Attracting talent in professional services (it’s not always the money)

July 11, 2023

The professional services sector is facing a skills crisis, which is creating significant operational risk for firms. According to Statista, the employee attrition rate of professional services organizations around the world jumped from 8.3% in 2013 to 14% in 2021.[1] This is leading to growing expenses recruiting and training new employees, lower productivity, reduced morale, and poorer client service. Leaders at top professional services organizations are aware of this, with the Chief People Office of KPMG UK recently saying, “Now more than ever, businesses must double down on their employee retention efforts.”[2]

It’s no surprise that burnout is the biggest cause of attrition at consulting and other professional services firms. In a survey conducted by Limeade in 2021, of 1,000 US based employees who recently changed jobs, 40% of the respondents cited burnout as their reason for leaving, and burnout was especially more common in professional services: 52% of people working in the professional services industry said they had left their job due to burnout.[3]  It’s a similar story across the pond in the UK, where a survey by Deloitte of 1,000 professionals found that burnout was the top reason why people were leaving their jobs in the professional services sector. Fifty-two percent (52%) of respondents said they had left their job due to burnout, while 38% said they were considering leaving their job for the same reason.[4]  While flexibility and a healthy work life balance is crucial when it comes to attracting and retaining talent, those things must be supported by a culture that encourages training and development.

The top three factors attracting talent in professional services (and a hidden “fourth” factor)

In a recent survey we conducted in partnership with The Deal, 90% of professional services employers said that they need to work harder to attract top talent than in past years. When asked about the top three most effective factors attracting talent today, flexible working arrangements (76%), benefits and incentives for a healthy work-life balance (68%), and full-time remote work (51%) came out as the top three, while competitive pay ranked well below at 37%. This is backed by survey conducted by LinkedIn in 2022, which found that 70% of millennials said that they were more likely to stay with a company that offered opportunities for career development. The survey also found that 63% of millennials said that they were willing to take a pay cut in order to have more opportunities for career development.[5]

However, there is a hidden “fourth factor,” which can play a huge part in talent retention and attraction: building a strong infrastructure to provide the administrative support core fee earners in the organization need.

How can stronger administrative support alleviate the burden of burnout?

With economic uncertainty, increased competition, a skills shortage, and rising costs, professional services companies, particularly management consultants and accountancy practices, need to be increasingly creative in attracting and retaining talented fee earners and associates. Research suggests that investing more in “non-core” support functions, can better support new associates so that they can spend their time on more strategic activities which will help significantly improve employee satisfaction and boost morale.

In July 2021, a joint study by the University of California and the University of Chicago found that firms with high “administrative intensity”, defined as the proportion of employees in administrative support positions, enjoy better relationships with their employees, thus leading to lower attrition and higher employee job satisfaction.[6] This demonstrates the essential role support staff plays in overall employee workplace satisfaction. However, the same research showed that such “administrative intensity” comes at a cost, literally. The  investment associated with hiring large administrative teams was found to hinder firm innovation and lower profits. Even though companies may be investing in administrative support for core teams with good intention, they’re not doing it at optimum efficiency.

By partnering with an external service provider that has specialist expertise in business support areas such as secretarial support, presentations and creative design – areas which consultants often need – operational leaders can leverage a pool of already skilled professionals who are experienced in delivering these services efficiently.

Good outsourcing has to also come with the right technology

Improving administrative efficiency through outsourcing can directly boost employee satisfaction and collaboration, minimize burnout, and reduce attrition. However, a good outsourcing partner will also use the best of its proprietary technology to analyze existing processes, find inefficiency gaps, and redesign them to improve accuracy and job delivery speed. Workflow and data analytics technology can also be used to build optimally sized support teams that will never be too over or under capacity and can scale efficiently based on fluctuating demands.

To find out more about technology that can help manage administrative support functions efficiently, and ultimately deliver better service quality and performance, learn about ENGAGE.

[1] Statista Research Department; August 16, 2022, Employee attrition of professional services organizations worldwide 2013-2021

[2] Accountancy Age; Cullen, Patricia; December 6, 2021, Firms must “double down” on retention efforts amidst resignation crisis

[3]Limeade, “The Great Resignation Update: Limeade Employee Care Report,” 2021, https://www.limeade.com/resources/resource-center/limeade-employee-care-report-the-great-resignation-update/

[4]Deloitte UK, “Mental Health and Employers: Refreshing the Case for Investment,” 2021, https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/consultancy/deloitte-uk-mental-health-and-employers.pdf

[5] LinkedIn’s 2022 Workplace Learning Report: https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report-2022

[6] Liang, Lourie, Nekrasov, Xia; July 25, 2021; Too Much of a Good Thing? Administrative Support Staff, Employee Turnover, Innovation, and Firm Performance; University of California, Irvine & University of Illinois, Chicago.