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Are you looking to hire a Chief of Staff? In this article Movemeon’s co-founder Rich shed light on how this role can be different depending on the size of your organisation, what salary you need to pay and the most important thing to get right when hiring a Chief of Staff.

The Chief of Staff role is a perfect fit for the consulting skill set. Beyond strategy & transformation teams, it’s a common home for consultants making their first job move out of consulting and into “industry”. It’s a role that can exist in everything from startups to multinationals to public sector organisations, and it’s very commonplace in Private Equity backed portfolio companies too.

1. What alternative job titles are there for a Chief of Staff?

The job title “Chief of Staff” is enough to put some people off hiring one. Let’s face it: the title is very vague, somewhat grandiose, and conjures up images of the West Wing. That’s why many organisations prefer to use a more descriptive job title, like “Right Hand to the CEO”, for the purpose of marketing this opportunity.

Plenty of larger organisations also have a “Right Hand to” for various senior team members, like the COO, CFO etc. In smaller organisations, the Chief of Staff can be a shared resource for the leadership team (rather than purely for the CEO / Founder).

What alternative job titles are there for a “Chief of Staff” or “Right Hand to”?

Other job titles I’ve seen used include:

• “Strategic Assistant to”
• “CEO’s / Founder’s Associate”
• “CEO Office Lead” / “Head of the CEO’s Office”

Equally, roles such as “Head of Special Projects” or “Head of Strategic Initiatives” tend to have very similar remits. In itself, the “Chief of Staff” job title tends only to be used in larger organisations (including the public sector).
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The job title “Chief of Staff” is very vague, that’s why many organisations prefer to use a more descriptive job title, like “Right Hand to the CEO”.

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2. Startups & scaleups – Why hire a Chief of Staff?

It has become very commonplace for a growing business to hire a Chief of Staff. In these types of startup businesses, the title “Right Hand to” or “Strategic Assistant to” is more widely used, particularly outside of the US (where Chief of Staff is more usual).

The main reason startups and scaleups hire a Chief of Staff is to give the CEO / Founder and senior leadership team more bandwidth. Typically, these organisations are not yet big enough (e.g, 25-250 people) for a fully-fledged strategy or transformation or special projects team. Therefore, the Chief of Staff fulfills that remit and typically, as the organisation grows, goes on to lead a larger team within a more established / formal organisational structure (commonly COO, Strategy & Innovation Director).

The main responsibility of the Chief of Staff is to take ownership of important projects that the members of the leadership team don’t have capacity to deliver, but are important enough to be on the CEO’s to-do list. These projects can range from researching new market entry, to creating organisational processes, to developing an early insights-type function.

In smaller startups the CEO tends to do multiple roles as the team is not big enough to hire a dedicated COO / CFO / Head of Insight etc, and if there is a Co-Founder, they tend to be technical (i.e, focused on the product). So the Chief of Staff becomes a “mini me”, helping the CEO / Commercially Oriented Founder deliver across all these areas. Simply puts it doubles the CEO’s capacity.

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The main reason startups & scaleups hire a Chief of Staff is to give the CEO / Founder and senior leadership team more bandwidth.

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3. Startups & scaleups – How much do they pay a Chief of Staff and what experience do they look for in candidates?

Startups favour a more junior hire for Chief of Staff than larger organisations. In our experience of supporting 1,000s of startups hires through Movemeon, someone with ~2-5 years of consulting experience is what startup Founders and CEOs look for.

In joining a startup, consultants are happy to make a sideways (or sometimes slight downwards) move in terms of basic salary. So, in the UK, the basic salary for a startup Chief of Staff is normally between £70,000 – £100,000, depending on the seniority desired.

Equity / options are very much expected for a Chief of Staff and the startups able to recruit the highest potential talent will have these in place. After all, the Chief of Staff often goes on to become a future leader as the business continues to grow (e.g, Commercial Director, Country Manager, Chief Strategy Officer etc).

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Startups favour a more junior hire for Chief of Staff than larger organisations. In the UK, the basic salary for a startup Chief of Staff is normally between £70,000 – £100,000, depending on seniority desired.

