Nurturing Talent: Training Challenges in Small and Midsize Consultancies

This article is part 1 in a series that delves into the challenges faced by small and midsize consultancies in up-skilling their team members, and explores potential strategies they can employ internally to address the obstacles and up-skill their workforce effectively. 

P31 recently spoke with small and midsize consultancies around the world about the unique challenges they face in skilling up their team members. The challenges are unique given their size and where they are in their growth (e.g., start up, growing exponentially). Some companies are startups with as few as 5 full time team members. Others are more established and have as many as 1200. Here is what we learned about the challenges and a few quick tips on how to navigate them. 

What is getting in the way?

Small and midsize consultancies often encounter significant challenges when it comes to providing adequate (defined as effective, sticky, behavior-changing) training to their analysts and consultants. Due to various internal factors, these firms struggle to find and establish effective training programs and create clear career paths for their employees. They are also skeptical about the effectiveness of publicly available training options and are hesitant to invest substantial amounts of money in custom programs. 

Absence of Clear Career Paths

The absence of clear career paths within consultancies poses a significant challenge for employees seeking growth and advancement opportunities. In fact, career pathing is often used to help define training and skill development requirements. Without a well-defined trajectory, individuals may feel stagnant and unmotivated, leading to higher turnover rates. For many new hires, the absence of a structured, clearly defined training program equals lack of career opportunity.

So what can you do? Companies should prioritize creating transparent career paths that outline the skills, experiences, and milestones required for progression. The path doesn’t have to be complicated, it just has to exist. This not only empowers employees to plan their professional development but also promotes loyalty and retention within the organization. Even more important? Employees feel invested in!

Lack of Structured Training Programs

Many small and midsize consultancies do not have well-structured training programs in place for new hires; many do not have anything at all. This lack of a standardized approach leaves employees without the necessary guidance and resources to develop the skills required for their current and future roles, even in an apprenticeship model. In the absence of structure, they will develop skills but they are not likely to develop them correctly, efficiently or timely.

So what can you do? To overcome this challenge, firms should focus on providing relevant ‘how to’ training programs that cover both theoretical knowledge and practical application, ensuring employees receive the necessary support from day one. Start by making a prioritized list of the 'how to' skills that are critical for your employees' success, then start at the top providing one program at a time.

Reluctance Towards Off-the-Shelf Consulting Training

Many consultancies resist off-the-shelf consulting training programs, fearing that they may not align perfectly with their unique needs and methodologies. While customization is important, completely disregarding pre-existing training resources can be detrimental.

So what can you do? Consultancies should consider adapting and tailoring off-the-shelf programs to their specific requirements, striking a balance between cost-effective solutions and specialized content that addresses their unique challenges. It will be easier and more efficient to start with a proven framework than to start with a blank paper.

Balancing Independent Learning and Structured Training

While independent learning through online platforms may be seen as inadequate, it should not be completely disregarded and should be used appropriately. Typically online platforms provide a great way for employees to begin to learn ‘about’ a skill but do not provide skill development training (i.e., practice with expert observation of application and feedback) in ‘how to’ apply those skills on-the-job.

So what can you do? Consultancies can strike a balance by integrating independent learning with structured training approaches. This blended learning model allows employees to access relevant online resources (learning 'about') while also participating in interactive workshops, case studies, and real-world projects that reinforce their learning and promote practical application (learning 'how to') of acquired knowledge and skills. When blending these, be sure to verify that what is being taught via both approaches complements and doesn't compete with each other, or with your company's methods, approaches, and preferences.

Small and midsize consultancies can overcome training challenges by developing internal strategies that empower their workforce. We’ve provided several quick tips above that will help you begin to overcome some of the challenges you face in providing proper skill development for your team members. You are not likely to address all challenges right away; but by investing in your employees' development in some way, right away your company will begin to reap the rewards of that investment.

What other challenges do you face?

Many of the leaders we speak with express frustration when new employees do not advance their skills as quickly as needed or in the way they had hoped and expected. Structured training is not necessarily the answer, but it can be part of the answer. In future articles in this series, we will explore other parts of the answer such as optimizing resources (human and financial), apprenticeship and hero models, making coaching and mentoring work in a small(er) company, and how to ‘interview’ training providers to get the information you need to make the right decision for your company.

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P31 Consulting is a group of internationally-based professional facilitators and learning strategists who are masters at helping people think better and guiding groups to excel through transformative people development and business coaching. We design and facilitate training, professional development programs and working sessions that include onboarding, consulting skills workshops, management/leadership strategic planning working sessions and global/ national/ POA meeting workshops for management consultancies and life sciences companies. Contact us to learn how we can help you.

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