Talent

By Edward Haigh.

That’s the deliberately slightly playful question we’ve been asking consulting leaders recently, as part of our research into what’s going on from a talent perspective. And it’s already elicited some interesting responses.

The one that caught my attention the other day was someone saying that they’d build more relationships with small specialist firms.

Consulting’s eternal war for talent has only intensified of late as rapid growth in some large markets and a need to recruit for digital skills has left many firms feeling short staffed. But perhaps the more daunting challenge comes from new sources of talent competition: whereas firms previously competed primarily among themselves and with investment banks to win the brightest recruits, they’re now facing a challenge from tech companies and start-ups, which many job seekers consider more exciting and possibly less brutal places to work.