚ qualification, which is
The Institute of Management Consultancy
backed up by external validation and a CMCs when they have reached the agreed
Code of Professional Conduct and Ethical point in their training and development.
Guidelines. The Institute, through our
Client Support Service, actively encour- Who benefits?
ages potential clients to discuss possible Individuals receive additional value from
engagements with practices that are fully the training and development that they are
behind the CMC qualification. Through our going to do anyway as well as lasting
membership of the International Council of recognition of their training, development
Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI) and experience. The firms receive an inde-
the CMC also offers international portability, pendent verification that demonstrates the
as individuals demand transferable qualifi- independent, external recognition of the
cations. But we do not continue to devel- excellence of the internal training and
op the qualification in a vacuum. We have development and enhances the stature of
opened up our processes to clients and the practice externally, especially with
academics through membership of our clients.
Professional Board and a Client User
Group. The business requirement and
the worlds of learning and training are Contacting us
constantly developing and we are To find out more about the Institute and
determined to ensure that the CMC always what it offers, why not contact us on one
stands up to external scrutiny. At the of the following:
beginning of 2003 we launched a new E-mail: consult@imc.co.uk
competence framework and definition of Website: www.imc.co.uk
management consultancy, with the advice Tel: 020 7566 5220.
of that wide constituency, which we
believe represents the first sector-wide
view of what a modern management Ian Barratt has been Chief Executive of the
consultant looks like. Institute of Management Consultancy since
The professional community also January 2000. Before this he was a civil
includes the organisations for which con- servant and Deputy General Secretary of
sultants work. The Institute realised that the Association of Chief Police Officers
larger practices were likely to have in (ACPO). He is a graduate of Oxford
place, or would be seeking to introduce, University, a Freeman of the Company of
structures for professional development Management Consultants and a Fellow of
and training. the Royal Society of Arts. Over the past
Furthermore, it was likely that these three years the Institute has rebranded,
structures would at some point coincide launched a new, sector-wide competence
with the CMC standard. We have devised framework and Annual Conference (now a
a process for identifying that point of major date in the profession’s calendar)
equivalence and agreeing it with a and introduced a wide range of member-
practice, at which time it becomes a ship benefits. It has also challenged the
Certified Practice, empowered to recom- profession and Government with a robust
mend its consulting staff to the Institute as position on self-regulation.
The Management Consultancies
Association Bruce Petter, Executive Director, MCA
The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) was established

in 1956 in order to represent the commercial interests of the largest
UK-based consulting firms. The founding members were Inbucon, PA
Management Consultants, P-E Consulting Group and Urwick Orr and
Partners, and these firms accounted for about 75 per cent of UK
consulting turnover. In 1962 members of the MCA agreed to sponsor
an independent Institute of Management Consultants to represent
the professional interests of individual consultants.
Since 1956 the UK industry has seen maintain high standards within the UK
phenomenal growth, which has been management consultancy industry by
reflected in the increase in member firms’ ensuring that member firms meet its strin-
income from £4 million in 1956 to gent entry criteria and adhere to its code of
£4.7 billion in 2002. Today the MCA’s 40 conduct. With consultancy spending in the
member firms work for most of the FTSE UK currently around £9 billion and new
100 companies and all government depart- firms entering the industry all the time,
ments, representing about 50 per cent of there is a clear need for some form of qual-
the UK industry. ity assurance.
In 1960 the MCA became one Membership of the MCA requires
of the founding members of FEACO, the compliance with industry criteria as well as
European Federation of Consulting Asso- professional and ethical standards. Having
ciations, and has remained an active met the requirements for membership,
member ever since. By June 2001 it MCA firms are required to reaffirm their
became necessary to find new premises compliance annually and are audited
for the growing MCA staff, which moved to periodically.
new offices in Whitehall. Members must practise management
consultancy as a strategic activity and be
The role of the MCA qualified to analyse problems, to give
In 2002, the MCA underwent a major advice and to assist with implementation
strategic review, which involved the over a cross-section of clients in at least
redrafting of its mission statement and two key fields of business activity such as
objectives to reflect the MCA’s evolving strategy, organisational development,
role: ’To influence UK market conditions marketing, human resources or IT.
for MCA member firms to succeed by Member firms must have been in
generating client value, whilst maintaining practice in the United Kingdom as a
professional ethics and social responsibility, management consultancy for at least three
and to help MCA firms to be recognized for years and employ on a full-time basis not
their role in growing the economy.’ fewer than ten consulting staff.
Membership criteria Code of professional conduct

One of the main objectives of the MCA is to The Association expects its members to
The Management Consultancies Association
maintain the highest possible professional selection and use of consultants. The ser-
and ethical standards. The MCA Code vice is free and draws upon the
requires member firms to: Association’s knowledge of its member
• act solely in the interests of clients firms. MCA also promotes best practice in
• reject any business practice which might the use of consultants through the
reasonably be deemed improper Statement of Best Practice and its own
• accept only work for which they are book series.
qualified and have the capacity to
undertake Activities and benefits
• agree terms of remuneration with the In addition to setting and maintaining
client in advance standards, the MCA also offers a range of
• handle confidential information appro- benefits to its members. These include
priately. networking events and interest groups,
If any member firm is found to be contra- marketing and PR opportunities, business
vening the Code of Conduct it will be leads, market intelligence and assistance
subject to a disciplinary procedure which, with recruitment of consultants.
in extreme cases, may result in expulsion
from membership and public reprimand. The future of the MCA
Whilst we have set ourselves some tough
MCA definition targets for growing our membership, we
‘Management consulting is the creation of are also very conscious of the need to
value for organisations, through the maintain our stringent entry criteria and the
application of knowledge, techniques and quality of the MCA brand. Over the next
assets, to improve performance. This is three years we aim to increase our
achieved through the rendering of objec- representation of the UK consulting market
tive advice and/or the implementation of ,
business solutions.’ enabling us to offer better services to
In November 2002 MCA Council members and to raise our profile with busi-
agreed to a new definition of management ness leaders and government.
consultancy which recognized the breadth Quality and governance will remain
of service offered by consulting firms, from important issues for clients and consul-
high-level strategy to detailed, technical tants alike and we shall continue to pro-
implementation. It was accepted that man- mote best practice in consultancy projects
agement consulting is not always about across all sectors.
the rendering of advice, but that when it is, Bruce Petter is Executive Director of the
that advice should be objective or ‘fact
Management Consultancies Association. He
based’.
started his business life in the oil industry
The MCA Shortlisting Service working with Elf/Total/Fina and Ultramar
The MCA’s Shortlisting Service is designed and then heading up the Petrol Retailer’s
to assist potential users of management Association. He was educated at Marlbo-
consultancy with confidential advice on the rough College and Sandhurst .
The future of the industry
Fiona Czerniawska, Director
of MCA Think Tank
‘The consulting industry has been going through the toughest

period in its 80-year history,’ says Jerry Greenberg, CEO of Sapient,
a systems integration consultancy.
According to statistics from leading trend will reverse in the foreseeable future.
consulting firms, the UK consulting market ‘Financial services will take a long time to
grew by only four per cent in 2002, signifi- get through its current restructuring,’ says
cantly down on the 17 per cent growth rate Nick Boulter, General Manager UK, Hay
in 2001 and much lower than the growth Group. ‘It’s hampered by fundamental
rates the industry became accustomed to issues which have little to do with the
in the late 1990s. These statistics also business cycle.’ Growth in consulting in
suggest that the number of consultants the retail sector – a buoyant market for
also fell by 1 per cent, compared to an consulting in 2002 – is expected to level
increase of 24 per cent the previous year – off, in line with anticipated lower levels of
a testimony of over-capacity among consumer confidence. On a more positive
consulting firms and unprecedentedly low note, demand for consulting in the energy,
levels of utilisation (the percentage of utilities and telecoms sectors is expected
consultants’ time spent on chargeable to improve. All three sectors face similar
work). challenges: large corporations that need to
But what of the future? How long will find more innovative strategies, quite
the current downturn continue, and will it different to the cost-reduction, competitive
have a lasting impact on the consulting pricing approaches pursued for the past
industry? What are the implications for decade. Consulting firms remain broadly
recruitment? confident, too, about prospects in the
public sector. A lacklustre market for
Current climate consulting in the late 1990s, the public
Most consulting firms have started 2003 sector has undergone something of a
with an acceptance that the upturn, if it countercyclical boom in the past two
takes place at all, will happen towards the years. Although growth is likely to be less
back end of the year, once the situation in marked in the future, as falling tax receipts
the Middle East is resolved and the US begin to constrain public expenditure,
economy picks up. But such caution belies many opportunities will emerge as the gov-
the fact that the impact of the downturn ernment’s focus on delivering public ser-
has been variable, with some sectors and vices increases ahead of the next election.
services suffering far more than others. In terms of the services consulting
The financial services sector has firms provide, the chief casualties over the
performed particularly badly as a consult- last two years have been strategy and IT-
ing market. Accounting for a third of all related consulting. Strategy consulting is
consulting fees in the late 1990s, this likely to recover first, as the economy as a
sector now generates around a quarter. whole picks up. ‘We’ve reached a point
Nor do consulting firms believe that this where there’s considerable pent-up
demand as decisions and actions have Corporation. ‘With such a range of applica-
been put on the back-burner,’ says Bruce tions and possible strategies, we’re antici-
Tindale, Chief Operations Officer at PA pating a lot of work around IT architecture
Consulting Group. ‘Moreover, this is just and strategy. But, by contrast with the
the point in the economic cycle when 1990s, we’re not expecting that to trans-
assets can be picked up very cheaply – late into wall-to-wall ERP projects. Clients
with care, it’s a good time for organizations are more likely to buy piecemeal, to invest
to invest.’ in tactical solutions with clear and short
payback periods.’
IT consulting While strategy and IT consulting have
The future of IT consulting is less clear. suffered, outsourcing has enjoyed a boom
Although IT consulting still accounts for – a combination of economic pressure and
around a third of all fee income, clients’ technological change has created a
budgets have been substantially cut back climate in which even complex outsourcing
in the past two years and few people are deals are both attractive and feasible.
brave enough to see this ‘We’ll continue to see
changing in 2003. more and more
Something of a Most consulting firms outsourcing,’ says
hangover from the Andrew Stewart,
large-scale enter- would agree that success Managing Director
prise resource plan- in the future will be of Troika UK. ‘We
ning, dot.com and also envisage an
Year 2000 projects determined by a greater increasing market in
of recent years has collaboration between the primary out-
left IT directors sourcers, who then
looking for tactical,
competing firms. outsource part of
value-for-money the service they have
solutions, and resulted taken on to secondary
in a more fragmented IT consulting market. niche suppliers.’
Many consultants suspect the IT consult-
ing market of the future will look different. Cause and effect
‘IT remains a big market,’ says Gilbert How are these shifting patterns of demand
Toppin, European Operations Officer at likely to affect the structure of the consulting
Deloitte Consulting, ‘but also a highly com- industry? The first point to make is that
moditised one. Succeeding here will come we’ve probably not reached the end of the
down to having resources in the right current round of consolidation – the under-
place.’ ‘People are scratching their heads, lying demand for large-scale business
wondering whether to go down the whole- transformation, systems integration and
sale SAP / Oracle route, or to keep their change management projects is unlikely to
current systems going with middleware,’ go away. Excess capacity and the need to
comments Andrew Crowley, Head of achieve economies of scale will continue
Consulting at CSC Computer Sciences to be important drivers in bringing large
firms together, but, with more firms trying between competing firms. As client
to enter the ‘super firm’ league, it’s also demand becomes increasingly complex
possible that we’ll see some shake out at and specialised, it’s unlikely that any one
the top itself, with large firms acquiring or firm is able to fulfil the entire requirements
merging with other large firms. of a project. Even the largest firms will find
At the other end of the spectrum, niche themselves needing to subcontract work
consulting firms have been benefiting from to smaller, more specialist ones. ‘Clients
two trends. There’s been a long-term shift want us to collaborate,’ argues Keith
among clients to buying more specialised Bissett, Managing Director of the Bourton
services, and away from ‘generalist’ Group. ‘They want us to make the most of
consultancy – evidence of a maturing our individual strengths, to see what we
market and more sophisticated clients. In can do together, rather than in competition
a second and more recent trend, price- with each other.’ ‘I believe we’ll move
conscious clients have switched to smaller to an econ-system model,’ agrees CSCs
firms with lower overheads and prices. Andrew Crowley. ‘We already partner with
Although this pressure may ease as the more organisations than we did a year ago,
upturn comes, it’s unlikely that prices in in order to win clients’ business. I think
the consulting industry will return to the we’ll be forming many more such project-
highs of the late 1990s in the next one to based collaborations in the future, creating
two years. them one day, dissolving them the next.’
But the real focus of attention is the
middle ground in the consulting industry – Future challenges
ground in part vacated by mid-sized firms With conventional organisational bound-
either moving up into the ‘super firm’ cate- aries challenged by this shift, there’s no
gory (through growth and/or acquisition), question that the major internal challenges
or repositioning themselves as smaller, facing consulting firms will be related to
niche specialists. Some consulting firms people. For all the publicity about recent
view that middle ground as barren territory, lay-offs, there’s still widespread concern
and see the industry as increasingly within the consulting industry about finding
polarised between the very large firms and people with the right skills. ‘The current
the very small. But others see it as an climate notwithstanding, consulting firms
opportunity. In particular, they see underly- still have concerns about the overall level
ing client cynicism about the value of of skills in the industry declining,’ warns
large-scale consulting projects as resulting Stuart Anderson, a director of Solving aem.
in a prolonged backlash towards tradition- ‘It remains difficult to find the right people
al consulting areas (strategy, business per- in emerging services and markets,’ agrees
formance improvement, etc.), with consult- David Barford, Managing Director at
ing firms returning to their original, adviso- Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
ry function. Barford also thinks that some more funda-
Most consulting firms would, however, mental questions need to be asked
agree that success in the future will be about the organizational structures of con-
determined by greater collaboration sulting firms in the future. ‘The employee /
associate model has to be more a part of loyal, they were paid differently and it was
people’s thinking,’ he argues. ‘One of the impossible to build up the kind of culture
challenges the industry faces is to ensure we wanted. On the other hand, there has to
that its cost-base is in line with revenues,’ be a more flexible model: this issue isn’t
agrees PA Consulting’s Bruce Tindale. going to disappear.’
‘High fixed salaries became a problem
when revenues started to fall.’ But he is
uncomfortable at the prospect of the Fiona Czerniawska si Director of the MCAs
industry moving towards the associate Think Tank and the founder of Arkimeda,
model: ‘The solution should be to have a firm specialising in researching and
more flexible remuneration – the difficulty consulting to the consulting industry.
with the associate model is that you can’t Fiona is also a programme director at
control the quality as easily, and associ- London Business School’s Centre for
ates’ first loyalty is to themselves, not your Management Development. Her publica-
company.’ ‘Troika started out with a tions include Management Consultancy in
planned 50:50 employee-associate split,’ the 21st Century, The UK Consulting
says Andrew Stewart at Troika, ‘but we Industry 2002/3 and The Intelligent
had to abandon it because contractors had Client: Managing your Management
a different raison d’être: they were less Consultant.
Frequently asked questions
? Do I need a degree and if so,

in what subject area?
The vast majority of individuals who enter
smaller firms, they would gain more
general practice experience.
consultancy are graduates. They come

from all disciplines – it is not necessary to
have a business-related degree. It is
? How much can I expect to
earn?
Your starting salary will vary according to
advisable to take subjects that you will where you are and for whom you’re
enjoy and at which you excel, as grades working. Your salary will match your
are the most important factor to firms. We increasing responsibility. The average
recommend that students have at least starting salary for junior consultants in
220 UCAS tariff points and a minimum 2.1 2003 is around £27,000.
degree (in reality firms often ask for more).
? What are employers looking

for?
? How should I go about choosing
a consultancy?
Do as much research as possible into what
Obviously they will want to make sure that a firm does and what career options it
candidates meet their entry requirements. offers. Talk to the firms you are interested
However, students will also need to display in and to people who have worked with
a wide range of personal qualities. A them. There are several good sources
would-be management consultant must of information on a career in consultancy,
possess the following traits: such as the MCA website, www.mca.org.uk
• integrity – your clients’ needs come first and the IMC website, www.imc.co.uk.
• an analytical mind – every problem must
have a solution
• clarity of expression – both verbally and
in writing
? When should I apply?
Although there is no fixed recruitment
• empathy – the ability to recognise another period, organisations generally have
person’s point of view, although not vacancies in the summer after exams.
necessarily agreeing with it. Some also take on trainees early in the
New Year. Check with your campus
? Should I train with a small,

medium or large firm?
The choice is down to personal preference.
careers service for details of who is visiting
your university and when. Once you
have decided to whom you wish to apply,
A good indicator is how comfortable write to them as soon as possible. The first
you feel during the interview. In larger term of your final undergraduate year is the
firms, graduates tend to be placed within right time.
particular business sectors, whereas in
Recent graduates
Recent graduates
Inside Careers
Strategy and business modelling consultant
Name: Alexander Orman

