AI Reshapes Consulting Talent Acquisition
Source: hbr.org
New Talent Strategies
For a long time, professional service companies, including elite law firms and management consultancies, have used a straightforward strategy for talent. They would hire many ambitious and skilled young associates to handle the bulk of the work. This allowed partners and other senior staff to focus on business development and strategy.
Associate Attrition
Over time, these associates would be filtered out. Some would find opportunities elsewhere, often with the firm's clients. Others experienced burnout or left due to the firms' inflexible family-leave policies. In rare instances, an associate would stay and build a long-term career at the firm.
Partner Potential
When these young associates were hired, their potential to become partners was rarely evaluated. Because of the high attrition rate, there was no need. Professional services firms depend on a sizable entry-level talent pool to produce a small number of partners, about one or two per 100 at the most prestigious firms.