The Future of the Firm

It's almost impossible to glance at the business press these days without some kind of coverage on global talent shortages—and the consulting industry is feeling the pressure of these shortages particularly keenly. Is there anything consulting firms can do to increase retention, and halt the "great resignation" that's impacting them? To discuss the role of learning & development in consulting firms, Fiona Czerniawksa is joined by Nhlamu Dlomu, Global Head of People at KPMG.

Pricing is one of the most complex issues in the consulting industry, and clients are often unclear on what exactly they are paying for; in fact, our latest research has shown that only 23% believe that consulting firms are transparent when it comes to their fee rates. What can be done to reduce this friction, and how can consulting firms take a more intelligence approach when it comes to their pricing models to ensure harmony on all sides? To discuss the topic, we're joined by Dr. Peter Colman from Simon-Kucher & Partners. 

To continue our discussions around brand in professional services, David Redhill, ex-Global CMO at Deloitte, joins us for this podcast episode. We explore whether firms can truly use their culture as a differentiator, the extent to which expertise is related to brand, and how mid-sized firms can compete in an increasingly crowded market.

Has anything truly disrupted the consulting industry in the years since Clayton Christensen's groundbreaking article in the Harvard Business Review? To discuss the issue of disruption within consulting, Fiona Czerniawska is joined by Julian Birkinshaw and David Lancefield from the London Business School.

Our latest research reveals the greatest shake-up in what clients tell us is important when working with a consulting firm since we started tracking this metric seven years ago: Having an innovative approach has been replaced by brand & reputation as the most important attribute. Could this signify a flight to brand, caused by the pandemic? To discuss the topic of brands in professional services, Fiona Czerniawska is joined by Beth Ann Kaminkow, Global CEO at VMLY&R Commerce.

The question of who and what we're willing to trust is one of the defining issues of this digital age. In the context of professional services, trust has always played a critical role in the purchasing decisions of clients, and the pandemic has only served to cement that. In this episode, we are joined by J.C. Lapierre, Chief Strategy & Communications Officer for PwC in the United States, to discuss the role of trust, and how firms can build it in this new age.

Historically, the professional services industry hasn't been a place of gender diversity, but things seem to be changing. This podcast episode, recorded to celebrate International Women's Day, features Rachel Barton, Europe Strategy Lead at Accenture, and Alison Huntington, Director of Client & Brand Insights at Source, to discuss what it's really like to be a woman in the consulting industry today.

It will come as no surprise that the pandemic has resulted in a major rethink about the nature, and future, of work. In this podcast episode, we are joined by Jean-Marc Laouchez, President of the Korn Ferry Institute to explore this issue further, and to hear about how Korn Ferry are contributing to this change.

Clients are becoming more demanding of their consultants than ever before. Clients are looking for partners to assist them with their thorniest challenges, and consulting firms need to step up. In our first podcast episode of 2022, Fiona Czerniawska is joined by Source expert, Margaret Cameron-Waller, to discuss what the year has in store for consulting firms and their clients, and the key drivers of demand.  

Clients in Japan have always tended to be relatively conservative in their use of consultants, and have historically been somewhat reluctant to invest in large-scale consulting programmes. In this episode, we’re joined by Kenji Katsura, the leader of PwC’s technology consulting business in Japan, and Yann Bonduelle, a Senior Advisor to the firm, to discuss how changes are reshaping this market—and what lessons consultants in other parts of the world can learn from their experiences in Japan.