Age: 33
Occupation: Lead Consultant
Qualifications: BSc Mathematics, MSc, PhD
(Operational Research)
Employer: Shell Management Consultancy
Practice
Location: London
“I love the diverse range
of projects and personal
development opportunities.”
Monday
At 06:00 I’m woken by the taxi driver Following a sandwich lunch we then
tooting in the road. My alarm managed to present the model and initial results to a
forget to go off 30 minutes earlier, leaving wider audience. These types of presenta-
me to get dressed in record time. Mondays tions are essential to ensure buy-in of the
usually start in a bit of a rush but this is end result. Given the fundamental impor-
ridiculous. Today I’m off to The Hague (I tance of the results coming out of the
make the trip at least couple of times a model we must provide stakeholders the
month to see different businesses) to meet opportunity to shape the model and to give
a client I’ve been working with for about six them confidence in the output.
months, on and off, looking at a logistics During the afternoon I occasionally call
planning problem in Asia. Essentially, I’m the office to ensure things are running
helping the client decide the best way of smoothly. All seems well and at about
bringing hardware (equipment, human 18:00 I leave the office to catch my flight
resources, supplies, etc.) to the multiple home. These can be long days and it’s not
construction sites to ensure the tight time- unusual to have a significant delay on the
line of the project is met. The scale of the return journey but fortunately everything
development project is massive, with total runs smoothly.
spend running into billions of dollars. We
are tackling the problem by building a Tuesday
complex dynamic model to run scenarios A much more civilised start to the day. My
and to test the viability of various material well-rehearsed morning routine gets me to
supply options. the train station at 07:30 and then at my
I get to Schipol Airport at about 10:00 desk for 08:00. Shell is situated at
and then it’s a quick train journey down to Waterloo Station so was planned with ease
the Shell offices. On arrival it’s a brief of commuting in mind.
overview of the model and a discussion By the time I get in, colleagues from
about immediate issues with the client. The Hague office have already been
Recent graduates
working for a while so the e-mails have far taken a couple of months to build, is
already started coming in, additionally, I beginning to be used in earnest. One of the
have the backlog from yesterday to clear challenges we have had is to get suitably
so it’s going to be flat-out for an hour robust data to drive the model. This has
before the office starts to fill up. My role in involved going out into the business and
the management consulting practice is to working with them to collect and process
run one of the six internal consulting the necessary datasets. For this we have
teams, the strategy and business needed excellent communication skills –
modelling team. The role is split in two: half one of the most important consultancy skills
the time I spend managing the team – as we have been primarily interacting with
(conducting staff appraisals, developing staff not involved in the modelling process.
the team offering, recruiting staff, etc.) and In the evening I leave at about 17:00 to
the rest of the time I’m involved in consul- make my way to one of the London
tancy projects of my own. The team works University colleges for a recruitment event.
only on internal projects but Shell is such a I’m involved in supporting the recruitment
vast company that no two projects are the team who raise awareness of Shell across
same and we have a seemingly endless the campus to high potential under-
supply of clients. I find working as an graduates. The key reason I’m involved is
internal consultant attractive as you can that I’m not an engineer and the message
really get close to the client and you feel a is that Shell doesn’t just drill holes in the
sense of intimacy with the business you work ground for oil and gas, we are a hugely
with – we are all shareholders after all! diverse range of businesses and we
After finishing my e-mails and hearing require a whole range of skills and back-
about the current status of the projects in grounds. After the presentation we spend
the team it’s time for lunch. A colleague is a few hours talking to the students present
leaving and we are taking him out for a over drinks and nibbles. Given the level of
slap-up meal at one of London’s premier interest in our presence on campus the
restaurants. We don’t go out for lunch very event is deemed a great success.
often (Shell has a very good staff canteen,
that’s free) so when we do everybody likes Wednesday
to make the most of it. After some great Wednesday starts with a visit from a
food, a few speeches and handover of a few internal consultants from another
gift (golfing paraphernalia, a typical consul- (non-competing) company. The reason for
tancy gift) it’s back to work. The main the visit is to discuss modelling and
meeting this afternoon is with a colleague exchange tips and hints on approaching
I’m working with on developing a human strategy and modelling assignments. We
resource model for one of the Shell busi- spend a couple of hours showing them
nesses. The objective of the project is to models we have built and vice versa and
build a simulation model that enables the talk through best practice. It’s the first time
users (HR planners) to test varying recruit- we have met in this way and we have both
ment strategies. The problem is complex agreed that there is considerable value in
and dynamic and the model, that has so continuing to meet in the future.
Recent graduates
Lunch is taken in one of the conference is very high but fortunately there appears
rooms in Shell as we have a lunch and to be a clear winner so the
learn session. Every few weeks a consul- meeting doesn’t go on late into the night
tant in the practice is asked to talk about a (as they have done in the past) and I man-
project that they have been involved in and age to get home at a reasonable time.
to give highlights, and lowlights, of the
whole engagement. This is useful for two Thursday
reasons: it gives the, usually junior, consul- To support team building, some junior
tants practice at presenting to a large members of the practice have started to
group and it gives staff the chance to learn organise ‘social’ events. Thursday starts
about what else happens in the consultancy with one such event, a breakfast meeting
practice. Today the talk is on an IT on the top of the tower at Shell Centre. The
planning project and the enthusiasm of the views over London are magnificent and,
discussion showed that this is a topic despite the early start, the turnout is very
currently of great interest. good. I spend the hour or so I’m there
The afternoon is primarily spent talking finding out the range of projects staff are
with a group of clients about some work doing in other teams, things ranging from
my team is involved in for the LNG business continuity planning to planning IT
(Liquefied Natural Gas) business in Shell. infrastructures for new Shell businesses.
To transport gas large distances by sea it After a few meetings with consultants
is common to cool it down, until it in my team I spend lunchtime playing
becomes a liquid, and ship it in what are indoor football with colleagues, fortunately
essentially large floating freezers. Shell is no injuries this time, and then a sandwich
the world leader in the LNG field and, as a lunch at my desk. The afternoon is spent
result, there is much work for my team in working on the Asia logistics project and
the analysis of LNG projects and the asso- updating the client on progress. The dead-
ciated logistical problems. With the clients line for delivery is looming but there has
we discuss projects they have on the been considerable scope slippage.
horizon and how best we can resource Managing the client’s expectations is key
consultancy assignments associated with and something that shouldn’t be under-
them. As with a lot of our work, data played.
collection is key to the successful delivery The afternoon also involves seeing off
of the final result and we try to ensure that an ex-colleague who is off to Rio. Shell has
data collection starts early enough. a system whereby staff are encouraged to
Late afternoon I spend sitting on a move around (geographically as well as
prize giving committee with representa- between businesses) every three years or
tives from other organisations. We have so. Rio is a pretty important location for
spent the past couple of weeks reading Shell and one place I wouldn’t mind going
MSc dissertations, from a range of univer- when my move window is open.
sities, in the area of Operational Research
with the intention of selecting the best for Friday
this year’s prize. The quality of the entries A major part of running a team of consul-
Recent graduates
tants is to ensure that a supply of suitably issue. After a few hours of analysis we
trained resources is available to meet the realise that we are not going to solve it in
demand from the businesses, without one sitting, especially not on a Friday
having consultants sitting on the bench. afternoon, and decide to adjourn to a
One way to address this problem is to later date.
gauge the likely demand from the One feature of working with academics
businesses well in advance. Every Friday is that the timescales are often very
morning we have a resourcing meeting that different, we have projects that have to be
looks forward to assess how the supply- completed yesterday whereas academics
demand matching is looking. Demand for can always wait until tomorrow. One
our services seems to pretty robust and by compromise is to sponsor a student over
working with the business, not just for the summer, which we often do. This
them, we are able to satisfy most demand enables us to have the research spin on a
for work that comes in. project whilst satisfying the timing
Having spent five years lecturing demands of the customer.
before I joined Shell, I have a good network A few more meetings with customers
of contacts in academia. Whenever we get rounds off the week. Everything is notice-
a particularly tricky problem to solve from ably slower after lunch, which certainly
the businesses it often helps to be able to suits me, so the weekend can start slightly
call on experts to come in and give advice earlier. Tonight it’s a party at my rowing
on solution techniques. This afternoon I club that should wipe out most of the
have a couple of academics coming in to weekend. At least this weekend I can leave
chat through an interesting modelling my laptop at work.
Management consultant
Name: Adam Jay
Age: 27
Occupation: Management Consultant
Qualifications: MA (Oxon)
Employer: The Boston Consulting Group
Location: London
“Consulting firms are in the

business of helping companies
become more successful.”
I've been with BCG now for four-and-a-half whether the product will sell in the UK.
years and am off to INSEAD to do my MBA I was told that two senior commercial
later in the year sponsored by BCG. people from the client would be coming
If I’m entirely honest, when I was an over in a week's time, and that I needed to
undergraduate considering applying to arrange meetings with the key people in
consulting firms, I wasn’t completely clear the stone building trade. The client also
what they did, and how they added value. asked me to get a good feel for how big the
Now that I have been here a while, I know UK market for the product might be , and
that consulting firms are in the business to what kind of sales they could expect.
help companies become more successful. Often, cases like this last two to three
Some consulting firms specialise in one months, but this piece of work was more
industry, for example. Healthcare, or one focused, with a narrower set of questions
type of assistance, for example. IT consult- to be answered. Nevertheless, it would be
ing. BCG works with all types of compa- a challenging few days!
nies on all types of issues, but typically
issues that the CEO would be worried Monday
about. From my experiences to date, we Last Friday I pulled together a list of people
have impact on our client businesses who might be able to help me, including
through insight and thinking creatively. building contractors, architects, heritage
Last Thursday I got a call from a organisations, distributors and the trade
partner in one of our US offices. His client, association for stone masons and builders.
a major US pharmaceutical company, This morning I hammered the phone,
needed some urgent help in the UK. They making as many contacts as I could.
have spent the past 12 months developing People were amazingly responsive (it isn’t
a new compound that protects surfaces always this easy), and by mid-afternoon I
from staining and deteriorating. They felt had four meetings set up for Thursday and
there might be an opportunity in the UK to Friday. The phone discussions helped me
use the product to protect old buildings understand the industry a bit more – I
from acid rain decay and graffiti attacks, always find talking better than reading.
and now they want a quick view on I discovered from these early discussions
Recent graduates
that market entry might prove difficult, and The market opportunity still looks limited
that the market seemed small. It seems that so it will be difficult to sell this product
stone protection products have a very poor profitably in the UK. But better the client
track record. Apparently it might take 10 or knows that now than after an expensive
15 years of field tests to prove to English product launch.
Heritage, the organisation that effectively In the evening I made final prepara-
decides which products can be used on tions for the seven meetings over the next
old buildings, that this product really works couple of days: itinerary, background on
and is safe. the people we are meeting, and a presen-
tation package on the product, including
Tuesday the numbers I put together earlier in the
Organised three more interviews this day. Everything looks set.
morning, and then visited a bathroom
product distributor. A couple of BCG Thursday
consultants in the USA are helping the Met the clients in BCGs Mayfair office first
client look at whether they might be able to thing this morning. We had talked a fair
use the compound to reduce staining on amount on the ‘phone over the course of
baths and sinks, and they asked me to the week, but it is always good to meet the
investigate a few issues. people you are working with face to face. I
This evening I am off to bond (or fight) briefed them both on the plan for the next
with my colleagues on a go-cart track couple of days and we talked through how
somewhere near London. We tend to do we wanted to present the material during
something fun like this every couple of the meetings.
months – we work pretty hard, but BCG is We began with a building contractor at
great at organising events to let us unwind! 08:30 in the morning, and the discussions
have come and gone very efficiently
Wednesday through the day. Everyone is enthusiastic
Today I cranked some numbers. The BCG to learn about our new compound –
approach is always to ensure that there is clearly technically well ahead of alterna-
a solid fact base for any decision, and tives – but there is uniform scepticism
there is almost invariably some element of (even from a potential distributor) about the
modelling on a project. Over the last few sales potential.
days I have worked with our Information & Strongest scepticism came in our last
Research team to pull together information meeting today, with English Heritage. They
on the number of old buildings in the UK, explained the detailed research they have
and with additional information from the done into stone protection products, and
interviews I have put together a first pass reiterated that there was no way they
at the total stone protection market size. I would approve such a product without
have had to make a few assumptions, years of field tests. Without their support
which I will refine during the meetings over the market opportunity for this product
the next few days. would be very limited.
Recent graduates
Friday
The meetings this morning – with an matter that we got a negative answer – the
architect, a building contractor and Stone important thing was we helped our client
Federation (the trade association) – only get to the right decision. And in the
confirmed what we heard yesterday. Over process I got to meet some really interest-
lunch we had a good and frank discussion ing people and find out about the porosity
about the limited potential for the stone of different types of stone!
protection in the UK. There was no way The client flew back to the USA after
that we would persuade English Heritage lunch and I spent a couple of hours writing
about the merits of our product in a time- up meeting minutes. A quick beer with
frame that made economic sense for the office mates (the office pays on Fridays),
client. We decided we would recommend and on my bike by 18:00 to enjoy the
no market entry in the UK. It doesn't weekend.
HR consultant
Name: Alasdair Wood
Age: 28
Occupation: HR Consultant
Qualifications: BSc. Psychology and Philosophy
Employer: Towers Perrin
Location: London
“I love the varied working

