Welcome to our April 2019 management consulting salary report. Market conditions continue to be buoyant and is reflected in a rise in salaries across the board. However, salaries seem stagnant in the larger firms and the growth is coming from the boutique to mid-size firms that are benefiting from a reported downturn in satisfaction from career options at the larger firms.
The survey comprises of ‘live’ data from our internal knowledge base, our latest survey and relates to 3,213 relevant consultants at the job grades indicated and 127 firms. The data gathered was ‘smoothed’ with our normal method of removing the top and bottom 5% and any data that was more than 22% of the high and low averages. All results were converted back to US $ Dollar (exchange rate at 4th March 2019). More detailed or specific information is available from your Account Manager.
The beginning of 2019 has seen a continued demand for experienced consultants on a global scale.
Larger firms aren’t keeping pace with the market salaries in general and appear to be relying on their reputation and brand value. Mid sized and boutique firms are taking advantage of this and enjoying a period of unrivalled success in attracting the right people, even if this is causing them to make upward adjustments to their pay structures. This positive move to attract, retain and reward the best people will surely pay dividends so long as their firms ensure their business model matches the changes.
Major Strategy houses continue to be the go to destinations for many and are paying above average to ensure they have the best choice. 2019 looks very promising for some of them.
Reported bonuses and ‘revenue share’ schemes are on the low side at the moment, boutique to mid-size firms continue to implement new and inventive schemes to align rewards more directly with financial results. Matching these new reward schemes to new fee structures is allowing a greater degree of flexibility to attract and retain.
Associate rates continue to be strong, especially in the boutique to mid-size firms, however, there is considerable pressure to replace Associates with permanent staff to increase profits and this will have a negative effect on Associate rates later in the year but see the never ending rise in permanent salaries.
PAY RATIO
The PAY RATIO INDEX looks at the difference between the salaries on offer from our clients (RED - line) and plots it against the originally desired salary from applicants that were considering the positions (WHITE- line) and then overlays the salary they accepted / were hired at ( GREY dot).
This clearly shows that whilst a few years ago, management consulting firms and potential applicants were quite in line with each other, higher salary was used to secure people. 2015 the salaries offered rise as firms try to tempt staff to them but by 2016/2017 this slows down and is dramatically over taken by applicants wanting higher salaries than were on offer. These firms still paid more than they originally wanted to secure the best talent which doesn’t represent a positive image to their brands.
Pay demands from candidates dipped towards the end of last year at the same time that companies continued to offer increased salaries. The last 6 months have shown a the normal rise in salaries but we are now seeing closer synergy between supply and demand which is very positive to those companies that are aligning their talent strategy with the market in general.
Lead consultant on this report
This report was overseen by Rakesh Pabbi.
Position: Senior Partner
Expertise: Management Consultancies
Geographies: Global
Rakesh founded Consulting Point in 2003 and has led the company’s quest to find and attract the best management consulting talent in the world.
His prior experience in Management Consultancy with PwC & KPMG Consulting combined with over 21 years of search has proved a potent combination and as a result he is now retained by some of the biggest and brightest names in management consultancy to assist with their talent attraction.
Rakesh has been recognised with numerous awards, including being named as the Best Management Consultant Recruiter of the Year for 6 consecutive years by Top Consultant.
If you have any questions about this report, you would like more information or you would like to discuss obtaining similar reports with specific information relating to your business then please contact your usual consultant or Rakesh (if you are new to our firm).
rakesh.pabbi@consultingpoint.com