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LONDON, January 20, 2021 / PRNewswire / –

• The leading consultants expect the industry to grow by 9% in the next 12 months. The largest growth area in digital technology underscores the vital importance of the sector in the recovery and urgent digital transformation of UK businesses
• Despite a tough 2020 for the UK economy and declines in some private sector markets, most advisors felt that advisory activity met or exceeded expectations (83%), with overall growth increasing by 2.5% over the year
• The impact of increased flexibility and remote working are cited as the biggest impact on the future guidance sector (73%), and 40% of young advisors say that their training has suffered from work, leading to the need to return to the office in support underlines the talent of the future.
• The number of younger consultants who have visited Oxbridge is at its lowest in 20 years as companies diversify their talent pools and step up their efforts to improve social mobility

Despite ongoing restrictions due to COVID-19 and the impact of Brexit changes, the Management Consultancies Association (MCA )’s latest annual membership survey is still expected to grow 9% in business consulting in 2021. In 2020, the consulting sector grew 2.5%, less than expected but still increased slightly. This reflects the resilience of the consulting sector and the tremendous efforts companies make to react quickly to events and meet new customer demands. Basically, the importance of the sector as well as the external support and trustworthy advice in critical phases of business disruptions and transformations are highlighted.

Over 500 consultants from a wide range of MCA member firms participated in the independent survey conducted by Savanta, from Heads of Consulting to Junior Management Consultants. Although growth for 2020 was lower than expected, nearly two-thirds of advisory managers said that advisory activity in the last 12 months met or exceeded expectations (64%). This is despite the COVID-19 hiatus throughout the year, underscoring that while some companies fared well, others, especially those focused on aviation, transportation and retail, saw activity decline as their customers were hit hard by lockdown restrictions were. 88% of consultants predict that the greatest demand for customer support in the next two years will be in the digital and technology sectors, although activities in the life sciences, health, infrastructure and public sectors are expected to be strong.

The survey reveals a number of benefits from moving to remote working for customers with less money to travel and hotels, a larger pool of available advisors due to fewer location restrictions, and longer customer care time. 87% of consultants felt that clients’ needs were fully met during the pandemic. However, the consultants also cited a number of disadvantages resulting from the increasing shift to remote working[1]. 73% said they had less interaction with customers and 49% said that it was more difficult to address sensitive topics due to reduced face-to-face meetings[2].

Tamzen Isacsson, Chairman of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), said:

“Despite the ongoing turmoil of the pandemic, the UK management consultancy sector has shown great resilience and flexibility in customer service and has seen stable growth in consultancy buyers in 2020, underscoring the essential need for high quality external professional support in times of crisis. Our industry is becoming will play a critical role in future economic recovery and net zero ambitions over the next few years, transforming businesses and driving digital transformation further. As a result, our forecasts are positive. “

Respondents said that one of the biggest challenges for the industry in the next few years will be to be more flexible and to work remotely (73%). Many companies are actively examining how the new hybrid model of office use and working from home will work and will be structured in the future. The impact of the pandemic and remote working on education and training is rated as worrying, and over a third (36%) of counselors said they had not received as much training as usual or that the quality of training had decreased in order to Emphasize why the return to office and personal training sessions can be critical to future employee support.

Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) added:

“Talent is the bedrock of our industry and companies continued to recruit graduates, apprentices and skilled workers throughout the pandemic to help secure thousands of jobs across the UK. They offer induction and training courses and create a sense of corporate culture for people who Having never met their colleagues face to face or entering an office has been a challenge. As companies and clients plan their anticipated return to secure offices during the summer months, it is important that training and development are a priority as there are many younger employees felt disadvantaged in the past few months. “

The results of the MCA 2021 Membership Survey confirm that the consulting industry continues to be more accessible to graduates from diverse backgrounds. The number of younger consultants attending Russell Group University or Oxbridge has continued to decline. This underscores the work of companies to increase social mobility and create more opportunities for those who are not in university. There has been a steady decline from 73% at a Russell Group University in 2011 to 44% in 2020, while the number of young counselors attending Oxbridge is only 3% – a 10% decrease from nine years ago.

Tamzen IsacssonThe Chairman of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) said:

“As in many sectors, the business consulting industry has taken a variety of initiatives to promote social mobility. For best results, economic productivity and growth, organizations need to reflect society and the diversity of skills, knowledge and different views There is more to be done, but these latest figures show that there are more opportunities for non-university students to get into the sector and be successful. “

69% of respondents asked to highlight the environmental issues and trends that MCA members expect to have a significant impact on their customers’ needs in the next 12 to 24 months say their customers are reviewing business models for sustainability have to. Over half (56%) say this is also the case with sustainability supply chains, due to increasing public and political control of companies and the importance of net zero.

Oliver Worsfold, Associate Director at Savanta added:

“It is encouraging to see that the management consulting industry is constantly improving its approach to social mobility and having an increasing impact on both its clients and society at large. The proportion of young consultants from Russell Group universities, and Oxbridge in particular, is declining year over year . indicate a broader inclusivity surge within the sector.

“At the same time, improving diversity remains an important priority. Two in five advisors (42%) say the growing demand from society for more diverse representation at all levels in companies will be an important issue in the next 12 to 24 months.”

The independent market research agency Savanta has partnered with the MCA to collect and analyze member data for the 2021 report.

Media contact: Caroline Florence ([email protected] / Tel .: +44 (0) 207 645 7959 or +44 (0) 7973 400264)

The Management Consultancies Association (MCA):

The MCA represents the leading British management consultancy firms. For over 60 years, MCA has been the voice of the consulting industry, promoting the value of consulting for businesses, the public sector, media commentators and the general public. MCA’s mission is to promote the value of business consulting for the economy and society at large. MCA member firms comprise over 50% of the UK consulting industry and work with over 90 of the leading FTSE 100 companies and almost every part of the public sector. The UK consulting industry is among the best in the world and is an important part of the business landscape. Click here for the full list of current MCA members. See link.

Adhering to the strict entry criteria of the MCA and adhering to the principles of Consulting Excellence mean that MCA member companies are generally recognized for providing high quality services to their customers. Many of their achievements are recognized at the annual MCA Awards.

Savanta

Savanta is a rapidly growing data, research, and consulting company. We inform and inspire our customers with high-performance data, high-performance technology and effective advice. All of this is meant to help our customers make better decisions and progress faster. Get in touch:

Savanta – www.savanta.com

[1] How well did you meet your customers’ needs when you were working remotely during the last lockdown? 87% of customer needs were fully met; 10% partially fulfilled; 1% does not have to be fulfilled; 2% don’t know.

[2] What were the biggest challenges for customers working remotely? (Top 3) Less interaction with customers 73%; Fewer opportunities to explore and discuss future work 56%; Inability to address sensitive issues due to fewer face-to-face meetings, 49%; Customers are slower to adopt technology tools to support remote work 29%; insufficient technology 26%; Client security issues 21%.

similar links

https://www.mca.org.uk/

SOURCE Management Consultancies Association (MCA)