hours that my job affords.”
08:20…
… usually finds me sprinting down the road ments for a US client of our New York office.
to the station, whereas by … Towers Perrin is a global firm and we often
work quite closely with colleagues in the
09:00 USA, Europe and around the world.
I am in the office. My day normally starts Assessments involve benchmarking a com-
with a coffee and an inbox full of e-mails and pany's pay packages (base salary, bonus
voicemails. Many of these will be related to and long-term incentives) for individuals
things going on inside the firm but many will against market data collected under our sur-
be from either colleagues or clients and will veys. Towers Perrin has pay and benefits
relate to work that I am doing or that I am surveys that cover the majority of the FTSE
being asked to do. Some messages will 100 companies and the data from these
need answering straight away, others will surveys underpins much of what we do. In
either add to my ‘to-do list' or change my this case, the assessments have been
approach to work that I am doing. prepared by a colleague – I review them
against survey information and previous
09:30 work that we have done in similar sectors.
I update my ‘to-do list' and prioritise the
work that I have to do that day. I typically 10:45
am working on two or three larger, more A retail client calls to discuss an annual
long-term projects and three or four bonus design project that I am working on.
smaller, shorter-term projects at any one I talk through with the client a specific
time. Having recently been promoted to issue that has occurred to her and that she
consultant, I am finding that the amount of thinks should be incorporated in the
time I spend speaking to and meeting with design. The client has a meeting this
clients is increasing. I am also spending afternoon and needs to know the impact of
more time helping to coordinate large the change (should we decide to make it)
projects and managing smaller projects. on the output from a spreadsheet model
that I have built to show the bonus
09:45 pay-outs that would correspond to varying
I begin work reviewing some job assess levels of company performance. We
| www.insidecareers.co.uk 35
Recent graduates
discuss the pros and cons of incorporating review of the company’s remuneration
the change and I agree to amend the package for main board directors and the
spreadsheet before 13:00. redesign of the executive annual bonus
plan which is currently linked to operating
10:55 profit performance. The meeting is primarily
The changes to the model will take an hour an opportunity for us to ask questions
or so to make and so I decide to put off about the issues involved and to scope out
reviewing the assessments (which are not the project in terms of who will do what
due until tomorrow) and start work on the and when.
spreadsheet.
16:00
12:00 Back to the office and I have a voicemail
Finish work on the model and pass it over from the retail client from this morning
to a senior consultant to check. There is a asking me to call her to go over some
training session being run by a colleague questions from her meeting. I ask a
who specialises in employee rewards so I colleague to review the share options letter
go along to that for 45 minutes over lunch. and make the call together with the other
Another colleague from our communica- consultant involved.
tions practice is there and asks me
whether I would be interested in working 16:30
with them on what sounds like an interest- Check the amendments to the share
ing project with a manufacturing industry options letter and pass it over to my
client. We agree to meet next week to talk secretary to complete and post to the
over the details. client.
13:00 16:40
The work on the spreadsheet model has Back to the assessments from this
put my day back a bit so when I get back morning. I sit down with the colleague who
to my desk I quickly finish off a letter to a prepared the assessments and we run
financial services client about market through a couple of points that I picked up
practice in respect of share option plans. I this morning and amend two of the assess-
have a good relationship with the ments. The client contact in New York calls
Company Secretary and he often calls me to check that we are on course to deliver
with requests for information of this kind. I the assessments tomorrow.
retrieve the spreadsheet from my
colleague and send it over to the client. 18:00
A quick scan through my e-mails and my
14:00 diary for tomorrow to make sure that I
Off to a client meeting with two colleagues. haven't forgotten anything and I am off. I
A quick taxi ride to the City to visit the HR normally leave between 6 and 7, occasion-
Director of a large plc. We recently won a ally earlier and sometimes later, depending
competitive bid for some work involving a on the volume of work.
IT consultant
Name: April White
Age: 24
Occupation: Consultant
Qualifications:BSc (Hons) Information
Management, 1st, UCL
Employer: PA Consulting Group
Location: Anywhere and everywhere!
“The only limitations are the
ones you place on yourself.”
When I started to look for a graduate job, I different area.

felt like I was making a decision about what The Pilot has now begun and I am
I would do for the rest of my life. The directing a team of client staff who are
thought of this was fairly daunting. When I working off-site, simulating real customers
looked into consulting jobs, I realised that I using the test data and processes I created.
didn’t have to choose one industry, as I am responsible for providing data about
consulting companies offered a variety of the ‘customer’ experience, as well as
work. I could build on my studies in having to fix all the problems that turn up
computing and network technologies and along the way, including chief photocopying
work in a diverse range of industries. This machine fixer!
was the deciding factor; I wanted to work
in IT consulting. 07:00 – Trains, planes and
The recruitment process wasn’t easy. automobiles
The array of interviews and tests were It’s 07:00 and I’ve just got on a train at
challenging. When PA made me an offer, I London Euston. My current assignment is
accepted it on the same day. I took a short based in the North West so I commute
travelling break after University and started from London on a Monday and return
work in August 2000. home on a Friday. I use the journey time to
review emails, and create a to-do list for
My current assignment myself.
I am currently working on an intensive test-
ing programme, termed the Pilot, to help 09:45 – Hit the ground running
launch a new business. The Call Centre, When I arrive, the client team are already
and associated back-office operations, making calls to the Call Centre, filling in
have been built from the ground up during application forms and replying to letters, as
the last year. The readiness of each aspect if they were customers. The process is still
of the business must now be tested – quite new to them, and there are always
people, process and IT. PA’s Pilot project teething problems. For example, the Call
team is made up of five experts, each Centre is rejecting the credit card numbers
responsible for leading the testing in a from our applications.
Recent graduates
10:15 – Team meeting 15:30 – Capturing the feedback

I call a team meeting to review key aspects During a pilot, live operations stop at three-
of their role and communicate a temporary thirty. This allows time for each operational
work-around for processing payments. I group to review progress from that day. I
gather some basic figures about volumes host the daily wash-up session with the
processed and get some feedback about the Customer Team.
team’s perception of customer service quality. We review ‘customer feedback’, and
look at their overriding perceptions of the
11:00 – Problem solving day. I also talk them through the progress
I raise the problem of credit card number of the Pilot, and then we discuss areas for
rejection. It also looks as though the appli- improvement.
cation forms take longer to complete than
planned. I decide that completing forms
16:30 – Test Administrators’
takes precedence, so we reduce call
Meeting
volumes until tomorrow.
It’s a quick dash back over to the main site
for the daily wash-up session. This session
12:00 – Munch and go
brings together consultants representing
It’s time to visit the Contact Centre, on-
views from across the Pilot. Repre-
site, down the road. I grab a sandwich on
sentatives summarise feedback from their
the way. I want to gauge how well the
teams which uncovers some major learning
Contact Centre is dealing with the input we
points, as well as smaller teething problems
have been providing. When I enter the
to iron out during the Pilot.
Contact Centre it is clear they are busy, but
it is not clear that they are coping. The
volume of work isn’t the issue; it’s the lack 17:00 – Triage at the
of experience. I’m glad I am aware of this; Management Meeting
it’s bound to be on the wash-up meeting Here we talk about the top three or four
agenda at the end of the day. issues. I attend this meeting to answer
questions as and when required. I learn a
13:00 – Everybody plays a role lot by listening and I am glad to be involved.
I get a call from the consultant running the
back-office team. Things are slow, as it 17:30 – Reporting
takes time for the workload to filter through After the meeting ends, we write up the
the system and to build up in the back- day’s events. I’m responsible for compiling
office. He wants to know how many a report on ‘customer feedback’. I ask one
applications we expect to have processed of the other consultants to give it a quick
by the end of this first week. We discuss once-over then it’s added to the pack. Just
the problem whilst I’m on-site. before we send out the daily pack of
Whilst I am there, I put a case to one of reports, we do a read-across. They will tell
the consultants about getting some extra me, if required, how I can improve my
resources for the Customer Team and they report-writing, and when I have something
agree to look into it. to add, they listen. It feels good.
Recent graduates
18.00 – Ready, Steady, Go! 18.45 – Priority number 1 – beer

Normally I would go home, but because we and curry
are in the middle of a pilot there are some I lock everything up, ready for a new day
last-minute changes to make. I remember tomorrow. I place a quick call to find out
that the Customer Team need printouts where the rest of the team are – in our
from my test data database – 300 favourite pub of course! We’ll probably go
customer profiles to be exact – and the hunt down a new curry house tonight. The
instructions for the customer team need healthy ones amongst us will probably join
amendments. It’s back to the glamorous in once they’ve finished at the gym. I for
role of chief photocopier! one am off down the pub.
Human capital consultant
Name: Amanda Nealon
Age: 26
Occupation: Human Capital Consultant
Qualifications: BBLS MBS (Strategic
Management Planning)
Employer: Watson Wyatt LLP
Location: Dublin
“There are very few careers left which
follow a structured, defined path
from entry through retirement.”
I’ve been a member of the Human Capital within three functional departments of the
Group in Watson Wyatt now for two years. organisation. Having recently undertaken a
When I was applying for management large-scale restructuring, the CEO and
consulting positions as an undergraduate, Senior Management Team are anxious
I didn’t really have any clear focus on to establish how the new structure is
which area of consulting most appealed to operating on the ground and Watson Wyatt
me. I knew that the variety and project- have been engaged to conduct a review.
focus of the consulting environment Our brief is to interview selected employ-
attracted me, but the distinction between ees about key aspects of the new structure
different consulting specialisms did not and to ‘shadow’ key role-holders to
factor hugely in my choice of career. Now establish any communication or process
that I work within the area of human issues within the new structure. This week, I
capital consulting, I understand the value will be continuing a hectic interview sched-
of technical focus and direction. ule as part of the data collection process.
I spend the day drafting meeting notes
Monday from interviews conducted the week
I arrive in the office after the weekend and before and then filling this data into the
plan the week ahead. I am currently developing recommendations model which
engaged on two separate client assign- we have begun to formulate. This model
ments which demand equal attention and will form part of the key project
have a training seminar on Thursday so deliverables.
I need to plan my time to optimum advan-
tage. After drafting a rough work plan, I Tuesday
begin to answer my e-mail and check I travel straight to the telecommunications
my voicemail. client site and spend the morning conduct-
My client in a large telecommunica- ing interviews with a colleague. Some
tions provider has called to schedule some interesting issues are emerging which we
executive interviews. I am currently discuss over lunch.
working within a small project team to When I get back to the office, my
review the existing organisational structure second client, a large financial service
Recent graduates
provider, has emailed with a request for a to consultants within the firm. The key
short report. I am currently working with speakers are senior technical experts in
this client on key aspects of their reward the area of strategic reward programmes
strategy. They are in the process of review- and I find the day extremely insightful. It is
ing their overall employee remuneration also a really good chance to catch up with
package and are interested in market my colleagues from all over Europe.
trends in variable pay for certain functional
business areas. I spend the rest of the day Friday
pulling together the data from survey Having flown back from the UK late last
sources and e-mail off a report before night, I am hoping for a quiet day in the
heading home for the evening. office before the weekend. However, there
are several e-mails requiring immediate
Wednesday attention when I arrive at my desk, indicat-
I receive a voice message from the ing that I have a busy day ahead.
financial service client thanking me for the A colleague in Spain is putting together
report and suggesting that we schedule a a proposal for a prospective client on
conference call to discuss next steps. I approaches to performance management
schedule a conference call for the and is looking for some international
afternoon and spend the morning working references. My line manager asks me to
through further interview notes from the frame a response outlining our experience
interview session with the telecommunica- of such assignments in the Irish market. I
tions provider. spend a couple of hours pulling together
A senior consultant and I call the the necessary information and e-mail a
financial service client in the afternoon to summary to the Spanish office.
discuss next steps and agree a number of
follow-on actions. They are interested in The rest of the day is spent completing
engaging us in the employee communica- meeting notes from my executive
tion phase of their review project – this is interviews with the telecommunications
turning into a very interesting project which client earlier in the week and discussing
will last for several months. possible presentation approaches with the
other team members. We are nearing the
Thursday final stages of the data collection and
I fly to the UK early in the morning for a analysis process and need to begin
training seminar on strategic reward, which considering how best to feed back our
is particularly timely given my current recommendations to the senior manage-
assignment within the financial services ment team. The team meeting finishes just
sector. The seminar is part of an annual after 17:00 and I leave the office soon after
programme of training activity available to get an early start to the weekend!
Analyst in government and public services
Name: Peter Chew

Age: 24
Qualifications: BSc (Hons) International
Management and German, 1st, University of
Bath
Employer: PA Consulting Group
Location: London
“It is both stimulating and rewarding to be

able to contribute to something that could
potentially influence government policy.”
At University I had my life planned out. I crazy. It’s one of my clients, who I’m meet-
was going to graduate, get a good job, ing later on in the day, asking to bring a
work like crazy for five years and then meeting forward by an hour. I generally like
‘settle down’ in the Lake District where I to start my day with a cup of tea, plan and
would work at a slower pace and enjoy the prioritise my workload and produce a task
good life. Now, I feel I am able to combine list for the day. Usually there are a few
the two – achieve my full potential in my tasks on there from the day before and
professional life, whilst still having a life today is certainly no exception!
outside of work.
09:30 … Assignment manager
My current assignment: meeting
Sorry, did that say assignment in the My assignment manager calls a progress
singular? That would be nice! I’m currently meeting on some work I had been doing –
working on three assignments for three we go and find a room. He’s happy with
different Government Departments and my work and would like me to take on
juggling the demands of all of them can more responsibility with this project. I’m
sometimes be quite a task! A lot of more than happy with that!
Government departments are based in
London, so I spend a lot of my time work- 10:30 … Report writing
ing from our head-office office there. Back at my desk, I get the chance to read
my e-mails and check my voice-mails. I
Rolling into work … 08:15 then get to work writing reports based on
….sees me jumping onto the London some client visits from the previous week
Underground, one of the few refuges and give a quick call to my assignment
where you can escape from the ringing of manager, asking him if he’ll have time to
phones, but by proofread them later on. I promised them
to my clients by close of business and as
09:00 … It’s all systems go! I’m delivering a presentation to a separate
…my own phone in the office is going government client at 16:00, they really
Recent graduates
need to be done by then. He agrees and assignment manager and prepare for my
also gives me a few useful pointers on presentation at 16:00.
information to include.
14:45 … Behind schedule ...
12:00 … Another meeting! I’m behind schedule, but I meet up quickly
The reports are coming on well and I’m just with my assignment manager to review the
about to pop out for some lunch when I’m reports that he’s just finished proofreading.
called into a meeting to give input on a He makes a few suggestions in terms of
separate piece of work I’ve been doing. the structure and tone, as well as the odd
Some colleagues are doing a similar typo I’ve missed!
piece of work with a different client, and
apparently I’m considered an ‘expert’ in 15:00 … Finished task … result!
this area now! I explain my role on this I make the changes to the reports, attach
project and describe the ways in which we them to an email and they’re out to the
approached the task in hand and the main client! I cross the task off my ‘to-do’ list
risks we faced on the way. It’s useful infor- enthusiastically and I’m then reading
mation and they are also able to give me a through my presentation for my client
few pointers on areas with which I was meeting at 16:00.
having difficulties. I’m now really glad they
caught me on the way to lunch. 15:30 … Taxi!
The client meeting is not far away in the
13:00 … Lunch at my desk City, so I jump in a cab with my colleague,
…now I’m really hungry, so I grab a sand- and he briefs me on some last minute
wich and eat it at my desk as I carry on changes to the agenda on the way over.
writing the reports.
16:00 … The Client is Happy …
13:30 … Reports are finished … I’m happy!
Wo-hoo! I deliver a presentation on our current
Phew! The reports are done! I e-mail them progress on the project so far and, togeth-
over to my assignment manager and give er with my colleague, demonstrate some of
him a call to arrange reviewing them our key deliverables. They seem happy
together. and they ask lots of questions, which I
guess is always a good sign. We can’t
13:40 … All hands on deck! answer all of them on the spot, but agree
Some colleagues call from another assign- to send certain information over to them to
ment. There’s the potential that a key fill in any gaps. By…
milestone may not be delivered on time
and it’s an ‘all hands on deck’ scenario to 17:45 … Almost home and dry!
ensure this doesn’t happen. We have a Back in the office, I respond to a few e-
meeting to discuss where things are going mails and type up the notes and actions
wrong and to divide actions between us. I from the client presentation. The actions
excuse myself early to meet with my will form a significant part of tomorrow’s
Recent graduates
task list, but luckily most of today’s tasks

on my to-do list have already got lines
through them! And Tuesday night is
football night, so by…
18:30 … It’s footie and fresh air

in Hyde Park
I shut down my laptop and meet up with a
group of colleagues to walk over to Hyde
Park for a good old kick-about.
career paths
Career paths
Inside Careers
Strategy consultant
Tabitha Elwes is currently one of five partners

leading the London strategy consultancy firm of
Spectrum Strategy Consultancy. A sspecialist
firm, Spectrum focuses exclusively on the
content and telecommunications industries.
Tabitha’s focus is on media and education.
Current Position being thrown in at the deep end and l

