Editors Note: This is the fourth in a series of four articles presenting highlights from the 2009 M Squared Consulting independent consultant survey. You can read the first article here. The second here. And the third here. A PDF copy of the full report is also available for download.

Conclusions

Based on the M Squared 2009 Independent Survey responses and comparison with previous surveys, we made the following conclusions:

• The 2009 M Squared Independent Consultant Survey confirmed the far-reaching effects of a tough economic climate. The general level of business uncertainty that exists in the marketplace and its impact on management consultants and their clients remains undeniable.
• Out of competitive necessity many consultants have been forced to reduce their rates and be more flexible with their billing practices. Investing more time and effort up front to add value to the client before an engagement actually starts is the trend.
• Going forward, consultants expect their revenues to be soft, and most do not expect the economy to start improving until 2010.
• Today, client priorities are cost reduction, operational efficiency improvement and growth opportunities.
• Consultants continue to see an increase in engagement opportunities within the technology, healthcare, biotechnology/life sciences, and financial services industry verticals. Though these industries have been cited by consultants in previous surveys as having an upward trend in opportunity, recent legislation strongly supports this view.
• The 2009 survey speaks strongly to the adoption of social media and networking groups by our Independent Consultants. LinkedIn and Facebook have become permanent features of marketing, business networking, and connecting with people.

Survey Respondents

As we expected to see there was an incredible diversity within our consultant survey respondents. The M Squared Consultant Network has over 14,000 seasoned professionals, representing a wide spectrum of functional and industry expertise. A few highlights:

Independent Consultant Tenure

59% of the respondents have been Independent Consultants for 1-10 years. 33% of the consultants who responded to the 2009 survey have been an Independent Consultant for 1 - 5 years, followed by 26% for 5 - 10 years. These numbers very closely match previous year’s statistics. Of note, though a consultant may be new to Independent Consulting, the average number of years of industry experience for an M Squared consultant is 15 years.

Geography

In this year’s survey, 46% of the respondents primarily consult in Northern California, 13% of our Independent Consultants list having clients nationwide, 12% of the respondents consult out of Southern California, and 7% consult internationally.

Primary Functional Practice

Consistent with previous survey results, nearly 21% of our network’s primary consulting practice is in Marketing. Top Management & Strategy (15%), Information Technology (14%), Human Resources (11%), Finance (10%), and Operations (8%) reflect the next largest practice areas of talent within our network. 21% of consultants selected additional niche practice areas in which they specialize.

Industry Vertical Practice

Of the1,079 consultants in our survey who identified an industry vertical, 20% focus on technology, 13% on financial services, 9% on professional services, and 8% on healthcare. 44% of consultants selected additional industry verticals in which they specialize.

This entry was posted by Kimball Norup on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 9:15 am in Consultant survey, Consulting, Management Consulting. Feel free to leave me a message about this post below.