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4. Large organisations – Why do they hire a Chief of Staff?

In larger Private Equity-backed businesses, large domestic corporations and multinationals, the Chief of Staff role is typically aimed at a more senior candidate (although hiring for a more junior “strategic assistant” is not uncommon, perhaps in combination with a true “Chief of Staff”). While an element of “special projects” remains, a larger part of the role is to act on behalf of, or deputise for the CEO. The role involves a lot of stakeholder management of other senior colleagues and, as such, CEOs and other Execs hiring for a Chief of Staff typically seek candidates with ~7-15 years of experience.

In the largest organisations, the Chief of Staff will normally manage a team within the “CEO Office”, including analysts to support project delivery & research (to give the Chief of Staff bandwidth). It’s important to note that the Chief of Staff is not typically in charge of the CEO diary and there would be a separate Executive Assistant in that role (not to be confused with the “Strategic Assistant” – a common job title for a more junior Chief of Staff).

Chief of Staff is normally a stepping stone role performed for 12-24 months before moving into a commercial or operational leadership position. In this way, and similar to how strategy teams can be used for talent acquisition, hiring a Chief of staff every 1-2 years is a way to create a pipeline of high potential “future leader” talent.

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In large organisations, the Chief of Staff role is typically aimed at a more senior candidate. Hiring a Chief of staff every 1-2 years is a way to create a pipeline of high potential “future leader” talent.

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5. Large organisations – how much do they pay a Chief of Staff?

Chief of Staff is not a role confined to the private sector, as it is also commonplace in other types of large organisations (e.g, government, public & charitable sectors). While pay may be lower within non-private-sector organisations, typically the annual basic salary for a Chief of Staff in the UK is between £120,000-175,000. The Chief of Staff would expect a performance bonus in line with other colleagues at the same seniority and to benefit from a long term incentive plan (as is common for leadership tiers within big businesses).

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Typically the annual basic salary for a Chief of Staff in the UK is between £120,000-175,000

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6. What’s the most important thing in hiring the right Chief of Staff or accepting this position?

Here at Movemeon we support 100s of organisations in hiring a Chief of Staff or similar. We’re fortunate to have kept in touch with candidates and CEOs after they have started in the role and here’s a great summary from the horse’s mouth of the things to think about when hiring / interviewing.

The piece of advice we are given more than any other is to make sure you get on well with the person you are hiring / CEO you’ll be working with. The nature of the role means that this is a very close working relationship. You’ll be spending lots of time together and in that environment any friction can quickly build into an extremely unhealthy working relationship. So take your time in the interview process, ask lots of questions and make sure you spend some “non interview” time together before making / accepting the job offer.

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The nature of the Chief of Staff role means that this is a very close working relationship, make sure you get on well with the person you are hiring

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Earlier in the year, our data showed us that it was the best time to hire in a decade, with the highest level of interest per role we’d seen since COVID. We’ve conducted further analysis, looking at what the bearing this has had on compensation dynamics in the market.

To find out more about hiring with Movemeon get in touch with our team here.

Using our proprietary data, we’ve analysed over one and a half million data points, and seen a seismic shift in the market. Two years ago, there was a large gap between the compensation candidates’ expected for a new job and how much employers were offering. Within just two years this has dropped to historic lows - suggesting that many companies “over-corrected” their salaries and are now effectively over-paying for new joiners.

In this article we look at how the compensation gap has changed over the last five years, driven primarily by supply-demand dynamics. We look at how this varies  by company type, suggesting corporates have over-corrected their compensation, as well as Private Equity and Consultancies but for very different reasons.

Finally, we look at how this picture varies by alumni firm. McKinsey, BCG and Bain alumni have historically commanded a premium in the market, but we’re seeing early indications that this premium is decreasing. MBB expectations have only increased by a modest (and below inflation) level of 2% compared with 4% for the Big4 and 6% for boutiques.

Introducing the Movemeon compensation index and what it says about the market

Below you’ll see how the Movemeon compensation index has tracked over the last five years. We’ve analysed over one and a half million data points going back five years, looking at the gap between expectation and reality when it comes to comp. We see this as a measure of “friction” in the market, and an early indicator of inflationary pressures on wage growth.