I am currently one of five partners leading earning to swim. If I had realised what I
the London strategy consultancy firm of was getting myself into I would probably
Spectrum Strategy Consultancy. We have never have taken the job, but, much to my
offices in London, Singapore and Brazil surprise, I loved the work. I was given huge
and associate companies in Germany and amounts of responsibility; worked extraor-
Spain. My focus is on media and educa- dinarily long hours and found that I really
tion. enjoyed rising to all the challenges.
After 18 months I was sent to the New
That first step York office and became part of a more
Like most people as the end of University structured career programme which
dawns I found the prospect of choosing a included three months of comprehensive
career overwhelming. I had no vocational training alongside all the new MBA
calling as such (that dream of being an recruits. I was asked to specialise in one
opera singer fortunately stymied by area – which I think was valuable at this
complete lack of talent). As a result, this stage as it allowed me to start to build con-
being 1987, I decided to follow the crowd fidence and a reputation. I chose to work
into investment banking. The fact that in the media team, because it was an area
banking was both fashionable and offered where there were huge amounts of change
sums of money beyond my wildest dreams and where there was an interesting range
was certainly no disincentive. However, of clients.
what made banking particularly appealing
was that it would allow me to keep my Business School
options open. After four years with Lehman’s I decided to
I chose Lehman Brothers primarily go to business school. Again, it was for a
because as I trawled through the milk mixture of reasons. First, though I enjoyed
round they were the people with whom I my job I was not sure that I wanted to stay
felt the greatest personal affinity; not the in finance (it was the media industry that
most systematic approach, but it served fascinated me rather than the balance
me well (and should not be discounted). sheets). Second, having worked extremely
Lehman’s had just started a small corpo- hard for four years I wanted to have a year
rate finance team in London and the first where my only responsibility was to
18 months was really an experience of myself. Third, I felt that I needed to
Career paths
complement what I had learnt at Lehman’s when I was asked to join Spectrum I leapt
with more systematic learning at business at the chance.
school.
I chose INSEAD because I’d been in From start up to establishment
the US for two years and wanted to go There were six of us involved in the starting
somewhere different; because the course up of Spectrum. The founding partners had
was only one year and because I had recognised that there was a huge amount
friends who had loved their time there. It of work in the convergent services sector
was a wonderful year – very intensive that was not being addressed by the
teaching and extremely hard work but very bigger consultancy firms. It was highly
stimulating. I learnt most from the team speculative for the first year – we had only
work – at INSEAD they put you in teams a limited amount of capital and did not
that are designed to be provocative – and know how quickly we could build the
it really works. It was also a year of business. As a small firm, we all quickly
enormous fun, wild parties, cabarets and became adept at turning our hands to
jazz bands. whatever was required. Though I have
After Business School continued to focus primarily on media – I
Coming out of business have been sent to
school I was nervous manage telecoms
that whatever career A recommendation projects in Asia
decision I made when the need has
would be definitive (in
in only useful if a client arisen.
fact that is not the will do something with it
case and some of my that improves his or her Over the course of
contemporaries have the last ten years I
shifted directions position. have grown with
successfully several Spectrum (we now
times since leaving employ 80 people
INSEAD). I chose a management consul- and have four international offices). I rose
tancy (Booz.Allen) because I felt that I basically by broadening my experience
needed to consolidate my learning from base taking increasingly senior roles in
INSEAD with further ‘project’ based expe- projects – rising to manager and then part-
rience and because they had a strong ner. I never imagined that I would stay in
media team. My original plan was to spend consulting for so long but it is so stimulat-
a couple of years at Booz before going into ing – every project brings something new.
an industry position. In addition as a founding member of a
My experience at Booz was broad – three small firm, I have had the benefit of work-
months helping to restructure a news ing over the years with my colleagues to
gathering agency, six months working on a build that firm – that is both exciting and
fixed licence bid for the second network in nerve wracking at times.
Hong Kong. I learnt a lot but felt a bit like a Last year I took a 12 month sabbatical
cog in the wheel of a large firm. As a result to work in Africa on HIV and AIDS (after 8
Career paths
years at Spectrum I needed a break but did ing and there is always a new challenge
not want to leave). and problem to solve. However, it is not a
I have now returned to focus on cushy life: it can be very hard work and can
building our education practice – in be unpredictable – ’We need you to be in
particular our work within government. I Johannesburg on Monday for the next four
now work part time so that I can continue weeks’ may sound exciting at 21, but
to do some AIDS projects. This gives a one’s enthusiasm for such trips quickly
good balance to my work life and, to date, wanes. However, despite this, I am still a
has worked successfully. consultant ten years after leaving business
My experience of consultancy has school because I love the challenge of the
been very positive – on successful projects work and the joy of working with intelligent,
the team sees the benefit they are deliver- stimulating people.
Change management
Penny Bickerstaff CMC, and a former president of

IMC, specialises in change management and
financial management with blue-chip clients. Her
career path is a common one, from law degree
to professional accountant, through finance
director to respected consultant. Only in retro-
spect does it seem so orderly!
I work as an independent management see the insides of a wide range of blue-

consultant and a sole practitioner. This chip companies and gain an understanding
means that I work independently of any of of how they work. I can't say that I enjoyed
the big firms and that I am not in practice all of my training as an auditor, but there
with anyone else. Amazingly, I have been have been many times since when I have
working like this for 13 years. My work been glad of it.
usually comes to me by word of mouth.
So, either old colleagues or clients request Business analyst
more work themselves or recommend me At the end of the final exams for chartered
to others. accountants in those days, recruitment
About half the work that I do is alone, consultants used to stand on the steps giv-
advising senior management on specific ing out material. It must have been a very
issues. The other half is leading or working good time to catch people at a low ebb
in small (up to 12) project teams to recom- with the profession. I already knew that I
mend and manage a significant change for wanted to go into business and was fixed
an organisation. up by the recruiters as a financial analyst,
business planner and sidekick to the
Career Finance Director at WEA Records.
I originally intended to be a lawyer and Since I possessed only five records at
read law at King's College London, taking the time it was more the thought of putting
a first-class honours degree. Unfortunately, what I knew into practice that attracted
towards the end of my course I had the me, but of course a glamour business
uneasy feeling that being a lawyer would helped! Working at WEA was a marvellous
not last the rest of my life. lesson in persuading people focused on
In a bit of a limbo, therefore, I decided pop music to use financial techniques to
that taking an accountancy qualification make real-life commercial decisions.
would give an overall business grounding After two years I was offered a public
and I joined KPMG in London. Nowadays I speaking scholarship to America, which
think it would be possible (and some would seemed too good an opportunity to pass
say preferable) to become a consultant up. I was interested then in becoming a
straight away. Certainly a lot of the training management consultant with one of the
of a chartered accountant was then, and accounting-based consultancies, and on
still is I understand, deadly dull, but you do returning I joined Deloitte Haskins and Sells,
Career paths
now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers. work on the outside. I certainly gained here

a fundamental, never to be minimised,
Training appreciation of the compelling and com-
The training offered by Deloittes was peting pressures on a senior manager.
excellent and has been very important to
me as a consultant and manager ever As an independent
since. The training was two-pronged: first, I decided to go independent in 1990, largely
additional in-depth training in your chosen as a lifestyle decision. I was working very
field, in my case finance. Second, training long hours and I wanted both to have
in the skills needed to work as a consul- children and to see them. My daughters
tant: interviewing and data gathering, were born in 1991 and 1993.
presenting, and the consulting process. For the past 13 years I have been lucky
This included, controversially at the time, enough to work with a wide variety of blue-
developing an understanding that clients chip clients on a testing set of change
were likely to have strong feelings about management issues. I am also privileged
any change that was proposed and that that for some of the time I have worked
part of the consultant's job was to recog- three very flexible days a week. There have
nise and respect those feelings as any been times of too much work and of too
change was implemented. little, but on the whole if someone had told
With Deloittes I completed a wide me it would work out like this I would not
range of assignments in large blue-chip have been so worried.
organisations, and after one assignment As my children have grown I have also
was offered the post of Finance Director at found time to be involved in the Institute of
ITN. Too good an opportunity to turn down Management Consultancy, firstly as a
at 29! member of council and latterly as presi-
dent 2001 because I believe strongly in the
As a finance director profession of consultancy and in the
Being a finance director called on all the training and regulating of consultants. My
experience that I had had so far and then year as president enabled me to meet a lot
some more. This was a period of great more consultants and I was amazed at
change for television companies. It was the wide variety of business models that
also a time of turbulent news, with the fall work and the breadth of the types of
of the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square and consultancy on offer.The idea now of a
Lockerbie, to name a few. self-managed career is a lot less unusual
Working with one's own organisation than it was when I first started, and is often
through a period of colossal change is dif- expected even within organisations, so
ferent from working as an outside consul- you really have less to lose. What are you
tant and I still draw much on the experi- waiting for?
ence of how it felt as an insider now that I
Partner in a consultancy
Anthoula Madden, BSc(Hons), MSc., Ph.D., CMC,
has followed a non-traditional route to
management consultancy. A Partner in Deloitte
Consulting, with a primary focus in Consumer
Business and CRM solutions and leading DC’s
European SAP CRM practice, Anthoula also has a
distinguished academic career track record
behind her in Medical Physics.
The path to consulting research techniques, as well as strong

My career path has been rather varied, communication skills – especially when
primarily because I started off in life managing patients or presenting at large
wanting to be a scientist. In fact there was international conferences. It taught me the
a time when I could not have imagined need to be disciplined, structured, logical,
myself being anything else. I graduated deadline driven (I was determined to
from the University of Birmingham with a submit within three years and not be one of
2:1 in Physics with Astrophysics, and my those eternal PhD students!), analytical
direction was pretty clear-cut in terms of and a good communicator of my ideas and
my focus on science. I always loved the work to an international audience. Overall it
medical field, so I did a Master’s in Medical was excellent experience.
Physics at the University of Surrey, where I I only started thinking about other
graduated with a distinction. This landed options at the end of my PhD, as I
me sponsorship for a doctorate in Medical embarked on a one-year post-doctoral
Physics at the Institute of Cancer research fellowship. Having come to the
Research, which would then open the door end of what was a fun three years, I looked
to leading research at a well-renowned around me and felt that I could see what
research centre. The whole concept of life would be like for the next 30 years! That
breaking the barriers of science applied to was quite scary for someone who craves
medicine was hugely exciting and gave me variety! The Ph.D. project actually crys-
the opportunity to apply my skills in a very tallised for me what I enjoyed most: variety,
rewarding environment. intellectual challenge, solving interesting
Actually delivering the PhD was very problems, bringing about positive change
challenging as it was my own project, I had and, of course, a passion for travelling!
full responsibility for planning and manag- I had actually become frustrated with
ing it, as well as bringing it to successful being an academic as it is so open-ended
and there are no short term goals. I
fruition. It involved a huge variety of realised that I need challenges and
different things which kept me interested objectives; I need to achieve tangible
throughout the three years, including results and then move on. A friend
research into completely new ideas, suggested a career in management
applying those ideas, using my analytical consultancy to make a fresh start as it
skills to figure out the results and improve contained all the necessary ingredients. It
Career paths
was, however, fairly difficult breaking into tion offered by the IMC. I successfully
consultancy from research, as academics achieved CMC status and have been a
do have a bit of an ‘intellectual’ image. member of the Institute of Management
I looked for alternatives and a lucky Consultancy since 1996 and CMC since
break came with Conoco UK Ltd, where I 2000. By the time I left PwC in April 2001, I
was recruited as a Business Analyst and I had progressed to Director and was lead-
was immediately assigned to a consultancy ing large scale global programmes.
project managed by Andersen Consulting. My final move was to Deloitte
The company was being revamped and Consulting in April 2001, to establish and
implementing a large scale ERP transfor- lead the European SAP CRM practice. In a
mation programme. I loved the project as way I had ‘grown up’ at PwC and was
it involved a lot of variety, was results looking for a new challenge. Deloitte
driven and demanded complex analytical Consulting was still a global professional
thinking. I learnt so much from the experi- services firm, though a bit smaller than
ence and was convinced that consulting PwC. More importantly it offered me the
was the right career for me, so I decided to opportunity to create and build a practice
move on two years later. from scratch in Europe, which has been
I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in very rewarding, and to develop my skills in
late 1992 as a consultant, which proved to CRM.
be the most significant move of my career.
Joining one of what was ‘the Big 5’, I was Deloitte Consulting
offered excellent consulting training as well At Deloitte Consulting, I am responsible for
as challenging opportunities to learn about the delivery of CRM Solutions, primarily in
different industries and business solutions. the Consumer Business and High Tech
One of the fun parts of the job was its Manufacturing industries. My responsibili-
international nature, and it opened the ties are very varied, and include Business
door to some very exciting work, including development with strategic clients,
working for a leading oil company in management and delivery of consulting
Colombia, spending a year with a Brewery projects as well as the Leadership of
in Portugal, and a two year assignment Deloitte’s European SAP CRM practice.
with a major High Tech manufacturer in Specifically, I have been advising
the USA. It was a personal as well as a clients on their customer management
professional challenge, because I had to strategies and how to leverage them as a
develop my non-existent Spanish and key differentiator. CRM value propositions
Portuguese, at the same time as coping are becoming increasingly complex and
with the project and a new culture and include channel integration, Shared
language. As I progressed at PwC, I was Service Centre consolidation, offshore
developing not only my consulting skills development, business process and appli-
but also my project management and cation outsourcing and implementation of
industry knowledge, and I was given the B2B and B2C portal solutions. Clients are
opportunity to work towards the Certified looking for a sound Return on Investment
Management Consultant (CMC) qualifica- (ROI) and how these solutions can be
52 www.insidecareers.co.uk |
Career paths
leveraged to provide a platform for level. Work has given me the springboard
developing a customer-centric organisation, to fuel my other passion of travel, and I
driving a company’s CRM strategy through have lived and worked in the UK, USA,
new channels to market, internal process Portugal, Cyprus and Luxembourg.
streamlining and improved operational Sometimes it is rather hard when you get
effectiveness the call to hop on a plane to Bogota the
next morning for a few months! You need
The Rewards and the Challenges to be adaptable and you need to like
If what you want is a nice, predictable, change, both for yourself and to bring it
steady job, then consulting is not for you! about in other organisations. It’s some-
One of the really interesting parts of the job times hard to maintain a balance, so you
is its international nature. You have the must integrate things you enjoy doing into
opportunity to work with global clients and the consulting lifestyle. But the unpre-
organisations to gain extensive interna- dictability is part of the fun! And the huge
tional experience, which is fairly challeng- variety of work challenges keeps me moti-
ing both at a personal and a professional vated to excel every time.
E-commerce
Richard Martin is an independent Management

