An Investigation of the Training Skills Gap among Top Management Consulting Firms in Ireland and its Impact on Career Progression

Research Topic & its Importance: This paper investigates the professional training and development market in Ireland, specifically focusing on the provision of behavioural skills training for top Management Consulting firms.... [ view full abstract ]

Research Topic & its Importance:
This paper investigates the professional training and development market in Ireland, specifically focusing on the provision of behavioural skills training for top Management Consulting firms. Its primary purpose is to determine the existence of a training skills gap among the top consulting firms in the Irish market, and also to assess whether the Irish professional development market caters for the training requirements of consulting firms. The final aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of a typical Management Consultant’s career path, the reasons for a consultant’s departure from their firm at top management level, and the impact on both of these areas of professional training and development arrangements and / or a lack thereof.
Contribution to Research:
Past research has examined the skills and competencies required by Management Consultants at all organisational levels, however we identified the existence of a void in academic literature regarding the critical skills required for Management Consultants at top organisational levels. Furthermore, the lack of empirical research regarding the types of training schemes provided for Management Consultants at the various stages of their career also drew our attention to this topic, encouraging the completion of further research in this area.
Background:
Effective management consultants are expected to possess a range of characteristics and skills that are employed in analysing organisational problems, identifying opportunities, developing plans for improvement and improving overall business performance (Tulimieri, 2013). The Management Consulting profession requires individuals to possess and maintain both academic knowledge and specialist industry knowledge that has been gained through experience (Tulimieri, 2013). Both aspects are critical to the success of a consulting engagement and combine to equip the consultant with functional knowledge that can be applied to a variety of situations (Tulimieri, 2013).
The nature of Management Consulting, with consultants are often managing a portfolio of projects and working with organisations as external employees, means that effective consultants must have a skill set that can be applied to a range of circumstances, individuals and organisations (Wickham & Wickham, 2008). The skill set of a Management Consultant can be explained under two headings: technical (hard) skills and behavioural (soft) skills.
Unlike the relatively simple development of technical skills, behavioural skill development requires significant personal interaction (Levasseur, 2013). Behavioural skill development is a function of the person and their environment; the desire to improve one's influencing skills, for example, is not enough to develop the skill (Levasseur, 2013). Traditional classroom-based learning is ineffective in developing behavioural skills; instead a complex learning environment is necessary to support the personal interaction with others that is needed to develop the skill itself (Levasseur, 2013). In Muzio & Fisher’s (2009) application of skill development to Maslow’s (1987) Hierarchy of Needs, behavioural skills and emotional intelligence can be linked to higher order, self-actualisation needs (cited by Levasseur, 2013). These skills are developed through interaction and self-reflection, which develop over time as one advances toward self-actualisation at the top of Maslow’s (1987) Hierarchy (Muzio & Fisher, 2009 cited by Levasseur, 2013). Thus, these skills are less prevalent than technical ones.
Research Questions and Method:
In order to understand the training and development offered by consulting firms to their mid- and top-managers, we used four phases of research, comprising mixed methods. The four phases allowed us to gain in-depth insights into the current consulting profession’s training and development offering, primarily in the Irish market with some reference to the UK.
Qualitative primary research was carried out through thirty semi-structured in-depth telephone interviews; fifteen interviews were conducted with individuals from consulting departments and HR at these organisational levels: associate director (one), director (eight), partner (three), vice chairman (one) CEO (two). Additionally, five interviews were carried out with individuals at these levels: manager (four) and senior manager (one), with one respondent working for a consulting firm in the UK.
Findings:
Our secondary research findings indicate that very few third level institutions in Ireland provide behavioural training programmes targeting the top management organisational levels. The two institutes identified that provide training to this level, Smurfit Business School and the IMI, have both provided customised courses to this cohort in the past, however both rely predominantly on the provision of open enrolment courses. These findings correspond to the academic literature, which states that although the market for customised training courses has increased; there is still a strong demand for open enrolment courses (Milton, 2006). Interestingly, Smurfit Business School and the IMI are not the sole providers of professional behavioural training; independent coaching organisations also offer training and coaching to organisations across the Irish and UK markets.
