Member Article

COVID-19’s impact on strategy professionals

The pandemic has shaken up the working world, and the new report from Movemeon/Payspective examines its impact on strategy professionals.

The study which was compiled from 35,000 data points, provides a unique look at the pay and conditions of management consultants, strategic and commercial professionals.

Itchy feet

Despite all the headlines about a bumper year for government contracts, a third (29%) of those working in management consultancies are looking for a new role, specifically due to COVID-19.

Further, while PE/VC has also had a stellar year a quarter (24%) are on a job hunt.

Looking closer at where people want to move, about half of those in consulting actively looking for a job want to join a corporate. For those who’ve made the switch, 20% want to go back to a consultancy.

Additionally, the freelance lifestyle appears an attractive prospect to almost a quarter (23%) of those in consultancy looking for a new role.

A lower opinion

The study also explored professionals’ attitudes towards their employers, with a third (32%) of analysts (a junior role) now harbouring a worse opinion of their employers than before the pandemic. However, only 15% of directors/VPs now think more negatively of their employer.

With over half of UK strategy professionals reporting the pandemic has negatively affected their mental health, nearly everyone surveyed reported they worked longer hours despite being at home, with the biggest increase in start-ups/PE/VCs.

Freelance professionals reported an increase in transformation and cost cutting projects, which intuitively makes sense when the economic picture is considered.

Commenting on the study, Rich Rosser, co-founder, Movemeon said “COVID-19 has made work more intense. With PE firms busy on the deal front and digital-first start-ups seizing the prime conditions for growth, it’s no surprise these specialists have seen the biggest increase in working hours. The pandemic instigated rapid digital transformation in many sectors and now the dust has settled, there will no doubt be a need for strategic input as businesses work out their next steps. On another front, digital-first startups used the opportunity presented by COVID-19 to scale at pace, as they move into the next phase of their growth these firms need additional senior input to navigate this. All this means that there’s a buoyant market for management consultants and strategy professionals to help solve real problems and support growth.”

Patrick Maier, General Manager, Payspective stated, “The number of professionals looking for a new role is higher than normal and churn is costly all-round. The pandemic has hit younger people harder and even in the well paid world of consultancy, junior employees are more frustrated than more seasoned professionals. The negative sentiment held against employers coupled with the number of people with itchy feet mean that bosses would be well placed to invest in initiatives that improve team morale.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jon Smith .