Consultant. In 1997 he left Andersen Consulting
after 7 years, to start his own company and to
explore new areas of business it was not possible
to do in a mainstream consultancy.
The opportunities within management my departure from Andersen Consulting as

consultancy have to be unparalleled in the well as the amount that I am now
career market. This career, by definition, cramming into any given 24-hour slot.
has to be at the vanguard of business As a consequence, I feel that pinch of
thought-leadership in whichever sector excitement in my career as a whole that one
you choose, or it is nothing. does when undertaking a new piece of client
It is strange, having looked through work: the thing can go one of two ways.
these pages 12 years ago and deciding
that management consultancy was 'for The diversity of the job
me', to find myself now contributing to the Career path 1 – author, public speaker,
same career guide for tomorrow's consul- entrepreneur
tants. If this small summary of my I am 36 and pursue three career paths. The
experience helps others decide that this is one of which I am most proud is my
a career for them, then this will be a job growing role as author, public speaker and
well done. I have avoided using the style of thought-leader in electronic commerce. In
a 'typical day' in the lines that follow, as 2001 I had work published for the first time
such a beast does not exist. Any attempt in a book on electronic commerce to which
to construct one would be artificial and I contributed two chapters. I have been
probably meaningless. This may be the keynote speaker at public events and have
first factor about consultancy that should addressed audiences at institutions such as
either attract you or deter you from this IBM, the Cranfield School of Management,
career path. The Giga Information Group, the Institute of
The second factor, hopefully that Management Consultancy, The Association
attracts you, is a summary of my own of MBAs and the Said Business School,
career as it stands today. It leans towards Oxford. I have also reviewed a number of
the frantic side of busy, but it is by no pieces of research for the press and am occa-
means compulsory to follow suit. The sionally asked to quote or write opinion for
opportunities are there, if you wish to grab industry magazines. The Giga Group also
them, to take forward business thinking passes client queries to me when they want
and become renowned for it. This was an operational perspective on a topic and this
something I resolved very early on that I also helps put my name around, as well as
would like to try to do and it explains both giving me insider access to their research and
Career paths
resources. and often takes the form of part financial

Career path 2 - E-commerce consultancy payment, together with a share of equity in
and management consultancy the company. I am an e-commerce adviser
My second career path is my bread and and consequently have the opportunity to
butter. I have two business offerings: the see a number of the smallest companies
first is Electronic Commerce consultancy that have ideas for e-businesses. This
and management, which I have been makes a valuable contrast for me when
pursuing for six years – almost as long as compared with my work in a large,
the phenomenon itself has existed. The sec- established company on exactly the same
ond is a training course I call ‘Management of subject! The levels of entrepreneurialism
Uncertainty'. This provides insight into the required in the biggest and the smallest
fact that we take decisions in pretty typical are not much different – except the largest
ways and that advantage therefore exists are just beginning to rediscover this word.
for those who recognise this; take better
decisions themselves; but equally second-
guess competitors who will still be reacting Why Management Consultancy?
‘typically’ (however inventive they actually But the question you probably want
feel they are being). I see both of these answered is `how did you know that
offerings as necessary in the current management consultancy was for you?'
business environment where the speed The answer is twofold. First, I could not
and pace of progress generates an justify choosing one organisation in one
abundance of uncertainty. I am fully industry and opting to spend the next 30 or
engaged in both disciplines at a major UK so years within it when I had no basis for
bank, which I have assisted since 1998. I assessing what it would really be like and
have been involved in defining aspects a fair inkling that I would get itchy feet fair-
of the technology strategy and then in ly rapidly. So I guessed that professional
mobilising and managing programmes of services would fulfil me more. Second,
change. During the past year I was the only with a business-oriented university course
external consultant involved in the team and a compulsion to build things, I steered
defining the merger strategy between the clear of services I saw as purely analytical
client bank and another. – such as accountancy – and searched for
something that would exploit my analytical
Career path 3 – Developing small background but also allow me to put
businesses things back together again as well. It so
My third career path is membership of a happened that most of the major accoun-
London-based 'business angel' venture tancy companies also offered management
capital company. The theory behind consultancy and it was to guides such as
business angel assistance is that small this that I turned to find out more. The rest,
companies and start-ups can gain access as they say, is history.
to top-quality advice without having to pay Having now become independent, I
prohibitive consulting fees at the outset. said that my career could turn one of two
Remuneration is usually success-based ways. The picture I have painted demon-
Career paths
strates pretty reasonable success, backed faint-hearted. If I had one piece of advice
up by a huge amount of work – much of it for early entrants to the independent
in my personal time – the nurturing of a market, it would be to be mindful of what
good set of contacts, membership of the your 'bolt-hole' career would be if business
Institute of Management Consultancy and was not coming your way. Determine too
the CMC certification, and lastly, a large what criteria (probably financial) would
amount of good luck. Private practice for force you down this 'bolt-hole'. At least
me has also proven lucrative beyond this makes the management of your
the levels I enjoyed even within the personal risk an objective thing and
well-remunerated halls of Andersen should prevent such uncertainty colouring
Consulting (now Accenture). I believe that your more important business thoughts.
my success can continue so long as I
remain independent, fleet of foot, well The opportunities
briefed and so long as there is something That said, there is a lot of opportunity out
to which I feel I can contribute. there at the moment – even in the current
market. There is never 'no market' for
The downside/the risks consultancy, just 'no market' for poor
Be under no illusion, however, that the value. You and I have an opportunity that
life of the independent management con- did not exist even 10 years ago in the
sultant requires an acceptance of risk that business market. The horizon is expanding
you will not experience in larger companies as fast as technology and our imaginations
and levels of entrepreneurialism that would will let it, and there is room for anyone who
credit Richard Branson. It is not for the will take the chance.
Inside Careers
Routes into consultancy
Angela Heath, Senior Consultant in the
management consultancy recruitment
division of Beament Leslie Thomas
Management consultancy is unquestionably a very attractive career

option for many people. This means that there is always an over-
supply of candidates aspiring to enter the arena and, as an
inevitable consequence, the entrance criteria are rigorous.
A strong academic background, to MBA (sponsored by their employer) in

degree level or equivalent, is a standard preparation for promotion to their first
prerequisite, as are good interpersonal front-line consultancy role. However, it is
skills. Beyond this there are certain profes- certainly the case that many of these
sional benchmarks which will also dictate graduate recruits do not survive the early
the route of entry. years – the work is demanding and there is
Consultancy is typically the ‘second little opportunity for direct client contact.
step’ in a fast-track career. The reason for For the majority of consultants entry
this is one of commercial credibility. That is into the profession is made later, typically
to say, in order to be marketable as a between the ages of 28 and 35, and
business adviser an individual’s back- after having armed themselves with a
ground must show direct, first-hand broad-based background of commercial
experience of commercial issues. experience and often a professional
Additionally, the often sensitive or ‘politi- qualification (for example ACA, ACMA,
cal’ nature of a consultancy assignment IPD). Most often this is achieved as a result
requires a certain maturity. of completing a graduate training pro-
There are, however, exceptions to this gramme with a blue-chip employer.
general rule. Some of the largest practices Described as being at the ‘experienced
will recruit at graduate level. The strategy hire’ entry level, it is likely that such candi-
houses, for example, will take a few of the dates will have acquired, to a greater or
highest fliers of their year – typically lesser extent, skills and expertise in one or
candidates who have achieved a 2:1 or more functional and/or industry-facing
first-class degree from one of the most areas. For example, skills in e-business,
prestigious universities – and usually with a Internet start-ups, BPR (Business Process
strong numerical basis to their academic Re-engineering), organisational change,
background. These ‘bright young things’ financial or IT systems and marketing are
will be recruited into the most junior valuable, and exposure to any of the key
consultancy grade, generally described as consultancy markets, such as financial
‘analyst’ and, as the title suggests, carrying services, FMCG (fast-moving consumer
a remit that concentrates on the research goods), technology, telecoms or public sec-
and analysis of technical information to tor, is also attractive to potential employers.
support more senior consultants in the Previous consultancy experience is not
provision of their services. a prerequisite at this level, but only one or
two practices will take candidates who
After a period of about two years such have no relevant commercial experience –
entrants are likely to have to complete an and where this does happen, the
Routes into consultancy
successful applicants will be of the highest will be a well-known ‘name’ in his or her
academic calibre. field and will have taken a front-line role in
A subsection of this level of entry is the developing a particular field or business or
MBA graduate route. The MBA is certainly technical specialism.
recognised as a useful springboard into In summary, it is possible, in principle,
consultancy for someone seeking to to move into consultancy at various stages
transfer from a specialist line background in a career. However, it is also true to say
into a more broadly focused business role. that the profession is very dynamic, and is
Potential employers recognise that an constantly changing in response to
MBA qualified candidate is usually highly economic climates and market forces. As a
committed to advancing their career; consultant you must be someone who
however, in what is an extremely competi- relishes this volatility and the challenges it
tive recruitment market, an MBA does imposes.
not automatically guarantee entry into
consultancy.
Finally, entry into management consul- Angela Heath is a Senior Consultant in the
tancy at the most senior levels is usually management consultancy recruitment
prompted by a very specific – and highly division of Beament Leslie Thomas. She
marketable – skills set. Furthermore, in the specialises in the sourcing of management
majority of cases the candidate will have a consultants — and those wishing to enter
background that evidences significant the field — for consulting firms. BLT
commercial achievement with what might recruits for most major consultancies and
be described as a consultancy orientation. numerous smaller operators in various
For example, it is likely that the individual niche consulting markets.
Setting up a management consultancy
Calvert Markham, FCMC Human Resources
Consultant, Managing Director of
Consultancy Skills Training Limited
and deputy president of IMC
Running your own consultancy practice (which I do) has immense

attractions. If you like being your own boss — having some freedom
at least to choose your own working hours and the work that you
do — then it may be for you. If you are moderately successful, it can
also be more lucrative than being employed as a management
consultant.
However, it has its disadvantages. You do employment, then through a network.
not have the administrative support of
even a small organisation, and even if you Sorting out your resources
did you might question whether it was Your strategy – at least to start off with –
financially worthwhile. It can be lonely should be to keep your fixed costs to a
working by yourself. Most significantly, the minimum. Taking an office and full-time
big question for anyone setting up is 'Will I employees can be over-burdensome until
be able to generate the sales needed to you have a sufficient level of sustained
achieve my target revenue?' revenue.
Setting up your own management It is a lot easier to spend money than to
consultancy is more of a challenge if you generate income; even so, there are some
are a newcomer to the profession. expenses you will necessarily incur in start-
Delivering your specialist skills in a client ing your own business. You will need some
environment as a consultant requires office equipment, even if you are operating
different abilities from doing so as an from home. Your business communica-
employee. Many people who have set up tions must appear as professional as those
their own practice received their early train- of your competitors. To this end you will
ing in consultancy skills as an employee of a need a computer and a decent printer and
firm of consultants – learning at someone to be contactable by e-mail. Registering
else's expense! If you are new to your own domain name is good for brand-
consultancy, then you will need some training and to convey a seriousness of
ing in selling, marketing and running consul- purpose. For the same reason it is
tancy projects. Happily there are training worthwhile having a dedicated business
courses on these topics: the Institute of telephone number with an answering
Management Consultancy, for example, can service, or at least an answerphone for
help direct you to suitable courses. when you are absent. And of course a
So you need to plan the timing of when you mobile phone is useful, not just to enable
become an independent consultant. As clients to contact you, but also for you to
such, you reckon your knowhow is of make calls when on the move. The point of
sufficient value for a client to pay for your this is that you want to make it easy for
services alone. On the other hand, if your clients to contact you, and when they do,
know-how is of more value as part of a they must have the same (or better!)
team, then you will need to associate impression of professionalism as if they
with other consultants, if not through were dealing with a much larger practice.
Until recently, I would have recom- • permanent health cover (which pays you
mended that you buy business stationery. an income if you cannot work)
Nowadays, much of what would have • private medical expense cover
been sent in the post is sent by e-mail. • death cover
Notepaper is needed for sending invoices, • professional indemnity
but certainly postal traffic has fallen in • personal liability.
recent years. You may therefore be able to You may also wish to establish additional
get away with printing your own stationery pension arrangements.
using your own printer if you are not using
much. You may still want to have a Professional support
brochure for promotional purposes, and You will need to decide what sort of busi-
perhaps enclosure slips, and you will cer- ness entity yours should be – sole trader,
tainly need business cards. The test is partnership or company, or a mixture. The
‘Does this look professional?’ So keep a choice will depend on your
log of what you use before splashing out circumstances and aims, so you should
on buying a lot of get some professional
stationery you are advice on this. If this
unlikely to use. Time is the is unfamiliar territory
It is unlikely that consultant’s stock in it is a good idea to
you will be able to use an accountant,
manage without a
trade and you need to who can also help
car; if yours was manage your forward on registering for
previously a compa- VAT, sorting out
ny car, you will need
loading. A day wasted other tax matters,
to purchase one. cannot be regained. and helping you to
This can be the set up books of
largest item of accounts. You should
expense on starting up. have a separate bank account for your
As your practice matures you may find business transactions, and so should dis-
it helpful to take on administrative support: cuss this with the bank manager of your
after all, your time is more profitably spent choice.
selling and delivering consultancy work
than in doing administration. Part-time Business budgets
employees, shared facilities, or serviced The bank manager will want to have (as,
offices are all ways in which consultants indeed, so should you) forecasts of the
have addressed this problem. likely profitability of the business, and the
cash flow. Cash flow is particularly
Pensions and insurance important in consultancy: usually you will
As an employee, there will have been other have performed some of the consultancy
items that you will have received as part of work before you send an invoice, and this
your employment package but which will now may be some time after you have made the
be at your expense, notably insurance: sale. The time between sale and cash
received can be quite long, so you need to use the following approach for getting
think how long you need to sustain the started on selling:
business before you receive payment from Step 1: Identify those organisations that
your first clients. might be prospective clients for your
services.
Generating income Step 2: Find out who is the right person to
A good rule of thumb in management contact in the organisation, who might be
consultancy is that you spend only interested in your services.
50–70% of your time on fees. The rest of Step 3: Write a short letter to them explain-
the time is spent on selling, administration, ing what you do and why you think it might
holiday, courses/conferences and so on. be of value to them, and that you will be
This means that you will have 125–175 phoning them to discuss this. (And, if
days per year to earn fees (and many sole you adopt this route, this is one of those
practitioners note that they spend 100-140 occasions when printed stationery is
days or less a year earning fees). If you necessary!)
know what your daily fee rate is to be, then Step 4: Follow this up with the phone call.
you know the likely range of your income. Don't try to sell hard – use it genuinely to
If you have not worked out a daily fee rate, explore whether there is an interest in your
you can do so by dividing your total target services. Treat rejection as valuable market
revenue by, say, 150. research!
The question is, does this generate Step 5: If the prospect is interested,
enough revenue to cover your expenses, arrange a meeting. During the meeting,
including your own needs? If not, you establish the scope and timing of possible
have to either reduce your expenses or work, and see whether the client would like
increase your fee rate. (The Management you to submit a proposal.
Consultancies Information Service publishes If you need work in the short term, consider
an annual fee rate survey that can help you whether there are any immediate opportuni-
to benchmark your fee rate.) ties for undertaking consultancy work,
You need to manage your time very either directly for a prospective client or as
carefully. Time is the consultant's stock in an associate of an established practice.
trade and you need to manage your for-
ward loading. A day wasted cannot be Building the practice
regained! You may want to publish a brochure, but a
website is a cheaper option – and some-
Creating sales thing that you would be expected to have
It is essential that you are clear what you anyhow. As well as providing a channel to
are selling! If you are not clear, then neither market, it is an easy means of providing
will be your prospective clients. So – even enquirers with up-to-date information
though you may not plan to publish it – try about you and your services. Again, some
writing a brochure. Run it past some close practices publish a newsletter to keep their
contacts to see if it makes sense, and names at the front of clients' minds. The
listen carefully to their suggestions. Then newsletter can be in hard copy, but
nowadays, an email newsletter is often In the longer term, try to reserve time each
used. week for work on selling and marketing.
Networking is vital: work can arise from The ‘feast and famine’ cycle is common in
all sorts of sources, often quite unexpected. consultancy: a big project consumes all
Approaches to people or organisations your time and when it finishes there is no
who know nothing of you are perhaps the further work. So keep an eye on the sales
least fruitful. So be assiduous at making pipeline and maintain a presence in the
links with other consultants, professional marketplace.
networks, client associations and so on, so Running your own consultancy
that you and your practice become well practice is hard work, but enormous fun. I
known. Work often arises from referrals wouldn't change!
from one person to another, so even
though a contact offers no opportunity for
immediate business they may introduce After experience with PA Management
you to a prospective client. Consultants and Spicer & Pegler
Associating with another practice can Associates, Calvert Markham FCMC set up
provide you with work you would not his own practice in 1987. He is a Human
otherwise get. Similarly, if you take on Resources Consultant, and Managing
associates, this can enable you to provide Director of Consultancy Skills Training
your clients with services that you couldnot Limited, which specialises in training
provide by yourself. consultants.
Salaries in management consultancy
Don Leslie, Beament Leslie Thomas
BLT's latest (March 2003) survey of management consultants (no

