The Future of the Firm

Helen Tudor, MD of executive search organisation, Sheffield Haworth, and Fiona Czerniawska, CEO of Source, caught up with Emma Carroll, Source’s Head of Content, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast. Helen and Fiona shared their insight on the following matters and more:   There has been a decline in the proportion of female partners appointed, from 29% in 2022 to 26% in 2023. This is against the trend we’ve seen over the past 10-15 years.   Firms that hire female leaders from outside their direct competitors and similar organisations achieve greater diversity.   In a difficult economic environment, firms want senior hires that can hit the ground running and are less likely to take risks on people who don’t have all the requisite skills or those that will need more investment.  Clients themselves are looking to work with more diverse consulting teams.   Current employers of strong female candidates will work hard to keep them, and low salary offers (even in the current environment) won’t be accepted.  Firms look for people with strong networks, and this can prove a problem for some non-consulting candidates, including those in industry and people who have been out of the market for a while.  During restructures, redundancy criteria can inadvertently result in high-potential people exiting. Firms should consider this carefully.   If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we debate whether organisations have pursued the cult of leadership to such an extent that they have forgotten how to manage.  

Richard Fleming, European Head of Restructuring at Alvarez & Marsal, and Margaret Cameron-Waller, Associate Consultant at Source, caught up with Emma Carroll, Source’s Head of Content, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast.  Richard and Margaret shared their insight on the following matters and more:   Hotspots for restructuring work currently include Germany, France, the UK and Nordics. When looking at sectors there’s activity in real estate, housebuilding, the automotive supply chain, and anything with a strong consumer focus.  Early signs of trouble are a drop off in demand, liquidity pressures, and a lack of financial discipline.   We discuss parallels between tech businesses that are in trouble today and those during the dot.com crisis, including the risk of large amounts of money being made readily available to creative, tech businesses where the financial acumen available in leadership teams doesn’t support the weight of the investment being made.  Changes in the restructuring market itself, including spinouts from the Big Four, and how this has affected clients and competition.   What clients are looking for when they choose a restructuring firm, including regulatory knowledge, restructuring creativity, great stakeholder management, reputation, the appropriate scale, and cost.   Plus, Richard shares his experience of restructuring a critical healthcare business just as COVID lockdowns hit.   If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we debate whether organisations have pursued the cult of leadership to such an extent that they have forgotten how to manage.

Alex Teytelboym, Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and Director of their Business Economics Programme, and Fiona Czerniawska, Founder & CEO at Source, caught up with Emma Carroll, Source’s Head of Content, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast. Alex and Fiona shared their insight on the following matters and more:  Climate change can be viewed as a failure of the market—in theory, this means that solving it could make everyone better off. Policy responses and regulation are lagging behind what is happening to the planet. It’s very difficult to predict how the risks will manifest, but they will be complex and unpredictable. Business leaders should think about climate change as being about operating in a complex and unpredictable environment. That means we need to build in resilience and redundancy. There is going to be a lot of creative destruction. Successful businesses need to innovate early and broadly, thinking about innovation in terms of a portfolio. Consultants need to talk to clients about the long-term view and about the real problems climate change poses—this can be counterintuitive to consultants who like to be optimistic and target near-term wins. Voluntary carbon markets and carbon offsets are potentially a terrible way for businesses to meet their climate goals. Regulation is not sufficient and there are reputational greenwashing risks attached. Carbon measurement should be simple, but there’s still a lot of difficulty measuring complex supply chains. The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is set to accelerate progress, and consulting firms will be in demand to help clients comply with this.   It’s going to be harder to be an average manager with so many different goals to meet. This means it is going to be even more difficult for businesses to incentivise their people appropriately. We used to think about climate change as a slow process, but that’s no longer true. To succeed in this space, businesses must move early and create a portfolio of innovations. Seventy-five percent of clients think that the way they are approaching sustainability needs to change.   If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we set out the big business challenges that clients say they’ll be facing in the year ahead. 

James Byles, Partner & UK AI Service Delivery Transformation Leader at Deloitte, caught up with Emma Carroll, Source’s Head of Content, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast.  James shared his insight on the following matters and more:   Clients are asking questions about how firms are using AI themselves, including how they are dealing with risk, data, and adoption of this technology.  Use-case themes include search capability, data scanning, autonomous coding, and how to generate, analyse & report on data.  How the use cases in firms are set to translate into client services.   Tricky questions around the appropriate use of data.  How to empower people in your business to innovate around AI.  Thinking about the areas where AI is set to disrupt the professional services market.  Working out what the analyst of the future will look like and how that will impact pathways into the profession.   Identifying non-traditional competitors and how they may disrupt the market.  If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we set out the big business challenges that clients say they’ll be facing in the year ahead. 

As the age of the ubiquitous, AI-enabled organisation draws closer, leaders need to think differently about talent. New roles are emerging, existing ones becoming broader, and people across the board will need to be reskilled. We discuss how all this can be achieved by firms and their clients alike.    Dr Gianluca Barletta, Global Head of Data Science at PA Consulting, and Fiona Czerniawska, Source’s CEO and Founder, join Emma Carroll, Source’s Head of Content, for the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast.   They share their insight into the following issues and more:   Nobody knows exactly what the future will bring, so, when it comes to talent, organisations need to focus on resilience, readiness, and agility It is crucial to have your data foundation in place, to allow you to move beyond ‘proof of concept’, embrace AI, and scale at pace People will need to be reskilled. We discuss solutions, including AI academies and cultural change Fear can be a big barrier to delivering the talent piece around AI Everyone in an organisation now needs to be a data custodian. We examine what this looks like in practice What are the new roles we need as we ramp up AI? Clue: Beyond data scientists, there is a role for linguists, designers, and user experience experts How the concept of the T-shaped consultant is evolving, as knowledge needs to become broader, but clients are demanding more specialists If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we set out the big business challenges that clients say they’ll be facing in 2024.   

