Overview
Professional services is big business—and getting bigger by the day. Driven by a 5.4 percent annual growth rate, revenue in the industry will approach US$5 trillion worldwide by 2020.1 That’s good news for millions of knowledge workers and support staff who depend on services firms for their livelihoods.
Clients expect higher-quality services, delivered faster, at lower cost. Competitors engage in talent poaching, trying to lure away their rivals’ top performers by offering outsized compensation, extravagant perks, and fast tracks to partnership. Add in the difficulty of finding and retaining highly specialized talent, and it’s no wonder executives are stressed. In one recent survey, 63 percent of professional services executives stated that it’s getting harder to operate a services business, up 11 percent in a single year. 2
Recruiters must aggressively compete for qualified candidates who can fill revenue-generating and support staff positions. It’s critical to integrate new hires into the culture quickly so they can begin billing their time to clients. Succession planning, performance reviews, and other core HR activities require flawless execution because they contribute to morale, loyalty—and the bottom line.
With so much at stake, firms must invest in HR technology. A cloud-based system enables a unified approach to recruiting, retaining, and managing talent. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality will recast traditional HR activities. For example, virtual assistants based on AI are already handling routine HR interactions with employees.
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% of Executives that State Client Expectations Are Increasing
Figure 1: Rising Client Expectations, by the Numbers
(Source: “Three Major Trends Disrupting the Professional Services Industry,” Consultancy.uk, March 2018.)Areas in Which Client Expectations Are Increasing
This guide looks at the role of human resources in professional services firms, offering insight and recommendations on these topics:
Who will find this ebook useful?
Chief human resources officers and HR executives in professional services firms
Partners and other equity owners