Our interview findings indicate that employees from the consulting firms interviewed follow a similar seven-stage career progression route, highlighting that the consulting profession offers a clear and structured career path. In addition, the primary reason individuals leave consulting firms at managerial level is either to specialise in industry or if they have failed to obtain a promotional position. The academic literature further validates these as prime reasons for individuals leaving firms, whilst also detailing additional reasons such as poor coaching provided, inadequate feedback and poor people management (Braham, 2005; Anderson 2012).
Furthermore, our findings indicate that the possession of technical skills, such as problem solving and project management skills are expected at lower organisational levels. As such, training in these areas is uncommon for senior managers and top management. However, interviewees did indicate that if one chooses to specialise in an area, for example risk consulting, they may require training in data analytics and statistics. Thus, technical training at these levels has been found to be person and role dependent.
In analysing the skills required by Management Consultants at senior manager level, interpersonal skills, such as building client relationships were cited as most valuable by 70% of participants. Leading and managing teams are also considered important, mentioned by 60% of respondents. Survey respondents indicated the ability to influence and negotiate with clients as critical at this level, alongside business development skills and strategic thinking. Focusing on the skills believed to be most important for a Management Consultant at top management level, participants indicated that the possession of interpersonal skills, involving presence, impact and engagement, in addition to effective leadership skills, as most critical. Business development, mentoring and influencing skills are also deemed essential to individuals at this stage of their career. Evidently, the survey findings validate our previously outlined qualitative findings.
Implications:
Interestingly, although academic literature highlights the importance of both technical and behavioural skills for Management Consultants, it does not specify the importance of either group of skills for specific levels. Rather, literature states that a balance of technical and behavioural competencies is favourable across organisational levels (Folkman, 2014). As such, our findings indicate that there is a misalignment between theory and practice. Our primary research indicates the importance of behavioural skills for individuals at managerial levels up to directors and partners. One interviewee pointed out behavioural skills are not only important for Management Consultants at these levels, but are generic across industries, In contrast, technical areas such as problem solving and analysis skills have been found to be most relevant for consultants and individuals at lower organisational levels.
Based on our research, we propose that consulting firms alter the ratio of the learning and development model at senior manager level and above. According to our qualitative primary research, consulting firms in general follow a 70:20:10 learning model, where Management Consultants predominantly learn and develop their skills through 70% on the job training, 20% coaching and mentoring and 10% formal training.
We suggest consulting firms adopt a model that focuses on 50% on-the-job learning, 30% coaching and 20% formal training, thus a 50:30:20 learning and development model. According to our primary research, organisational levels below the managerial stage focus on developing technical skills, as such we recommend that lower organisational levels continue to follow the 70:20:10 model, as it is more appropriate for this type of skills training.
References:
Anderson, E. (2012) ‘Why Top Talent Leaves: Top 10 Reasons Boiled Down to 1 2012 Forbes Erica Anderson’, Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/01/18/why-top-talent-leaves-top-10- reasons-boiled-down-to-1/[Accessed 11 June 2015].
Branham, L. (2005) The Seven Hidden Reasons Employees Leave. Available at: http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/EUArticle.cfm?ItemNumber=11514 [Accessed 11 June 2015].
Ernst, B., & Keiser, A. (1999) ‘In Search of Explanations for the Consulting Explosion’, Research Paper, University of Mannheim.
Folkman, J. (2014) ‘Are Different Skills Required for Senior Executives?’, Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/joefolkman/2014/08/22/are-different-skills- required-for-senior-executives/ [Accessed 15 June 2015].
Tulimieri, M. B. (2013) ‘Knowledge, Skills and Personality of the Effective Business Consultant’, Journal of Management Development, 32 (8), pp. 886-900.
Turner, A. N. (1982) ‘Consulting is More than Giving Advice’, Harvard Business Review, September. https://hbr.org/1982/09/consulting-is-more-than- giving-advice. [Accessed: 20 June 2015].
Wickham, L. & Wickham, P. (2008) Management Consulting, Delivering an Effective Project. Pearson, 3rd Ed. London.
Levasseur, R. E. (2013) ‘People Skills: Developing Soft Skills—A Change Management Perspective’, Interfaces, 43(6), pp. 566-571.
Milton, U. (2006) ‘'Spectacular' Darden wins laurels open enrolment: Ursula Milton analyses the figures for off-the-shelf programmes and notes European schools are climbing the rankings:’ Financial Times, London (UK).

management consulting, professional skills development, career progression, hard and soft skills training, interpersonal skills [ view full abstract ]

management consulting, professional skills development, career progression, hard and soft skills training, interpersonal skills