As we head into 2024, revenue growth is coming under pressure in professional services firms. In this podcast, experts at Source discuss the trends and challenges that will really matter in the year ahead, including which markets are set to grow, what clients are looking for from pricing, and how firms can’t risk letting customer experience fall off the leadership agenda.   Fiona Czerniawska, Source’s CEO and Founder, and Margaret Cameron-Waller, Associate at Source, join Emma Carroll, Source’s Head of Content, for the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast.   They share their insight into the following issues and more:  Revenue growth for professional services firms came under pressure in Q3 2023, and this has continued into 2024.   Today’s market is patchy, and firms will have to select where they want to focus carefully. Technology, cybersecurity, and data & analytics will remain important.   Pricing is coming under pressure. There is some discounting taking place to allow firms to maintain their market share.   There are tentative signs that outcomes-based pricing is becoming more interesting to clients.   AI remains top of mind for clients in 2024, and work will centre on areas like strategic reviews, pilots, and advice on regulation. However, clients aren’t yet spending on larger-scale projects.  There is a danger that ESG work may get absorbed into business as usual, and this risks it failing to get the attention and investment it deserves.  It’s crucial that customer experience doesn’t suffer in 2024, and expertise will be a crucial attribute for firms.   If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we set out the big business challenges that clients say they’ll be facing in 2024.

Emma Carroll, Source’s Managing Editor, is joined by Fiona Czerniawska, Founder & CEO at Source, and Paul English, Strategy Director at Source, for a special edition of our Future of the Firm Podcast.  AI is set to have a significant impact on the professional services market. At Source’s recent flagship event, leaders and experts shared how they are adapting their business models in response to the opportunities and risks this provides.  In this podcast, Fiona, Paul, and Emma discuss the big learnings coming out of the event.  They share their insight into the following issues and more:   How strategy is changing   The ways firms are reshaping their business models with the help of AI   The opportunities and risks of tech ecosystems   How firms can use their own ways of working to showcase AI in action  What Source’s research is telling us about the market in this space  Plus, a sneak peek into our new report on the role of AI in thought leadership 

Successful transformation programmes need clear goals that are set and communicated upfront, honesty and openness from everyone involved, and sponsorship from an organisation’s top team. In this podcast, we talk to Melanie Lindsay, Partner at Vici Partners, and Fiona Czerniawska, Founder & CEO at Source, about what else they would add to this recipe for success, including how to navigate the emotional timeline of any change.  They share their insight into the following issues and more:  The key components of a successful transformation programme Drawing on the knowledge of people within a business to inform change Balancing the quality of change initiatives and the strength of buy in Empowering clients to challenge themselves Building agency and accountability within an organisation The emotional timeline of a transformation How tech can play a role in addressing emotional challenges Balancing strategy and implementation If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we discuss reducing complexity in your business, with Beth Butterwick, CEO at Jigsaw.   

“In the public sector, where we have a wealth of data, I think AI is going to be one of those tools that is a game changer,” Hilary Robertson Emma Carroll, Source’s Managing Editor, is joined by Hilary Robertson, Strategy Director at Sopra Steria UK, and Fiona Czerniawska, Founder & CEO at Source, for the latest episode of our Future of the Firm Podcast.  The outsourcing market has shifted rapidly over recent years, and work done in the public sector is no exception. The pandemic, business failures, and digital developments have all played their part. In this podcast, we talk to Hilary and Fiona about what’s new in the public sector outsourcing market, and where they see things heading next. They share their insight into the following issues and more:  How the public sector procurement process has improved and why, including the introduction of the UK government’s outsourcing playbook. The importance of technology, including AI, and the risk of obsolescence and skills shortages. The search for agility and how clients saw outsourcing as a solution during the pandemic. This appears to be a trend that has stuck. How the pandemic has caused clients to reconsider organisational boundaries and consider outsourcing core parts of their businesses. How clients are balancing investment in resilience versus investment in change. Addressing low-cost-bid bias amid macroeconomic uncertainty. The governance challenges faced by organisations that are juggling multiple external consulting providers. What’s new in measuring value in public sector outsourcing: This includes the importance of social value measures. Mindset change as part of outsourcing and whether this can or even should be measured. If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we discuss reducing complexity in your business, with Beth Butterwick, CEO at Jigsaw. 

Emma Carroll, Source’s Managing Editor, is joined by Per Breuer, Head of Global HR at Roland Berger, and Fiona Czerniawska, Founder & CEO at Source, for the latest episode of our Future of the Firm Podcast.   A firm’s talent is by far its greatest asset, and managing this resource for success, in both the short and medium-term, is complex at the best of times. In today’s uncertain environment—when clients’ needs are unpredictable—balancing supply and demand requires both creativity and a practical approach.   In this podcast, we talk to Per and Fiona about what a truly successful approach to talent looks like.  They share their insight into the following issues and more:   Leading on talent in a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous)  Getting expertise in the right places, at the right time, in the best way  The real opportunities AI is offering today—and what it promises for tomorrow  Using multidisciplinary teams to support your clients and your people  Driving individual accountability for creating client value  The risk of neglecting the mid-term talent agenda.