self-employed consultants are included) shows that the poor
demand for consultants noted over the past two years continues to
hold down salaries. Although confidence among the consultancy
firms is starting to improve, this has not yet had an impact on
earnings. But if staff turnover rates return to the industry norm of
30% per annum as firms start to re-hire, then a modest 5% increase
in remuneration is anticipated.
Almost all the strategy houses pulled down at similar levels to last year. The retention
the shutters on recruitment again in packages for experienced consultants
2002/2003 and the big operational consul- reported by the large firms amount to
tancies continued to lay off consultants. increases of no more than 2–3%; new
Many smaller consultancies vanished joiners start on salaries not much different
completely. The large supply of unem- to three years ago.
ployed and underemployed consultants At the other end of the scale,
looking for a new home, and the many graduates are still being recruited in some
MBAs who chose the wrong year yet again numbers (the ten largest UK consultancies
to graduate from business school, have are still expecting to hire over 1,000 raw
depressed salaries. graduates and salaries are attractive
Those we used to call the ‘Big Five’ enough to compete with all but the best
and the major independents are occasion- City packages).
ally hiring consultants who have scarce The main message from the salary
technical and/or business management survey is that consulting firms of all sizes
specialities, and there are particular are under no pressure to increase
shortages of good consultants in outsourc- remuneration in 2003/2004. Firms will
ing and government. But the hoovering up continue to emphasise the improvements
of any half-decent consultant with some in some of the 'softer', non-cash areas:
saleable experience has, for the time more home working or improved holiday
being, been stopped. allowances, for example.
Smaller niche specialists traditionally
hire only experienced consultants from the Salary structures
strategy houses or large operational The diversity of consulting firms makes it
consultancies. They report no difficulty in difficult to categorise salary rates across
filling their few requirements. the entire profession. To ease the task, let
us divide management consultancies into
So what does this mean for three groups and examine each group's
salaries? salary structure. Job titles and gradings
With inflation running at around 3% and are simplified – supervising consultant
the demand/supply balance firmly in favour and associate director posts have been
of employers, salaries have tended to stay omitted for comparison purposes.
Salaries in management consulting
Benefit packages and senior employees in some of the firms

All firms surveyed review salaries annually: which have recently changed ownership
most at a fixed date in the second quarter have been awarded loyalty bonuses to
of the year. Some employers undertake the remain with their new masters. Information
exercise biannually. about partner/director salaries is difficult
The majority of firms still provide a car to obtain: many firms in this category pay
once an employee reaches the ‘up and along the USA ‘you eat what you kill'
running’ consultant grades. All offer a cash model, so top earners can achieve high
alternative to a vehicle, typically worth six-figure/low seven-figure sums,
£4,000–£8,000 per annum. However, a At the large operational consultancies
number of firms have withdrawn the bonuses and profit shares tend to be less
car/cash option for lower consulting grades. generous than those offered by the strate-
The larger consultancies offer compre- gy and boutique firms. Signing-on bonuses
hensive benefits packages, with 'cafeteria' are rarely offered to junior staff. The large
or 'pick 'n' mix' benefits policies (choosing partnerships are secretive about partner
between a higher salary earnings but senior part-
or a longer list of ners can enjoy pack-
benefits) becoming Partner/director ages in excess of
more common. one million pounds.
Individual perfor- packages in niche firms Those consultancies
mance bonuses are vary enormously, with obliged to report
now appearing more earnings for part-
frequently in prac- some earning enough to ner/directors paid on
tices of all sizes as a qualify for bragging rights average £230,000 in
way of rewarding base salary and
the star performers
in a Soho wine bar! another £160,000 in
without breaking bonuses and bene-
salary bands. We fits.
expect even more of these to be Partner/director packages in niche firms
offered over the next few years. Smaller vary enormously, with some earning
independents do not tend to offer extras enough to qualify for bragging rights in a
such as private health schemes and gym Soho wine bar, and others who would be
memberships. better off as managers in larger firms. This
Bonuses and profit shares at strategy category traditionally finds it hardest to
houses and boutiques can add to salaries retain experienced consultants, and so
considerably, but not this year, in the light bonuses can be as high as 50% of salary.
of recent poor results. At Junior Consultant But the surfeit of experienced consultants
level, they are unlikely to bring more than has, not unexpectedly, depressed bonuses.
10%. At Partner/Director level, they can in
theory be as much as 40–50%. Signing-on Salary differences explained
bonuses are not currently being offered to Salary bands overlap to take account of
the few business-school hires. Partners the level of remuneration necessary to
Salaries in management consultancy
attract and retain the high fliers on their The relationship between salary and
way up, and experienced specialists who billings becomes increasingly important
are approaching the summit of their the further up the ladder consultants rise.
careers. The `up or out' promotion policy of At manager level and above, the ability to
earlier years is now less rigidly applied win work is crucial. More and more time
outside the strategy houses. Consultancies (typically 25–40%) is spent cultivating
are recognising that experienced consul- clients, writing proposals and participating in
tants who do not aspire to the highest beauty parades (where a client chooses a
levels are worth retaining. Whereas consulting firm after seeing a number of pre-
consultancies still claim to recruit only sentations). It is very difficult to rise beyond
potential partner/director material, there is this level if such business skills are lacking.
still a high turnover of consultants who No one should be attracted to consul-
see a three-to-five-year spell as a means to tancy purely for the financial rewards.
widening their business exposure. It is Although remuneration at partner/director
these consultancy ‘foot soldiers’ who level is comparable with the very best in
straddle the mid-range of the salary bands other professions, there are many down-
at all levels up to Manager. sides. Job security has become poorer in
The industry sector background of recent years. Despite more attention being
consultants, or their functional specialisa- paid to the work/life balance, consultants
tion, also has a bearing on salary. This is still work long hours, and not just Monday
commonly seen at the large accountancy- to Friday. As much of the work is carried
related firms and independents, rather less out at client sites, frequent travel is
so at strategy firms or niche operations. common and a willingness to stay away
Industry sectors that offer high levels from home essential. Yet those who choose
of remuneration – pharmaceuticals, finan- this lifestyle do so because they enjoy the
cial services, telecoms – are serviced by variety of work on offer, the opportunities to
consultants who have themselves usually continue personal and professional develop-
worked in those sectors. Consequently, ment, and the range of career openings
consultants hired from these industries can available when they wish to leave.
command a premium over their consultant Those who hold a post with a well-
peer group. Those at the lower end of the established consulting organisation, and
salary bands tend to have come from those who choose to enter the profession
the public sector, manufacturing or leisure over the next few years, can still look
– still the lower-paid activity areas. forward to a well-remunerated future.
Salaries are also influenced by billings.
Consultants are expected to bill fees of
around three to four times their annual Don Leslie leads the management con-
salaries. Therefore, consultants who work in sultancy recruitment division of Beament
sectors where high profits can support high Leslie Thomas. He specialises in the
fees fare rather better than their colleagues sourcing of management consultants and
who work in areas where fees reflect the those wishing to enter the field — for
lower profits of their sector. consulting firms.
Salary fee survey
The Management Consultancy Information management. Do note that these figures

Service conducted a salary survey during are an average taken across seven prime
October/November 2002 among 103 areas across the United Kingdom. For
management consultants, ranging in size example, starting salaries can range from
from small firms to major international £25,000 in the north of England and
practices. The consultants surveyed Scotland, to £32,000 in London.
operate across the UK, in all areas of
Average salary by size of company
£350,000
£ 300,000
£ 250,000
Earning capacity
£ 200,000 •
£ 150,000 •
•
•
£ 100,000 •
•
£ 50,000 •
•
•
£0
Junior consultant Consultant Senior consultant Manager Partner/Director
Job title
• Small firms (2-10 consultants)
• Medium firms (11-60 consultants)

• Large firms (over 50 consultants)
Statistical information courtesy of the Management Consultancy Fee Rate & Salary Survey 2003.
Education, training
and development
Education, training
and development
Inside Careers
Training in a large firm
Katherine Pigott, consultant at Cap
Gemini Ernst & Young
My first three weeks after joining Cap Gemini Ernst & Young were
spent on an intensive induction. This was a great experience for two
reasons. Firstly, it provided a safe environment to practice and
learn core consultancy skills such as facilitation, interviewing and
presentation techniques. Secondly, it offered an opportunity to
meet other consultants, from graduate level through to partner or
Vice President and learn from their experiences — be they good, bad
or embarrassing! This provided an excellent grounding which I
continue to refer to today.
The first two years ‘knowledge bases’ which contain

The first two years as a graduate at Cap templates, examples of previous work and
Gemini Ernst & Young were spent in the discussion areas enabling you to use
specialised graduate programme. The others’ experiences to help you in your
programme ensures that graduate roles current role.
are challenging but also makes the right A number of people supported me and
levels of support are offered. A range of assisted with my development – some of
training is available to consolidate and these had a formal role within the personal
build on skills learnt during induction. For development structure while others were
example, I attended courses in business part of an informal network that built up
process modelling, facilitation skills and surprisingly quickly. These support net-
strategic research. However, not all the works were invaluable in helping me devel-
training has been via formal, classroom- op, progress and consolidate training.
based courses. A range of computer- Before I accepted my job offer, I was
based courses was loaded onto my laptop, paired up with a ‘buddy’ – a consultant
which I completed on train journeys or on who joined the company a couple of years
client site. This enabled me to develop ahead of me. Prior to joining, my ‘buddy’
my Excel, Word and PowerPoint (very was able to answer questions I had about
important!) skills. the job, however my buddy really came
One of my projects six months into my into her own once I started. She was
time with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young was someone I could ring up and ask questions
to help organise the next induction pro- when I didn’t know where to look for
gramme and I was able to implement many answers. I also had the support of a ‘coun-
new ideas based on my own experience. selling manager’ or ‘reviewer’ whose role
In addition to training, the extensive was to help me through the complex world
support network offered by a company like of personal development plans, training
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is very valuable plans and end of year reviews. They are
and has been a key source of day-to-day there to support and challenge you, pro-
knowledge and expertise throughout my mote your stronger areas and help identify
career. Every consultant has access to ways to address the weaker ones.
Training in a large firm
Specialist training
As time passed members of the graduate works of my colleagues have become
group I joined with began to work on increasingly important although I still
different types of projects in a variety of attend several training courses a year,
industries and in turn began to specialise in including specialised CRM training events.
different areas. Some took a technical My project managers and reviewers help to
angle, for example focusing on Siebel or ensure that my training plan is continually
Oracle, whereas others specialised in updated and tailored to my needs – both in
areas such as strategy or training. As a terms of subject and method. This means
result, each had their own individual devel- that I always have a range of activities
opment needs and training was therefore to complete as part of my development
tailored accordingly. plan – the hardest part is fitting them all in!
I became increasingly interested in
customer-focused strategy and transfor-
mation. A natural progression was Katherine Pigott is a consultant at Cap
therefore to study for the Chartered Gemini Ernst & Young in the Customer
Institute of Marketing (CIM) Advanced Relationship Management (CRM) group.
Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma in She joined the company in September
Marketing, which the firm supported. After 1998 on the graduate programme (the
two years, many weekend courses and Consultant Development Community), and
eight exams I emerged with improved has worked on a number of different
theoretical knowledge and a much better
projects in a diverse range of industries.
understanding of the range of marketing
Some of these projects have been more
techniques used across different indus-
tries. technical in nature, for example develop-
ing the business requirements for a
Ongoing development CRM system, whereas others have been
As I have become more specialised in more strategic or focused on business
CRM the informal and formal support net transformation.
The CMC qualification
Caroline Barker, Head of Professional
Development, IMC
Becoming a management consultant … have you got what it takes?

