Leading and growing a boutique consulting firm has rarely been more challenging than it is right now. With macroeconomic volatility continuing to impact client confidence and widespread speculation that AI will mark the end of consultancy as we know it, the only thing that we can be sure of is that nothing is certain.

Yet a fundamental truth remains: consultancy is a people business. People are your product, your revenue engine and your growth strategy.  In this challenging context, making the right people decisions can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving 

As leaders, the decisions you make every day about your people strategy, such as who you hire, how you organise your team, and what you pay people, are opportunities to directly influence both revenue growth and profitability.

In these uncertain times, we have identified five practical steps leaders can take to make better people decisions and drive lasting growth and profit.

1. Hire for success: uncover top talent with proven, predictive assessments

Hiring the right consultants is paramount. A single mis-hire can cost over £100k in time, money, and lost momentum. Conversely, a brilliant hire could quickly become billable on client work, contribute to growing out client accounts and inspire the team around them.  

All too often, recruitment processes are at risk of subjectivity, bias, and inconsistency. Decisions are made in haste and based on gut feel, leading to unreliable hiring outcomes.

Using data-backed psychometric assessments to augment the recruitment process can uncover the traits that will drive success in your business. This will allow you to benchmark potential recruits against high-performing consultants in your team and ensure you’re bringing in individuals who are ready to thrive from day one.

2. Recognise and compensate fairly: apply market data to create compensation structures that work for you and your team

Pay decisions can be challenging. Fair and transparent reward structures are essential to maintain motivation and satisfaction and to attract and retain top talent. But knowing what you need to pay, what you should expect from your people in return, and therefore how to structure rewards for the greatest impact, is not always obvious.

If you underpay you risk losing your best people. If you pay above market rate you are not only undermining your performance standards but also eroding project profitability, ultimately doing a disservice to both your business and your team.

Drawing on sector-specific benchmarking data can bring much-needed clarity to decisions about pay and bonuses. Instead of relying solely on job titles, explore how other consultancies define their expectations for capability and performance, and how they structure rewards to match. By grounding your decisions in this evidence, you can confidently set compensation and communicate transparently with your team.

3. Foster a culture of commercial ownership: make sure everyone is selling

In high-performing consultancies, everyone plays an integral role in driving growth and contributing to business development. Junior consultants identify new client needs, project managers maintain relationships, Partners bring in clients, while finance and marketing support with pricing strategies and leads. 

Frequently, however, sales is seen as something of a ‘dark art’ – the preserve of only a handful of senior leaders with extensive networks and the ability to win business through personal influence. When times get tough or these individuals depart, the flow of new opportunities can quickly dry up.

Creating a culture of commercial ownership starts with hiring the right people: people who have the behaviours, structured approach and credibility to win work. This needs to be supported by the right training and development, recognised through your performance management structure, and incentivised appropriately. Building capability and confidence across your team ensures a strong pipeline and healthier margins

4. Optimise organisational structure for efficiency and profitability

Your organisational structure should evolve as your business grows; the approach that served you well in the past may not be the one that drives your success in the future. The way in which you structure your business to sell and deliver client work will change based on the talent available to you, the composition of your leadership team, and the needs of your clients.

An organisational structure that isn’t optimised can erode profitability. When team members are assigned tasks that don’t match their level (whether too junior or too senior), or when responsibilities overlap, efficiency and morale are likely to suffer as a result.

Regularly assessing whether your team is set up in the most effective way, with the right people in the right roles delivering the right outcomes, is critical as you grow. Evaluating and adjusting your organisational design to ensure it supports your business goals can lead to healthier margins and a more motivated team.

5. Build future-focussed career pathways to retain and develop your high performers

Boutique consultancies are uniquely positioned to attract and nurture top talent by fostering environments where individuals can make a tangible impact on business success.

Yet, one of the main reasons high-performing employees leave boutique consulting firms is the absence of clear development opportunities and career pathways. Replacing these individuals is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, and the departure of valued team members can have a damaging effect on overall motivation.

Defining what ‘good’ looks like is not just a people challenge but a strategic imperative. Today’s employees look for transparent growth opportunities, fair compensation, and clear progression. Implementing capability frameworks and grading structures can provide you and your people a clear view of the skills you have, the ones you need, and how to grow them from within. When you establish these foundations, you’ll nurture and keep the future managers and leaders who will propel your business forward.