For the numbers to make sense, it’s worth a quick recap of who’s in the Movemeon network;

• It’s global: our 75k members are based across the world, with our main hubs in UK, France, DACH, Middle East, APAC and US
• Everyone has worked in a leading consulting or accounting firm: 45% are ex-McKinsey, BCG and Bain; 30% are leading strategy firms; the remainder are the Big4
• They are future leaders and Board members: it’s well documented that McKinsey is the largest future leader factory in the world. The number of ex-consulting and accounting professionals leading companies (from Fortune 500 to PE and VC backed scale-ups) is astounding

How to interpret the numbers:

• 0-25: There’s only a small difference between candidate expectations and compensation offered In other words, it’s a highly efficient market
• 25-50: There’s a manageable difference between candidate expectations and compensation offered.
• 50-75: There’s a marked gap between candidate expectations and compensation offered - a high friction market.
• 75-100: There’s a large and unsustainable gap between candidate expectations and compensation offered - a very high friction market
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Supply-demand in the hiring market is the driver behind the compensation dynamics

When we plot our hiring and compensation indexes together, it’s clear there’s a very strong causal relationship (an 85% negative correlation). The more in demand ex-consultants are, the more their compensation expectations increase, resulting in a larger compensation gap between job offers and expectations.

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Are you now over-paying for new joiners? The compensation gap is at an all-time low

Over the past 5 years, we’ve seen the gap between expectations and job offers hit historic highs of 22% in 2021, before falling way down to  6%, -9% below the historic average.

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We had assumed the drivers of the decrease in this gap were candidates re-adjusting their expectations downwards. This is historically what we’ve seen in very competitive hiring markets.

But this has not been the case. Over the past year, compensation expectations within our community have still increased at a healthy rate.  The real driver of the expectation gap has been a very high increase in compensation being offered for jobs. This is clearly unsustainable in the longer-term, and feels like an over-correction in response to the higher consulting salaries and candidate expectations we saw in 2022-23.

For our latest salary information, you can view our benchmarking here.

Over-correction, hard to recruit talent, or paying for the best - how PEs, scale-ups, consultancies and advisories have reacted

When we look at our compensation index by company type, there are some very interesting trends.

Large corporates have a compensation gap of just 2%. This is much lower than historic averages, suggesting they have overcorrected compared with candidates’ expectations.

Scale-ups on the other hand have a gap of 13%. This is in line with historic averages  and suggests that a focus on profitability combined with lower levels of VC-funding have ensured there hasn’t been an over-correction.

In the advisory space the picture is quite surprising. It’s been widely reported that it’s a tough market for consultancies, however, what our data shows is that those who are recruiting are prepared to pay a large premium - 8% in large consultancies, 5% in boutiques. We think this is being driven for two reasons: firstly, firms that are recruiting are growing, and as such are in a position to be paying for high performing (more expensive) talent; secondly, it is a hard market in which to attract ex-consultants given slow growth in the industry as a whole. To make it more appealing, bigger packages are being offered.

Finally, Private Equity is also paying a premium to outstrip expectations. This comes as no surprise and is also in line with historic norms in the sector. Private Equity is focused on attracting the very best, and as such is prepared to pay top decile compensations.

Compensation trends offer further evidence that McKinsey, BCG and Bain have been harder hit by the downturn than other strategy firms

When you look at how compensation expectations have changed by alumni firm, an interesting trend emerges. McKinsey, BCG, Bain alumni have seen the lowest increase in their expectations - a modest (and below inflation) figure of 2.3%. This is broadly in line with other strategy firms, but under half what we’re seeing alumni of boutiques and the Big4 demand.
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Despite the higher increase in expectation from boutique and Big4 alumni,  McKinsey, BCG and Bain alumni are still paid a premium of over 12% compared to the median compensation.

If you’d like to find out more about how Movemeon can support your hiring, please get in touch.

