Training in Consultancies: Best Practices for Professional Service Firms

Key Takeaways

• Training and Development Benefits: Investing in training leads to higher margins, employee satisfaction, service quality, innovation, productivity, commitment, and lower turnover.
• 70/20/10 Approach: Effective learning comprises 70% on-the-job experiences, 20% social interactions and mentoring, and 10% formal training programs.
• On-the-job Learning (70%): Essential for skill acquisition and practical application through challenging projects and cross-functional collaborations.
• Social Learning (20%): Encouraged through mentoring, feedback sessions, and knowledge-sharing events.
• Formal Training (10%): Necessary for introducing new concepts, best practices, and industry trends via workshops, seminars, and e-learning.
• Consistency and Culture: Uniformity in training, mentoring, and management fosters internalization of key messages and values, supported by a growth-oriented, psychologically safe environment.
• Business Outcomes Alignment: Training should link to leverage, efficiency, utilization, and time-to-billability to ensure measurable returns on investment.
• Practical Implementation: Develop a strategic plan, conduct gap analysis, ensure consistency, leverage technology, and regularly assess training impact on business outcomes.

Training & Development is an Investment for Consultancies

Training and development play a crucial role in creating a profitable, growing consultancy. Done well, they enable:

• Higher gross margin (Phillips 2012)
• Higher employee satisfaction and lower turnover (IBM 2014)
• Better quality of service (Burke, 1995)
• Higher innovation (Susomrith, Coetzer & Ampofo 2019).
• Greater productivity (Percival et al. 2013).
• Higher commitment and lower turnover (Susomrith, Coetzer & Ampofo 2019).

As someone who has worked in the consulting industry for several years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the impact of effective training solutions on individual growth and organizational performance.

In this blog post, I’ll share some insights into what constitutes good practice for training in consultancies and discuss the importance of a holistic approach that encompasses mentoring, line management, and a supportive company culture.

Training is a Small Part of the Solution: the 70/20/10 Approach

The 70/20/10 approach suggests that 70% of learning occurs through on-the-job experiences, 20% through social interactions and mentoring, and 10% through formal training programs.

By adopting this approach, consultancies can create a well-rounded learning environment that caters to different learning styles and maximizes knowledge retention.

Let’s break down each component:

1. On-the-job Experiences (70%):

Hands-on learning is the most powerful way to acquire new skills and apply theoretical knowledge in real-world situations.

Consultancies should provide ample opportunities for employees to take on challenging projects, stretch assignments, and cross-functional collaborations.

By stepping out of their comfort zones and tackling new responsibilities, consultants can rapidly develop their expertise and adaptability.

2. Social interactions and mentoring (20%):

Learning from others is a vital aspect of professional growth. Consultancies should foster a culture of knowledge sharing, where experienced consultants mentor junior staff, and peers collaborate and exchange ideas.

Regular feedback sessions, brown bag lunches, and informal networking events can facilitate meaningful interactions and promote continuous learning.

3. Formal training programs (10%):

While formal training may constitute a smaller portion of the learning mix, it remains essential for introducing new concepts, best practices, and industry trends.

Consultancies should invest in well-designed training programs that align with business objectives and individual development needs. These programs can include workshops, seminars, e-learning modules, and certifications.

The Importance of Consistency and Culture

To maximize the effectiveness of training in consultancies, it’s crucial to ensure consistency across different learning channels. Mentoring, line management, and formal training should all reinforce the same key messages, values, and best practices.

When consultants receive consistent guidance and support from various sources, they are more likely to internalize the learning and apply it consistently in their work.

Moreover, a strong culture is fundamental to making this integrated approach work. Leaders should actively promote a growth mindset, encourage risk-taking, and celebrate both successes and failures as opportunities for learning.

By creating a psychologically safe environment where consultants feel empowered to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and experiment with new ideas, consultancies can unlock the full potential of their talent.

Linking Training to Business Outcomes

While fostering individual growth is a noble goal, it’s essential to remember that training in consultancies must ultimately contribute to business success.

By aligning training initiatives with key performance indicators such as leverage, efficiency, utilization, and time-to-billability, consultancies can ensure that their investment in talent development yields tangible returns.

Here’s how training can impact these business outcomes:

1. Leverage:

Effective training enables junior consultants to take on more responsibilities and handle a larger portion of project work, freeing up senior consultants to focus on high-value activities such as client relationship management and business development.

Greater consistency through strong IP enables more juniors to take on the work of seniors with low or no impact on performance.

2. Efficiency:

Well-trained consultants are equipped with the skills and knowledge to complete tasks more efficiently, reducing the time and effort required to deliver high-quality work. This increased efficiency translates into cost savings and improved project margins.

3. Utilization:

By providing consultants with the necessary skills and confidence to take on billable work, training can help consultancies maximize utilization rates.

Higher utilization means that a greater proportion of consultants’ time is spent on revenue-generating activities, directly contributing to the firm’s bottom line.

4. Time-to-billability:

Investing in training can significantly reduce the time it takes for new hires to become billable. By accelerating the onboarding process and providing targeted skill development, consultancies can minimize the period of non-billable training and enable new consultants to start delivering value to clients sooner.

Practical Advice for Implementing Effective Training

Based on my experience, here are some practical tips for implementing effective training solutions in professional service firms:

1. What is your strategy? What type of behaviours and skills do you need to achieve this?
2. What are your ideal competences and behaviours for each level in the consultancy? What is needed to progress to the next level? What does beginner, master and expert look for each competence?
3. How can each competence and behaviour be generated through a mix of training, mentoring and practice at each level?
4. Where are you now in terms of these competences at each level? What is the gap analysis and what are the priorities to fill?
5. What is the plan for training, mentoring and live practice?
6. What is the business case for each activity in the plan? How will the ROI be measured and what are the key business metrics for success?
7. How do we ensure consistency of line-management, mentoring and training? Encourage senior consultants to take on mentoring roles and provide them with the necessary tools and training that aligns with what their juniors will be taught.
8. Leverage technology to create engaging and accessible learning content, such as e-learning modules, webinars, and mobile apps.
9. Foster a culture of continuous learning by recognizing and rewarding individuals who actively seek out development opportunities and share their knowledge with others.
10. Regularly assess the impact of training on business outcomes and make data-driven decisions to optimize training investments.

Conclusion

In conclusion, effective training in consultancies requires a holistic approach that embraces the 70/20/10 model, ensures consistency across learning channels, nurtures a supportive learning culture, and aligns with key business objectives.

By strategically investing in the growth and development of their talent, consultancies can drive leverage, efficiency, utilization, and time-to-billability, ultimately leading to increased profitability and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

References

Burke, R.J. (1995), “Benefits of formal training courses within a professional services firm”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 3-13.

IBM (2014) The value of training. Report.

Percival, J. C., Cozzarin, B. P., & Formaneck, S. D. (2013). Return on investment for workplace training: the C anadian experience. International Journal of Training and Development, 17(1), 20-32.

Phillips, J. J. (2012). Return on investment in training and performance improvement programs. Routledge.

Susomrith, P., Coetzer, A., & Ampofo, E. (2019). Training and development in small professional services firms. European Journal of Training and Development, 43(5/6), 517-535.