Berger Strategy Consultants
7.3 Selection and Appointment Process
To a top-quality candidate, the things an employer must offer are a good reputa- tion, an exciting working environment and good development prospects. You could say this is the supply-side "limitation" on human resources work: only a positive image attracts the best talent.
To a consulting company, the aim is to take thousands of applicants and filter out the right ones, take highly qualified staff and swiftly equip them with the con- sultant's arsenal of tools, turn brilliant lone warriors into a successful team, and create the right career path for each individual.
To cover the permanent demand for consultants at source, in terms of both quantity and quality, companies must begin investing in corporate consulting's
Interns / Summer Associates
HR Recruiting Junior/senior Recruiting
Marketing
MBA relations
Staffing Payroll
Seminar International
Management Relations
Alumni Events
target groups well before an employee joins the company. This means that we need to get in touch with top talent early on. Since a high proportion of new hires are graduates of universities and business schools, we invest in target universities and chairs through workshops, case studies and grants. Another human resources marketing tool is our TOPICS event, which attracts considerable attention in the media: every summer, we invite some 60-80 internationally selected students to simulate a consulting project for a weekend. This is not about invented or made-up projects, but about real cases, in which well-known companies commission a pro- ject on a current issue. The students learn first-hand what everyday consulting work in direct contact with clients is like.
In addition to such conventional measures, we have also begun to establish chairs in key business management fields, particularly at the INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau (Business and Technology chair) and the Technical Uni- versity of Munich (Internet-based Information Systems chair). By exchanging content and ideas, we can influence the education of future generations of consult- ants, and identify and address promising consultants sooner than other companies.
To get an early start in forging ties with future colleagues, internships are the most efficient way to get to know one another: students can gain practical experi- ence – typically after their intermediate exams – and learn what it is like to apply the knowledge they have acquired to real project work. This usually gives them a very good idea of whether consulting in general and our company in particular meet their expectations in terms of career development, interests and inclinations, and whether we offer the working environment they seek. From the company's point of view, we can get a good idea of whether the interns have what it takes and whether they will fit into the team.
To really ensure a "return on investment" on internships, however, it is impor- tant that the company and the colleagues the intern has come to know remain in contact with the prospective candidate throughout the rest of their studies, until they complete their final examinations and decide which profession they want to enter. We do this through our Students' Club, which the top 10% of interns in each year are invited to join. We also offer successful interns the opportunity to have one of our consultants supervise their thesis or doctoral work. Therefore, depend- ing on the year, as many as two-thirds of our new hires are already familiar with our company and how we work from their student days, thus shortening the ex- pensive orientation phase.
In addition to the purely quantitative aspects of securing "new blood", the wealth of talent also represents a key element of our strategic marketing and re- cruiting activities. Succeeding with our clients depends not least on our ability to assemble a team of consultants with an optimum mix of functional know-how, in- dustry experience and other qualifications (e.g. statistics, legal matters, etc.).
Business management specialists are not the only people that meet the high quality requirements profile of a consulting company: they also need engineers, IT spe-
cialists, lawyers and specialists in natural sciences and the humanities. Different perspectives, ways of thinking and analysis are often the key to success in consult- ant teams. That is why 49% of our staff hold a degree in business administration or economics, 40% are engineers and IT specialists, and 11% graduates of other disciplines (medicine, law, humanities, psychology, etc.).
One question that concerns me in this context is why, in Germany at least, we don't seem to be able to interest more women in consulting than the meager 15- 20% industry average. Roland Berger Strategy Consultants is trying to do some- thing about this, through our FORWARD program (For Women: Attracting, Re- taining, Developing), launched in the fall of 2002. This initiative has two aims:
First, we want more women to apply for positions with us. To achieve this, we specifically target female university graduates, for example through private infor- mation events at universities and by offering women interns specially tailored support.
Second, we want to boost employer loyalty among the women who have joined us. To this end, we have developed a special option for a coaching relationship be- tween more experienced and less experienced female employees, and we have in- troduced new working time schemes for mothers with young children. Further- more, we organize network meetings at which we work to further develop and refine FORWARD programs. For example, working groups are examining sug- gestions for areas in which mothers can work during their parental leave, or what a suitable career path might look like for female consultants.
This program has received a remarkably positive response, both internally and externally. We believe that we can use it to decisively boost our attractiveness as an employer. We are thus doing everything we can to develop and refine FORWARD. This also includes maintaining and expanding the interfaces between the working groups and company management.
In addition to the young novices, the old hands – that is, candidates with a longer track record of employment and extensive industry experience – are be- coming increasingly important among our new recruits. As I mentioned earlier, clients expect us to send them experienced consultants; in many cases now, they expect more senior teams.
All prospective consultants, including those who have already completed an in- ternship with us, have to pass through a clearly defined two-stage process (see Fi- gure 7.2.).
HR MARKETING INITIATIVES
SELECTION PROCESS
Written
Fig. 7.2.The Hiring Process
In stage one, our Human Resources Department sifts through the applications we receive. Around 15% of them are then invited to stage two, one of our recruit- ing days.
We employ a considerable amount of specially trained resources to ensure that our recruiting process avoids one key error: hiring a candidate, only to have one of the parties realize that they made the wrong decision. There are two reasons why we focus on this: From the company perspective, staff have to stay with us for at least two years, because we invest substantial resources in training them, and we can recover this investment only in the form of output (for which clients pay). But we are also concerned for the welfare of the employee: it takes them at least two years of consulting work before they have accumulated the know-how they need to advance their position on the labor market.
The basic skills and abilities we look for in our future consultants are as fol- lows:
x Basic evidence of above-average academic performance and expertise, x plus analytical and creative abilities and
x the capacity to present and communicate complex issues in a clear and structured format.
But consulting is an interactive business, and only consultants who have out- standing interpersonal skills and are highly intelligent will succeed. First, these at- tributes determine the mood and quality of work within the team itself. Second, a consulting project stands or falls with our ability to integrate the client's staff in analyzing and resolving problems and get them to take responsibility for imple-
Application
Selection
Recruiting day (Interviews, etc.)
Job offer Topics
(annual event)
Roadshows Advertising
Students' Club
menting our recommendations. We do not need arrogant know-it-alls – we want consultants who can listen and who are willing to learn from our clients.
Good consultants must be able to get things done, know how to handle resis- tance and be able to enforce unpleasant decisions. Without these abilities, they will not be able to meet clients' demands.
We try to identify these skills through interviews and case studies in the course of our recruiting days. These events are conducted centrally for all positions to be filled in a given country. This ensures that we do not have differing evaluation standards and new consultants with varying performance profiles.