Now is the best time to hire in over a decade, and is an opportunity to bring in once-in-a-decade talent - a seismic shift from just two years ago.
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We analysed over one and a half million data points to see what's happened to the job market over the past few years, a period characterised by rapid flux: Initially, quantitative easing and COVID drove The Great Resignation and the biggest war for talent we’ve seen since being in business. This market, highly favourable to candidates, was abruptly halted by high inflation and consequent sharp quantitative tightening. The higher cost of capital resulted in some pretty severe re-valuations and a tough trading environment. As a result, reductions in wage costs were required through job cuts and hiring freezes.

What does this mean for employers now? For those in a position to, it's a great time to hire rarely available and exceptional talent.
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Introducing the Movemeon hiring index and what it says about the market
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We use our proprietary data to give an overview of how favourable the hiring market is for employers. Our analysis also explores how this varies for different consulting firm alumni, and people moving into different industries: PE, VC-backed scale-ups and Corporates.

Below is how the index has changed over the last five years. For context, it's worth understanding who the Movemeon community are:

• It’s global: our 75k members are based across the world, with our main hubs in the UK, France, DACH, the Middle East, APAC and the US
• Everyone has worked in a leading consulting or accounting firm: 45% are ex-McKinsey, BCG and Bain; 30% are leading strategy firms; the remainder are the Big4
• They are future leaders and Board members: consultancies make up six of the top eight "CEO factories" (companies whose alumni become CEOs of the largest businesses. And this isn't constrained to just large businesses, with a disproportionate number of unicorns founded by consulting alumni
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In terms of interpreting the numbers:

• 0-25: a very hard market to hire in. Focus on retention, as replacing people is going to be hard.
• 25-50: a hard market to hire in. Be proactive and start talent pipelining for key positions.
• 50-75: a good market to hire in. Start looking to take advantage of the market, and strengthen key positions.
• 75-100: an exceptional market to hire in. Look to bring in exceptional talent, that you’ll only get a few chances to snap up.
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The Great Resignation feels like a long time ago

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After COVID, Movemeon’s hiring index spent a year below 25. This was an incredibly hard time for companies to hire. Increased focus was on retention (compensation rises) and other effective ways to onboard talent (freelance).

During COVID, uncertainty meant hiring pretty much drew to a standstill. In parallel, there were some initial layoffs from industries that were hit hard by COVID. We saw the index reach some of its highest levels from March 2020 to August 2020 - a great market to hire for those in a position to do so.

However, this soon changed. Quantitative easing and large social support packages trickled through, and at a time when everyone was spending less. The resultant economic boom saw companies' hiring intensify. The Great Resignation poured further gas on the fire - with retention dropping sharply at companies. Our index dropped to some of its lowest sustained numbers between March 2021 and March 2022.

Throughout this period, companies were falling over themselves to attract the best candidates as the war for talent intensified. Salaries spiralled as the focus on retention intensified. The freelance market boomed as a quick solution to urgent capacity and capability constraints.

“You see who’s got swimming costumes on when the tide goes out”

W Buffet

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With hindsight, we now know this was (hopefully) a once-in-a-lifetime shock to the system.

Just three years on and the picture looks very different. High inflation and consequent quantitative tightening has meant we've gone from one extreme to another. Overhiring has resulted in more radical action in recent months around redundancies, wage reduction, job cuts and hiring freezes.

The tide well and truly went out and, as Warren Buffet would say, it has been a great indication of who had swimming costumes on! With very few companies hiring, and more people looking, the index went from a sustained period under 25 to 100 in just 10 months. It has sustained those levels ever since (although we're seeing some green shoots in Q1 2024).
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Have McKinsey, BCG and Bain been hit harder? Or do they just have more options?
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When we look at what this has looked like for the alumni of different consultancies, a very interesting picture emerges.

As you can see from the first chart, McKinsey, BCG and Bain went from some of the lowest numbers on the index to the highest number, in a matter of a single year.

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When we compare the difference between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023, we see that MBB and the Big4 saw the largest turnarounds in the market. Interestingly the smaller strategy houses and the boutiques seem to have seen less of a shift.

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The potential drivers behind this are complex.