Your first steps in deciding to become a management consultant are
understanding what the role involves and whether it’s the right path
for you.
First, let’s take a look at what the role the bandwidth runs from strategy through
involves. The opportunity to be involved in to outsourcing! This broadening nature of
a variety of projects is often the single management consultancy means that as a
largest driver for those interested in a potential new entrant, you need some
career in consultancy. Typically, every careful thought from the outset as to how
consultant you meet will have had very and where you want to position your
different experiences. Even within a niche career. Two key questions to consider are:
consultancy individual career paths can be • What area(s) do I want to specialise in?
extremely diverse or with a narrower • Which type of working environment will
technical focus – broadly speaking, each enable me to best achieve my career
role you undertake will combine a depth of objectives?
technical expertise with knowledge of a
sector. If you consider the wide range of Which area do I want to
functions across a typical organisation specialise in?
(strategy, HR, sales, marketing, customer Your starting point is probably a self-
management, finance, manufacturing, IT, evaluation of your current expertise. What
to name a few!) and multiply this by the skills do you have to offer a potential
number of sectors (public sector, retail, client? How do you want to extend and
telecoms, etc), add to this an international develop these? Do you want to obtain a
dimension, issues specific to your client wide range of roles in one sector? Are you
and you start to get some feel for the scale seeking to specialise in one or more
of variety and opportunities and why technical specialisms or sectors? Your
consultancy as a career option has such responses to these initial questions will be
wide appeal! critical in determining which area of
The recent definition published by the consulting and what type of organisation
Institute of Management Consultancy will enable you to flourish.
captures management consultancy as ‘the In terms of understanding more about
provision to management of objective the skills required to be an effective
advice and assistance relating to the management consultant, the Institute of
strategy, structure, management and oper- Management Consultancy has recently
ations of an organisation in pursuit of its developed the Certified Management
long-term purposes and objectives. Such Consultant CMC® qualification into a
assistance may include the identification broader, competency-based framework.
of options with recommendations; the The framework presents the knowledge,
provision of an additional resource and/or skills and behaviours required of today’s
the implementation of solutions.’ In short, management consultant, all of which are
supported by a Code of Conduct and technical skills, business understanding,

Ethical Guidelines. It sets out a standard sector insight and external awareness.
for those within the profession relevant for
individuals in large and medium–sized Consulting competence
consultancies, niche players, internal The core consultancy skills, tools and
consulting departments, networked groups techniques that are essential in delivering
of consultants and sole practitioners. It has consultancy services.
captured input from many of the leading
global consultancy players, internal Professional behaviours
consultancies, niche players, academics The entry-level professional behaviours
and clients. and attitudes which act as ‘enablers’ in
achieving market capability and consulting
The framework recognises a suitably qual- competence.
ified and experienced management con-
sultant as an individual who will be engag- As a potential new entrant, this can be a
ing in providing change useful checklist for
management solu- both mapping your
tions to a client. The The options for the current skills and
necessary compe- understanding the
tence will include environment and style skills you will need
demonstrating: within which you choose to develop. The
• technical and competences the-
business knowledge to operate as a selves are broad,
• business under- consultant are diverse. but nevertheless set
standing a clear development
• change manage- agenda, the precise
ment skills mix of which will vary according to your
• ownership, management and delivery selected discipline.
of solutions to clients
• project delivery and risk management Which type of working environ-
• high level interpersonal skills ment will enable me to achieve
• ability to transfer skills to others my career objectives?
• creative and analytical thinking The maturing of the market means that the
• adherence to a code of conduct and options for the environment and style
ethical guidelines. within which you choose to operate as a
consultant are diverse. The choices range
Within the framework, three clusters of from joining one the major international
competences have been identified: practices to a specialist niche player, a
strategy house, an internal consultancy,
Market capability & knowledge a networked consultancy or a sole practi-
The application of fact-based knowledge, tioner. In finding the niche that will enable
bringing together the combination of you to nurture and develop your skills to
Management consultancy competence framework

Market capability & knowledge
Technical discipline examples Sector specialism examples
Finance Strategy HR Public Internal Telecomms

IT Productiion Marketing Financial Not for profit Life sciences
Business understanding and external awareness
Client focus
Consulting competence
Building and sustaining relationships
Applying expertise and knowledge
Achieving sustainable results

Professional behaviours
Complexity and Personal Analytical and Interpersonal Delivery

responsibility growth proactive interaction effectiveness
thinking
Professionalism and ethics
create success for both your clients and can be a useful means to rub shoulders
yourself, some of the factors you may wish with those already in the profession and
to consider are the range of roles, types of find out if it’s really for you!
clients, nature and scale of projects, brand
awareness, extent of travel, training, Caroline Barker BSc, FCA is Head of
culture, size of clients together with size Professional Development at the Institute
and fit with teams. Much research can be of Management Consultancy. Prior to this,
done in advance through publications such she has over 18 years’ experience with
as Inside Careers. Alongside this, websites Ernst & Young, as a consultant and more
for the Institute of Management Con- recently with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young in
sultancy, The Management Consultancies managing the Consultant Development
Association and Top Consultant are Community for new and recent gradu-
invaluable. Network events and confer- ates.
ences in particular via these organisations
MBAs: The key to consultancy
Nunzio Quacquarelli is a contributing editor
to specialist publications around the
world. providing information
about the MBA qualification
The MBA (Master of Business Administration) is a graduate manage-

ment degree which prepares professionals for management
responsibility. It is one of the best-known degrees in the world, and
more people take it than any other postgraduate course. Deciding
to take an MBA is a crucial step in your career.
The consulting industry had been growing maintained their MBA hiring programme.
at phenomenal rates for the last 20 years, Many continued to visit business school
becoming a $100 billion industry, but the campuses to attract new MBA blood,
start of the new millennium saw consulting albeit in smaller numbers than previous
spending slashed. It started with years. Both Bain and Mercer Management
e-commerce work almost grinding to a Consulting have seen sharp falls in their
halt, followed by a decline in telecoms technology and telecoms consulting
projects which then spread to all sectors. practices, but they have been buoyed by
In order to survive, the consulting sector strong pharma, energy and retail practices.
has had to be particularly brutal in its cost-
cutting and lay-offs during the previous Will consultancy rebound during
year. None of the strategy firms has been 2004?
spared the pain. McKinsey is reported to Barring any more external shocks to the
have shed staff in certain European and US global economy, there are indications that
offices. All of the big five professional smaller consulting firms will be quick
service firms reported a slowdown in the to recover in 2004. Global-Workplace
second half of 2001, with some resorting to (Global-Workplace.com), the official alumni
lay-offs, and this downturn continued membership community for 50 top busi-
throughout 2002. ness schools around the world, has seen
Internet consultancies have experi- the number of jobs listed on its site grow
enced the greatest difficulties of all. throughout the past two years, as smaller
Marchfirst closed down altogether, as did companies have sought to recruit the best
Viant. IXL merged with Scient, which then MBAs who previously would have joined
merged with Razorfish which was then the big strategy firms. The site features
acquired by SBI & Co. All quoted Internet jobs in over 40 countries around the world
consultancies now have stock prices less in all sectors. Consultancy positions,
than one-tenth of their peaks in 2000. especially with smaller firms and public
IconMedia Lab, with its Scandinavian sector focused firms, have been buoyant.
origins and close links to the mobile Initial responses to The MBA Career
industry, remains one of the healthiest, but Guide/topmba.com's 2003 MBA Recruiter
has also been through refinancing and has Survey suggest that larger consulting
had to merge with competitors. recruiters are still uncertain about MBA
However, as bad as the past few years needs for 2003/4. All have confirmed they
have been for the consulting sector, the will return to actively hiring MBAs as soon
more diversified the firm, the more they as their own businesses show the first
signs of recovery – but when will that be? For people without an MBA, the
What little hiring they are doing in 2003 will consultancy job market has been much
be restricted exclusively to MBAs from more brutal than those with an MBA.
top-tier schools. Insiders report that at McKinsey & Co.
Accenture still does not know when it lay-offs were strongly oriented to consul-
will pick up MBA recruiting. Accenture tants and back-office staff without an
historically hires between 10,000 and MBA. For MBAs graduating in 2003, the
17,000 people, globally, each year. On a simple fact is that most of the big firms are
positive note ‘we are preparing for the now down to the bare bones in terms of
inevitable pick-up in recruiting demand’' staff. These firms will need to resume MBA
says William Ziegler, Global Head of hiring very aggressively as soon as
Recruiting. ‘Accenture has a strong demand picks up.
commitment to balancing our resources,
and will continue to identify MBAs in the Recession increases demand
marketplace who possess the skills For several years, business schools have
needed to serve our clients. We do been reporting record numbers of applica-
anticipate hiring more people in the next tions. The MBA seems to have moved from
calendar year.’ a ‘nice to have' to a ‘need to have' qualifi-
Karl Wilhelm Vogel, Managing Partner cation for those set on an international
at Roland Berger, predicts 20% growth for management consultancy career. After a
the firm in 2003, similar to 2002, with a year in which business school applications
similar increase in MBA hiring needs. He fell slightly in 2000, due to the dotcom
says ‘We didn't get carried away with the boom, 2001 and 2002 have seen a
e-hype of the last six years. Our strength major upturn. International applications for
in Europe and in key activities like auto- business schools have doubled in the
motive, technology, engineering and past five years.
restructuring have helped sustain us, Schools which feature prominently in
whilst we are now experiencing quite rapid The MBA Career Guide's International
growth in the US and Asia.’ MBA Recruiter Research have all shown
Outsourcing is currently the fastest- steady increases in applications over the
growing segment of consulting services, past five years. High-quality British MBA
accounting for 60% of Accenture's programmes, such as Bath, Cambridge,
new-business pipeline. IBM Consulting, Cranfield, CUBS, Imperial College,
EDS and Siemens Business Services Manchester Business School, Nottingham,
are also large players in outsourcing con- Oxford, Strathclyde and Warwick, are
sulting projects and will also benefit from all reporting between five and ten
this trend. SAP Enterprise Resource applications for every place available on
Management (ERM) services are also set their full-time programmes.
for a strong return to fashion as corporate This positive picture is very different
executives look to re-engineer costs, and from the recession years of the early 1990s
EDS and PwC Consulting have just formed when demand for MBAs in Europe actually
a global alliance in this area. fell and the qualification was severely
questioned. What has changed? Professor of management excellence that can be

Ray Wild of Henley Management College, relied upon. The common language of
believes those recession years sowed the study is English. A large proportion of can-
seeds for the resurgence of the qualifica- didates are interested in an international
tion: `Confidence in lifetime job security career and are internationally mobile.
was lost, career mobility became the norm MBAs entering consulting also tend to
and as a consequence, managers realised make the most money. Recent figures from
the need for a tradeable qualification which The MBA Career Guide Recruiter Survey
would help them make necessary career show that salaries for graduating MBAs
moves. Since 1992 the MBA has become from top international programmes have
the world's best known and largest increased by over 30% in the past four
management qualification; its emergence years. Average salaries for MBAs graduat-
in Europe, in the face of much scepticism, ing from US schools are on the whole
has been remarkable.' slightly higher than those from European
schools, partly because of the higher aver-
The consulting index of age salaries in the US
MBA recruiting tre- market compared to
bled in five years – There are hundreds Europe (see table
there were three below).
times as many new of degree programmes Today, the
MBA positions with- available. But you do not straightest path
in the consulting towards a career in
sector in 2001 as in start with the school: consulting still runs
1996. Accenture you start instead with through an MBA
saw a doubling in degree course. Every
size of the Group
yourself. year, The MBA
every two years dur- Career Guide carries
ing the 1990s, reaching out research among
over 3,500 professionals by 2001, the top schools and recruiters. This can be a
majority of whom were MBAs. Other valuable tool in helping you decide where
established strategy consulting firms, such to get your MBA. Our current findings are
as AT Kearney, Bain, Booz*Allen Hamilton, summarised in Table 1.
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, McKinsey,
Mercer Management Consulting and Should I take an MBA?
Monitor, all reported significant growth in So you want to take an MBA. You must
demand for their own services and in turn decide where. There are hundreds of
for MBAs, with growth being particularly degree programmes available. But you do
strong in Europe, over this same time peri- not start with school: you start instead with
od. yourself. The first thing to do is define the
The very nature of the qualification type of career you think you want to
lends itself to such international organisa- pursue. The second thing is to take a hard
tions. A good MBA establishes a standard look at yourself and decide what your
abilities and skills are. Are you already a The MBA Career Guide is designed
consultant looking to move from analyst to to provide potential applicants with
associate? Are you a manager in industry information, based on expert experience
seeking to change careers and become and hard facts, to help them make an
a consultant? Do you want strategy informed decision on one of the most
consulting or general management important career choices they will ever
consulting? Do you want to specialise by have to face. Profiles of executives and
sector or function, or remain a generalist? MBA alumni offer valuable insights, and
These are the questions to ask. Your examine the criteria you will have to meet
answers, which will reflect your back- in order to make your selection. They also
ground and your objectives, will help focus indicate which schools are preferred by
your choice on the business school that's employers, both local and international.
best for you.
If you think you want to become a Financing an MBA
strategy consultant there are roughly 60 Although many schools have become
international business schools where these more flexible recently, the standard period
companies recruit. Typical candidates for a full-time international MBA in the USA
have good grades at university (2:1 or bet- is still two years. The cost of the pro-
ter) and at least two years' work experi- gramme at The Wharton School at the
ence. Work experience is important University of Pennsylvania is $32,000 a
because it demonstrates achievement. If year, to which you should add another
you have a more modest academic back- $20,000 for books and living expenses.
ground, no language proficiency and little Other blue-ribbon American schools, such
or no experience in the workplace, your as Harvard, Chicago or Stanford, are much
chances of getting into one of these in line with these figures, which represent
schools, and then into the profession, are the top end of the US market.
much slimmer. If this is your case, why not In Europe, the London Business
target schools with better networks into School (LBS) is one of the rare institutions
your national or local business community to offer a 2-year programme, costing
instead? £31,500. In general, European MBAs
General management consultancy is a are shorter. The programme at the
much broader field than strategy, ranging International Institute of Management
from operations and systems consulting to Development (IMD) in Lausanne lasts 11
engineering, human resources (HR) and months. INSEAD's runs for ten-and-a-half
remuneration consulting. If this career months. Leading programmes in other
tempts you, there are a far greater number European countries are 1 year, 15 months
of schools to choose from. Many regional or 18 months. At INSEAD, located outside
schools have ties with local offices of the Paris, you will pay Euro 35,500; again, fig-
‘Professional Service’ consultancies. ure another Euro 7,000 for accommodation
These are: Accenture, Pricewaterhouse- and expenses. IMD charges $27,000.
Coopers, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, These two programmes are among
KPMG and Deloitte Consulting. Europe's most expensive, but cheaper
courses exist. The 100 or so MBAs the lion's share of such programmes. Over
available in the UK provide a wide price 20,000 people in the UK have opted for
range. A full-time course at Aberystwyth this form of study, compared to fewer than
costs £8,000, at Warwick £21,000, 4,000 ten years ago. Costs vary from
Strathclyde £15,900, Edinburgh £15,900, £5,500 at Heriot-Watt to £9,728 at the
Cranfield £23,000 and Manchester Open University Business School, and
Business School £22,000. Financial aid students usually have from three to eight
can make the most expensive programmes years to complete the course. Distance-
affordable. learning programmes most often cited
Many organisations offer scholarships by HR directors in recruiter research
(see our scholarship review in The MBA conducted by The MBA Career Guide are
Career Guide), and numerous local banks from Aston, Durham, Henley, Heriot-Watt,
can provide low-start loans for your period Kingston, the Open University, Strathclyde
of study. Eastern European students and Warwick. We would advise you to take
should also look into special grants a distance-learning MBA as a refresher
available from Western schools. When course, or to broaden your horizons with
applying to the school of your choice it's a your current employer. It will not facilitate a
good idea to make specific enquiries about career change into consulting. Consulting
funding options. firms prefer to recruit from full-time pro-
If you are not prepared to give up your grammes.
present job for a year or more, but simply
want to increase your understanding of What’s the right MBA for me?
management tools, you might consider a We believe that the international reputation
part-time or a distance-learning MBA. among recruiters is one of the most impor-
Most schools that offer full-time MBAs tant criteria for selecting a school. It is
have part-time versions as well, and only especially important for anyone seeking a
their delivery, not their content, will differ. career in strategy consulting. But other
Part-time study obviously restricts you factors should also be considered: local
to schools located near your current reputation in the country you wish to work
employer. A reputable school near you will in; teaching method (analytical or case-
be a cost-efficient option. Part-time MBAs study); the flexibility of the programme to
are available from Bradford (£13,000), meet your personal needs; core course
Edinburgh (£10,500), Rotterdam (Euro content and elective courses available;
38,500), Norwegian School of areas of specialisation possible; languages
Management (Nkr 160,000), Henley required for entry and graduation; cultural
(£18,000) and City University (£22,000), fit; and profile of its participants (average
among others. They generally run between age, educational background and work
two and three years, often with classes at experience).
weekends.
Distance learning has become a International MBA Recruiter
growth market, and is likewise a serious Survey
alternative to the full-time MBA. Britain has Recruiters have a preferred set of schools
at which they will actively recruit and The 1) Number of international companies
MBA Career Guide’s International MBA targeting each school for their MBA
Recruiters Survey has, for the past eight recruitment
years, researched recruiter preferences to 2) Business school reputations in specialist
identify international schools most actively areas.
utilised by international companies. We
seek to establish from which schools MBAs World MBA Tour visits London on 7
are most sought by international recruiters, October 2003. For full venue details visit
as well as trends in MBA recruitment. www.topmba.com
Each company is asked a series of TopMBA.com recruiter research report
questions about their MBA recruiting for can be purchased for £35 (US$50), by
the previous year and the next year. These sending a cheque payable to The MBA
questions cover: Career Guide – TopMBA.com Research
Report, 32–34 Arlington Road, Regent's
• MBA Recruitment Trends: Park, London, NW1 7HU or e-mail the fol-
1) Demand for MBAs by sector and region lowing address: subs@topcareers.net
2) Skill sets required from MBAs
Nunzio Quacquarelli is a contributing
3) Job functions hired into
editor to specialist publications around
4) Recruiting methods
the world providing information about the
5) Active recruiters
MBA qualification, the business schools
and international MBA recruiters. He has
• MBA salaries and benefits
an MA from Cambridge University and an
• Business School Ratings amongst
MBA from Wharton School, University of
international recruiters:
Pennsylvania.
Recruiters’ top 100 business schools in 2003 (alphabetical order by region)
Europe 2001
Ashridge HEC Oxford (Said)
Bath Henley Rotterdam (RSM)
Bradford IESE Sci Po
Cambridge (Judge) IMD SDA Bocconi
City of London Imperial Solvay
Cranfield INSEAD St.Gallen
Dublin – Trinity Instituto de Empresa Stockholm SE
Durham Lancaster Strathclyde
ESCP-EAP LBS Theseus
Edinburgh Manchester TSM
EM Lyon Norwegian SM Warwick
ENPC Nottingham WHU Kellogg
ESADE Nyenrode
ESSEC Open
USA 2003
Arthur D.Little Georgetown Stanford
Babson Harvard Texas – Austin
Bentley Indiana (Kelley) Thunderbird – AGSM
Berkeley Kellogg – Northwestern Tuck – Dartmouth
Boston University Maryland U.Cal.Irvine
Carnegie Mellon Miami UCLA (Andersen)
Chicago Michigan USC – S. California
Columbia MIT Vanderbilt (Owen)
Cornell North Carolina Washington (Olin)
Darden – Virginia NYU Wharton – Pennsylvannia
De Paul Purdue (Krannert) Wisconsin-Madison
Denver Rochester (Simon) Yale
Duke (Fuqua) South Carolina
Emory Southern Methodist (Cox)
Latin America 2003

