Successful staffing - the “oxygen” of any consulting enterprise
By George Zukovs, P.Eng., President,XCG Consultants Ltd.
The foundation of any consultancy
is the talented and hard
working people that are the
principal asset of any firm.
Successful leaders of consulting firms
recognize that growth will require the
continual infusion of quality staff.
Particularly, where an enterprise has a
strategy for expansion in new technological
areas or markets remote from
current geographic locations top notch
staff are the essential ingredient. At the
same time every consulting firm experiences
loss of people due to a host of factors ranging from retirement to
departures for greener pastures. Some
loss is inevitable. The best firms minimize
turnover.
A simple example gives an idea of
the energies required to grow an enterprise.
Take a consulting organization of
100 people with a five year plan of
year-over-year growth of say 7%. Factor
in a staff turnover of 5% per year. This
gives a new recruiting requirement to
meet overall growth targets of twelve
people or about one per month in the
first year. A more aggressive growth
strategy or staffing needs for a new
branch would require even higher levels
of recruitment.
Have you then wondered: “How
will I meet my staffing needs?” There
is no doubt that fostering the growth of
an organization can be very challenging.
Especially, if there is strong desire
to see that growth occur “organically”
rather than through merger and acquisition.
The small to mid-size consulting organization faces particular challenges.
There is often less management
and human resources expertise in such
organizations and overall fewer nonproduction
resources available.
Nonetheless, a determined course of
action is necessary for the firm to
prosper and grow.
Day to day consulting is a very
demanding activity. Time resources are
jealously guarded above all by senior
managers. In this kind of environment
it is sometimes difficult to extract a
clear view of the issues and dimensions
surrounding staffing. It evokes
the old cliché of fighting the alligators
and forgetting the goal was to drain the
swamp. Often, senior consultants are
better alligator wrestlers than swamp
pumpers. Consequently, if growth-oriented
managers are to be successful
they must reach out to understand the
requirements and issues surrounding
their staffing situation.
The trend in meeting staffing goals
is based on a systematic assessment,
planning and implementation cycle
with ongoing feedback to help with
needed course corrections. In this
cycle it is especially important both to
understand growth goals and to assess
a firm’s performance with respect to
staff retention. If the present experience
is poor, it is undoubtedly a better
choice to develop programs to improve
retention and set specific goals for that
purpose rather than accelerate recruiting.
Once overall recruitment and retention
goals have been developed, specific
enterprise level, office level and
divisional recruitment and retention
objectives can be set and plans or
strategies to meet these objectives can
be prepared.
Recruitment strategies still employ
many time-tested methods including
advertising, “head hunting” and personal
recruitment by senior staff.
Many firms now reach out through the
internet using corporate web sites or
job posting services to potential
employees. The internet affords a relatively
low cost means of reaching a
broad audience and can be one of a
suite of recruiting tools.
The internet like other forms of
advertising requires that prospective
employees must be motivated to initiate
contact. Accordingly, many consultancies
are also asking how they can be
the “employer of choice”, in effect
seeking the ideal where potential
clients and staff view the firm as their
number one selection. This is a type of
“branding” often associated with the
larger multi-national consultants. The
same strategy is available to a consultancy
of any size but does require a
concerted approach to be effective.
Resources devoted to support “branding”
activities must be viewed in the
context not only of recruitment but of
overall market development and of
staff retention.
Other consultancies have outsourced,
in part or whole, the recruitment
functions. There is, in fact, a
growing industry that addresses this
need and which can provide the small
to mid-size firm with the necessary
expertise to develop or improve
staffing programs.
Formal staff retention programs are
also increasingly part of the day to day
operations of many consulting firms.
A variety of programs have been tried.
Approaches that have emphasized
ownership, benefits and monetary
reward still resonate. Programs that
effectively address the needs of staff
for continued professional and career
development also bring improved job
satisfaction. Finally, programs aimed
at easing the integration of new staff
members through a peer level “buddy”
system, for example, are also vital to
help establish a positive career starting
point.
The leadership of any consulting
enterprise must ensure an adequate
supply of “oxygen” in order to flourish.
A new generation of tools and
methods are emerging alongside timetested
methods to supply this “oxygen”
through the creative recruitment and
retention of staff. The most effective
programs are based on honest and
open communication, mutual respect,
shared vision and common, well
understood goals.
