Recent headlines have laid bare the many challenges facing management consulting firms. From reports of partners infighting over profits and ousting their leadership to clients expressing skepticism about consultants’ value and AI’s potential to replace lucrative consultant-driven analysis. It’s all contributing to a widespread image problem as slowing demand reverses the pandemic-era consulting boom.

What is currently an image problem could easily become a talent problem if reports of financial, cultural and reputational woes drive current or aspiring consultants to conclude that the management consulting industry’s entire value proposition (ironically, a term coined by McKinsey itself) is broken. 

Take this piece that ran last month in The Wall Street Journal: “Consultants Are Paid to Fix Businesses. Why Can’t They Fix Their Own?” The story’s provocative title is just the beginning of a sharp, unflinching indictment—one that continues in the more than 400 reader comments that follow.

All this comes as consulting talent is placing more importance on factors like company culture and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives—especially those at the start of their careers. Capitalizing on this shift, the up-and-coming management consulting firm Embark recently ran a series of full-page, canary yellow WSJ ads declaring “consulting is dead.”

Embark’s value proposition? “People do their best work when they’re happy. And happy consultants make happy clients.”

It’s a powerful sell at a moment when many consultants appear ready to jump to new opportunities—in fact, a recent survey from recruiting firm The Barton Partnership found that more than one-third of respondents in consulting expect to move companies in the next 12 months.

Why Junior Talent Is Management Consulting’s Most Important Stakeholder Group Right Now

Make no mistake about it. If you’re a leader at a management consulting firm, the public’s negative perception of your industry is a vulnerability — one that emerging competitors like Embark are poised to seize upon. 

Your instinct will undoubtedly be to manage clients closely and devote extra attention to assuring them of your value. 

But if you “over-rotate” to that, you’ll miss something critical. Existing and future junior talent are the lifeblood of your firm. They drive value and increase profit margins, especially in times of slow economic growth (like now). And the affordable labor they provide is where your leverage and profitability lie.

Do you think your junior talent is happy? Are they appropriately challenged and fulfilled in their current roles? Is this a priority among your partnership?

It should be your only priority right now.

3 Messages Young Management Consulting Professionals Need to Hear

Management consulting has long been an attractive career option for ambitious young professionals willing to pay their dues in exchange for resume-building connections and the promise of high income down the road. But recent and emerging MBA grads are increasingly questioning and rejecting long-held norms in favor of roles that offer work-life balance and purpose-driven work.

Over the next fifteen years, the American workforce will undergo a sea change as Gen Z (those born between 1996 and 2010, currently 14 to 28 years old) come to make up the lion’s share of your talent pool. For Gen Z, flexible hours, a full life outside of work, and high pay are table stakes. They also want to work for organizations that align with their values and ideals.

It’s tempting to ignore these trends and expectations, especially if long hours and intense travel schedules have always been the price of entry at your firm. However, we believe that of all the disruptions currently facing the management consulting industry—overall economic conditions, reduced corporate spending, and efficiencies from AI— the potential for disruption within your talent pipeline should be among the most concerning.

Here are three core messages your junior talent needs to hear and, most importantly, believe.

1. We’re Listening to You

Do you care about the needs and desires of junior talent? Do you provide junior talent with forums through which to share their perspectives? Are you regularly asking for their input on the business, its goals and your culture? And do you understand what they’re looking for in a career? Most importantly, how are you applying all of this information?

To formulate an internal communications strategy that resonates with Gen Z, ask current employees to respond anonymously to questions like:

• What are the first three adjectives you would use to describe the firm?
• What do you like most—and least—about working here?
• What is a work example or experience that made you proud to be part of the firm?
• How would you rate your experience as an employee at our firm?
• What are the reasons for your score? 
• Would you recommend this workplace to a friend? Why or why not? 
• What could we do to improve the employee experience? 

If some of these questions sound familiar, it’s because they’re borrowed from the classic “Net Promoter Score” playbook, used to gauge the loyalty and referral potential among existing clients. It’s time to pivot this emphasis toward your aspiring talent.

By gathering candid feedback and looking for opportunities to evolve in response, you’ll give junior talent one of the things they want most in their professional life: a voice.

2. You’ll Be Doing Meaningful Work (Not Sitting Idle)

Junior consultants, often hired straight from prestigious universities, are increasingly finding themselves in a value paradox. Despite their impressive academic credentials, they don’t yet know what it takes to deliver tangible value for clients. And too often, firms leave them sitting idle on the proverbial bench for weeks or months until there’s a client assignment available for them. Then these inexperienced junior consultants are expected to be ready to go, suitcases packed and passports in hand. 

It shouldn’t be this way. But if temporary bench time is unavoidable, your junior talent needs to know how you do plan to give them work experience and training. Some firms are creating rigorous, MBA-like development tracks specifically geared toward teaching new professionals the ropes with an emphasis on what matters most to clients: industry knowledge and POV. Others are setting KPIs to incentivize senior consultants to mentor junior staff.

Whatever the case, it’s critical to communicate that your firm has developed pathways for meaningful training and engagement. Tell the stories, internally and externally, that emphasize how quickly new hires are brought on to substantive projects that provide a sense of purpose and challenge.

3. You Have Flexible Options for Career Advancement

Junior consultants want to do challenging, interesting work—but they also want to enjoy rich, full personal lives. Many are no longer willing to be away from home to stay on-site with a client Monday through Thursday, week after week. 

Does your firm offer opportunities for growth for employees who don’t want to follow the traditional consultant-as-road-warrior trajectory? For example, some firms have recently started offering flexible pathways for growth and advancement for young associates uninterested in pursuing the traditional partner track. Management consulting firms with similarly innovative playbooks should be shouting from the rooftops about their programs offering junior consultants grind-free options for growth and development.

If it’s absolutely essential for junior talent to pay their dues with long hours and demanding travel schedules, focus on the creative ways your firm has built programs to incentivize them. Sabbatical programs, remote work options in between offsite assignments, expedited non-equity partner tracks and travel perks all make the road warrior life more appealing. 

Now’s the Time to Communicate a Path Forward for Junior Management Consultants

Management consulting leaders who proactively evolve their cultures to meet the expectations of junior talent will position themselves for long-term success. By contrast, those who cling to antiquated norms may find themselves struggling to secure the talent pipeline they need to drive future growth.

The choice is yours.

Provide junior talent with a consistent communication platform (town halls, online forums, etc.) and listen attentively. Tell current and future hires about the training and meaningful work they can expect from day one. And promote your firm’s flexible pathways for building a rich and fulfilling career.

When you do, you can position your firm to not only overcome the industry’s negative image problem, but to lead in service to the young, bright minds that will determine your organization’s future success.