F. Getulio Vargas (Brazil) ITAM (Mexico) IAE (Argentina)
ITESM (Mexico) ESAN (Peru) IESA (Venezuela)
DUXX (Mexico) Uni. São Paulo (Brazil) Cath. Uni. Chile (Chile)
IPADE (Mexico)
Asia-Pacific 2003
AGSM – Sydney (Australia) Indian Institute (India) Melbourne (Australia)
Asian Institute (Philippines) INSEAD (Singapore) Nanyang (Singapore)
CEIBS (China) Macquarie (Australia) National Univ. (Singapore)
Hong Kong U. Sci & Tech
Masters’ programmes in management
consultancy Sally Woodward and
Allan P.O. Williams
The purchasing of management consultancy services involves

significant investments by a corporation to help ensure a successful
outcome. Yet, despite these investments, the selection and evalua-
tion of consultancy remains a complex and uncertain process.
Many professional services, such as occupation is not generally viewed as

medicine, accounting and law, have large- consultancy. To that end, many institutions
ly succeeded in reducing client risk. This now offer Masters’ degrees with a
has been through regulating entry to their consultancy component or elective.
profession, by the application of compul- Included amongst these are pro-
sory qualifying exams, and by concurrent grammes developed for human resource
developments of higher education (HE) specialists, such as an MA in Human
curricula and qualifications in aspects of Resources (Consulting) offered by South
theory and practice. Unlike these older Bank University, and an MSc in Human
professions, management consultancy Resources Management with a specialism
has only recently established a fixed quali- in consultancy from UMIST (University of
fication benchmark. This professional Manchester Institute of Technology). There
qualification, the Certified Management are also progammes developed more
Consultant (CMC), has been adopted in recently, for internal auditors – MSc in
more than 35 countries. In the UK, the Audit Management and Consultancy (UCE
CMC qualification has been recognised by Business School), or for information tech-
Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland, nology workers – MSc IT Consultancy
which has granted 30 credits for the (London Guildhall University Business
qualification towards the 120 points needed School).
for a post-graduate diploma, and for the 180 South Bank has run Masters’ degrees
points required for a Master’s degree in in consulting for a nearly a decade. The
Consultancy. consulting specialism has been developed
Both in the UK and USA, higher in recognition of the changing nature of the
education institutions are showing an human resources profession. The qualifi-
increasing interest in developing curricula cation is seen as particularly relevant for
and programmes at postgraduate diploma HR professionals, human resources and
and masters’ level in consulting. Similar organisational development consultants,
programmes exist or are under develop- and senior managers who have responsi-
ment also in France, Germany and the bility for organisational change and a
Netherlands. desire to deepen their strategic consulting
skills.
Masters’ degrees in Management For accountancy specialists, the
consulting University of Reading has recently devel-
In many cases, the view has been taken oped an MSc in International Consultancy
that consulting is a method applied and Accounting, and Northampton
by competent persons whose main Business School also offers an MA in
Masters’ programmes in management consultancy
Accounting and Consultancy. The Univer- the needs of people with fairly extensive or
sity of Reading’s programme covers topics little experience of working. In the former,
such as the structure and conduct of the aim is to meet the needs of those
the industry, its evolution, the role already working in, or providing services
of consultant in the diffusion of new to, a corporation. This can mean that spe-
management know-how and patterns of cialists educated in consulting can add
consultancy work. This is followed by a value to a corporation through their ability
case-based course on consulting practice, to adopt a more informed strategic role,
focusing upon consultancy firms and their and through deeper-level inquiry skills
services. The course is for young people gained by undertaking project work
doing a master’s degree following upon a required for a dissertation. In the accoun-
first degree and is designed to introduce tancy example, an entry-level qualification
them to various career options, as well as into the profession meets the student’s
reflecting the business advice services of need within a context to be determined in
accountancy firms. the future, Yet, even here, corporations
These examples illustrate that Masters’ receive value when students make better
programmes can be designed to meet informed career choices.
Continuing professional development
Calvert Markham, Managing Director
of Consultancy Skills Training Ltd
Management consultancy is a craft and, like the traditional crafts,

develops with practical experience.
Those with long memories in management sometimes to mean the contractual
consultancy can perhaps remember a time relationship between an individual and
when the consultant was a magician. Invite former employer, or even to substitute for
him (and in those days a consultant was the word ‘salesman'. If management con-
almost always male) into your business, sultants are to be seen as valuable, they
and from his black bag he would produce must bring distinctive worth to their clients.
a shower of management tricks that would
transform it. The consultant had arcane So what does a management
knowledge, and the process of consultan- consultant bring to the party?
cy consisted of applying this usefully to In 2003, the Institute Of Management
client organisations. Consultancy published a carefully
researched statement of the competencies
A more sophisticated client base that consultants need. (For more informa-
Since then, our client base has changed. I, tion on this, see the Insitute's website at
like many others, entered consultancy with www.imc.co.uk.) One of the features of this
the intention of spending three or four new framework is that in some of the areas
years in the profession, to take advantage of competence, there are progressive
of the variety of experience it provides and degrees of ability defined – useful to
emerge far more attractive to future the individual new to the profession and
employers as a general manager. wanting to map their progression.
Many people have subsequently There are also other factors that
graduated from consultancy firms and now distinguish consultants: mental acuity,
occupy executive positions with our bringing an outsider's view and, perhaps
clients. This, together with widespread most significantly, time, because the
management education, means that the reason a client may employ consultants is
consultant is dealing with a more sophisti- not that there is not the ability in the client
cated client base. organisation, but that there is not enough
Nonetheless, it is still the individual of it to go round!
consultant who is the bearer of ‘value’ from
the consultancy firm to the client. Surveys The craft of consultancy
of buyers of consultancy repeatedly There is a common feature to the Institute
show that the quality of the individual definitions above: they refer to practice.
consultants fielded by a firm has a Management consultancy is a craft and,
determining effect on the buying decisions like the traditional crafts, develops with
for both new and repeat business. practical experience. No one becomes an
expert cabinetmaker simply by reading books
The value of a consultant on the topic; likewise, no one can be a fully
In recent years the term ‘consultant' competent management consultant without
has been appropriated for other uses, experience of executing assignments. And,
like a traditional craftsman, one can see development can be a key element in
the progression of a consultant from a consultancy practice's employment
apprentice, through journeyman, to prospectus. Consultants will be more will-
becoming a master of the craft. Initially, as ing to join practices that offer active
an operating consultant the newcomer enhancement of their personal value - and
will work under the guidance of more this also means that those practices are
experienced colleagues. As time goes by, better positioned to offer their clients
he or she may manage projects of increas- high-quality help.
ing scale, perhaps selling the assignments
in the first place. Finally, a consultant may
Practical professional development
be responsible for a profit centre or a
Ultimately it falls to individual consul-
whole practice.
tants to plan and implement their own pro-
fessional development. This is an impor-
Continuing professional tant task if you are to keep your intellectu-
development al assets bright and shiny and continue
As an institute the IMC tobe valued by clients.
recognises the But you need to
progress that can be Management make time to ad-
made in the profes- dress your
sion, and seeks to consultancy is a craft personal develop-
encourage this. A and, like the traditional ment agenda. This
number of practices can be defined as
are now formally
crafts, develops with follows:
recognised by the practical experience.
Institute as meeting 1. What are
a high standard for the key tasks you
the training of consultants, and individual need to carry out?
members of the Institute are now required 2. What are the important skills you need
to affirm that they are spending at least 35 to perform these tasks well?
hours per year on recognised continuing 3. In what way do you need to improve
professional development activities. those skills?
There are a variety of benefits to all 4. What are the practical steps that you
involved in management consultancy if need to take for skill enhancement over
every consultant attends to planning the next 12 months?
and implementing personal development
activities. It is essential that consultants Your personal development agenda can be
maintain the value of their intellectual addressed not only through off-the-job
assets if they are to be of use to their activities, but also through reviewing
clients. Continuing professional dev- relevant activities during the regular course
elopment is therefore imperative, and the of your work.
responsibility for this lies with the individual. A feature of work in recent years is that
The provision of first-class training and more people are required to deliver their
skills in a client environment. Management After experience with PA Management

consultants are pre-eminent among these, Consultants and Spicer & Pegler
but must undertake carefully planned con- Associates, Calvert Markham FCMC set up
tinuing professional development if they his own practice in 1987. He is a Human
are to make their distinctive contribution to Resources Consultant with a special inter-
developing business performance. est in training consultants, and Managing
Director of Consultancy Skills Training
Limited which specialises in this area.

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The Inside Careers Guide to

Finding the right job

Education, training and development

Recruiter listing 125

Editorial The Management Consultancies Association

Printed and bound in the Netherlands by

The Institute supports Today more than ever management

I started working in scenario, more consultants will be able to

by other organisations. growing client concern by separating their

Management consultancy: Management Consultant:

The Management Consultancies The Institute of Management Consultancy

A large global firm offers a broader range of opportunities in total

When assignments go wrong, inevitably consultant and client have

interest to outright hostility if there is no project with a knowledge of the client’s

Recent years have been a challenging time for management

The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) was established

Membership criteria Code of professional conduct

‘The consulting industry has been going through the toughest

? Do I need a degree and if so,

consultancy are graduates. They come

? What are employers looking

? Should I train with a small,

Name: Alexander Orman

“Consulting firms are in the

“I love the varied working

When I started to look for a graduate job, I different area.

10:15 – Team meeting 15:30 – Capturing the feedback

18.00 – Ready, Steady, Go! 18.45 – Priority number 1 – beer

Name: Peter Chew

“It is both stimulating and rewarding to be

task list, but luckily most of today’s tasks

18:30 … It’s footie and fresh air

Tabitha Elwes is currently one of five partners

Current Position being thrown in at the deep end and l

Penny Bickerstaff CMC, and a former president of

I work as an independent management see the insides of a wide range of blue-

now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers. work on the outside. I certainly gained here

The path to consulting research techniques, as well as strong

Richard Martin is an independent Management

The opportunities within management my departure from Andersen Consulting as

resources. and often takes the form of part financial

Management consultancy is unquestionably a very attractive career

A strong academic background, to MBA (sponsored by their employer) in

Running your own consultancy practice (which I do) has immense

BLT's latest (March 2003) survey of management consultants (no

Benefit packages and senior employees in some of the firms

The Management Consultancy Information management. Do note that these figures

Average salary by size of company

Junior consultant Consultant Senior consultant Manager Partner/Director

• Small firms (2-10 consultants)

• Medium firms (11-60 consultants)

The first two years ‘knowledge bases’ which contain

Becoming a management consultant … have you got what it takes?

supported by a Code of Conduct and technical skills, business understanding,

Management consultancy competence framework

Technical discipline examples Sector specialism examples

Finance Strategy HR Public Internal Telecomms

Business understanding and external awareness

Building and sustaining relationships

Applying expertise and knowledge

Achieving sustainable results

Complexity and Personal Analytical and Interpersonal Delivery

Professionalism and ethics

The MBA (Master of Business Administration) is a graduate manage-