Q1 Market Insight Strategy

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Market insightStrategy

2015 Quarter 1

04 Financial Services

06 Retail & Consumer

ContentsStrategy

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The market in FS strategy remains slow even though the start of the year saw a distinct increase in roles compared to the end of 2014, with our live vacancies up by 35%. There is still a significant need for candidates at manager and VP level, with candidates 2 – 6 years’ hiring experience in especially high demand across both banking and consulting. At the same time there remains a limited amount of positions at the Senior Director / Head of Strategy level.

Skills requiredCandidates that are successfully placed in Senior Director level roles have in depth product experience, ranging from Capital Markets – to Fintech expertise. The market has seen a shift away from candidates with generalist consulting skills towards experienced professionals with both consulting and relevant industry experience. Although the UK banking market has picked up, it still remains slower than other global financial centres such as New York where we have seen a sharp increase in the need for quality FS candidates.

New trendsIn terms of new trends in the market, the biggest increase has been an uplift in hiring in both the Fintech and Start up space. With regulation hitting banks harder than ever it seems that the start-up and Fintech world has thrived, attracting a number of senior ex-strategy consultants with it. Whereas these types of roles don’t offer the hefty payout and bonus potential associated with banking, it seems senior candidates are happy to bypass this for new and innovative roles, combined with significant equity options. Competition for these types of positions remains fierce with more applicants than ever applying whilst clients are becoming increasingly selective around ‘culture fit’.

This has been demonstrated in their aggressive hiring of consultants from top-tier strategy and blue-chip companies within the last few months alone.

What this means for candidates in the market, however, is that the FS strategy recruitment process remains lengthy. Consulting processes remain anywhere between 3-6 months due to Partner scheduling availability and the sheer volume of interviewing that is occurring. This is similarly reflected in the Fintech and Startup space – the popularity of roles and cost associated with a single hire in such a small business means clients are being more thorough than ever, and relying on close relationships with their preferred recruiters to ensure they are only meeting the most appropriate candidates.

OutlookWe foresee the next 6-12 months continuing on a similar path: hiring in FS banking strategy will remain slow but consistent, the big 4 will continue to seek candidates from top tier backgrounds, and finally the Fintech and Startup space will continue to pick up pace as new and innovative technology is created.

Financial Services

We have also seen an increase in hiring within FS strategy consulting, with the Big 4 identifying

a gap in the market where many blue chip consultancies have streamlined their FS teams.

E&Y for example have significant plans for growth:

“Our ambition: by 2020 we will be a US$50 billion distinctive

professional services organisation. We call this plan Vision 2020,

and its objective is to make EY the leading global professional services

organisation by 2020.”

Our live vacancies are up by 35%

High demand across both banking & consulting

With regulation hitting banks harder than ever it seems that the start-up and Fintech world has thrived, attracting a

number of senior ex-strategy consultants with it.

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The current market in Strategy is broadly different depending on the organisation and their ever-changing market position. It has been a dynamic start to the year for Retail companies. Many organisations experienced a stronger than expected performance over the Christmas period with a focus on head-count reduction and reshuffling of staff for others. Organisations that were not considered “big players” in the supermarket wars of the past have increased their market share, and this has in turn made others reflect inwards and focus on more cautious business strategies.

Skill setsA strategy skill set will always be in demand with the need for ex-top tier and highly academic candidates remaining strong. We have seen a requirement for high caliber strategic talent from organisations that are not located in Central London continuing, with a focus on salary packages and flexible working used to attract this talent. Going broader than just strategy, we have taken on 20% more commercial insight and data analytics positions in comparison to this period last year. This area is fast becoming another option for ex-strategy candidates to look at when deciding where they wish to take their career upon leaving consulting.

Most big retailers are now looking to differentiate through their digital capabilities by offering click-and-collect, and becoming truly multichannel companies to meet with consumer’s demands. We have observed exciting group strategy and customer strategy projects increasingly becoming a focus, and this gives candidates from strategy backgrounds a range of options which they can move into. As the year progresses, we expect there will be a continued need for highly analytical strategy types, with a specialism within consumer sectors, to help bolster in-house strategy teams and give them a competitive edge in the market. Also, as competition increases, we expect innovation and strategic transformation programmes staffed by strategy consultants who have moved into industry to increase.

OutlookThe outlook for the next 3-6 months looks very promising within the Retail Strategy marketplace with companies further migrating into the digital space with a continued focus on innovation.

Due to the constantly evolving landscape we have found retail strategy to be an industry of choice, for candidates seeking to use their strategic skill set in organisations that increasingly have to reinvent themselves and think “outside the box” to gain or retain their market share. For most strategists, this can be seen as an exciting challenge.

IDG’s senior retail analyst Nick Gladding correctly predicted at the end of 2014…

“All Big Four retailers publicly acknowledging the threat they face from the discounters, the focus in 2015 will be on defending their market positions better against Aldi and Lidl. Linked to this need to deliver lower prices and getting stores to perform better, retailers are cutting their capital expenditure and adopting much

more cautious plans.”

This in turn has created a tough trading environment and due to this change in business strategy, the need to attract high caliber strategic talent within

retailers has increased.

Retail & Consumer

increase in insight and analytics roles

Think “outside the box” to gain or retain market share

20%

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© Badenoch & Clark 2014. All rights reserved. The information contained in this publication is intended for general purposes or guidance only. It does not purport to constitute professional advice. Badenoch & Clark accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.

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