It’s hard to determine whether the larger change in McKinsey, BCG, and Bain alumni is driven by just how in demand they were before, or just how many are looking now. Based on our initial analysis,  it appears the demand factor plays the larger part.

For the current consultants, it has been reported that more people are being managed out of McKinsey, Bain and BCG than other firms.

For alumni, it’s more complicated. The hardest-hit sectors in 2020-21 (e.g., VC-backed scale-ups; PE post-deal) had a disproportionate flow of MBB consultants doing this type of work.

The other driver could simply be that they have more options. In a highly competitive market, their brands might mean there are still doors open to them. Leading them to be less willing to “sit through” their current work position and proactively look to move.

What we can say is that this is the best time we’ve ever seen to hire alumni from these firms.
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Corporates more popular than scale-ups; PE losing its talent edge
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We also analysed how this picture varies according to the type of business.

Even in the hiring frenzy of the Great Resignation - Private Equity was a competitive place to find a job. Numbers of people employed in PE has not kept track with growth in terms of assets under management and there has always been strong interest in moving into the sector.

Interestingly, over the last 6 months, we’ve seen the desire from candidates to move into the Corporate and Advisory sectors grow to the same level as into PE.

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Now is the best time to hire in a decade
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Returning to Warren Buffet’s old adage - those wearing swimming costumes can now take advantage. Companies in a position to take a through-cycle approach, and potentially sacrifice some margin in the short term have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to transform their organisation’s talent.

Consultancies are future leader factories. This has been well documented for years, and recently re-analysed by OnDeck. They looked at the CEOs of the largest operating companies in the US and saw where their alumni came from. We’ve copied the list of the top 8 below, 6 of which are consultancies.

Is now the best time for your business to hire its next CEO?

This article explores the transition from strategy consulting to the corporate world. From problem-solving and analytical prowess at junior levels to emotional intelligence and team management at higher levels, Quentin explains the contributions strategy consultants can make in corporate positions, emphasizing the value of intellectual skills and sector-specific expertise gained in the consulting journey.

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Since the beginning of my career, I have had the opportunity to work in various environments, starting in a large strategy consulting firm before venturing into a private equity fund, and for the past few years, carving my path in companies, initially a SME and most recently a blue chip company. Through these successive experiences, I have gained a better understanding of the connections between these different environments and the value professionals can bring by crossing them.

Today, I would like to focus on the transition from the world of strategy consulting to that of the corporate world, a path followed by the majority of consultants.

Obviously, the descriptions here are primarily intended to provide a simplified portrait of the major strengths and weaknesses of consultants when they join the “real” corporate world. Each situation is unique, and there are exceptions to the mentioned trends. Additionally, this article represents only my personal and therefore subjective opinion.

Understanding Strategy Consulting roles

It’s important to highlight that the role of “strategy consultant” actually covers very different realities depending on the level of seniority: from a junior consultant expected to perform precise analyses and communicate clear conclusions, to a team leader managing client expectations and their consultant team, and finally to a Partner developing close relationships with a client portfolio, usually within a specific sector, identifying the client’s specific problems, and structuring (and selling!) consulting missions to address them. Therefore, it is natural that the skills former strategy consultants bring to their new employers also evolve alongside this hierarchical progression.

However, the consulting world possesses certain characteristics that transcend roles and develop skills in consultants of all levels that are appreciated by companies: the ability to juggle multiple priorities within tight deadlines, and facing frequently changing issues, in an intellectually and physically demanding environment.

Analytical prowess and initial challenges

For many junior consultants (from the Associate grade up to Senior Consultant, which precedes Project Leader), the experience in a consulting firm is their career’s first. Outside the firm, they gain exposure to the corporate world through their assignments. Here again, the relationship they maintain with their client contacts, often very formal and limited, does not allow them to get a true sense of the diversity of profiles that make up a company.

Unsurprisingly, former junior consultants excel in structuring and solving problems, analytical power, synthesis and communication skills, both written and verbal. Thus, it is not surprising to see these individuals excel in roles as generalist “individual contributors” of internal consulting. This first role should be seen as a transitional phase before moving to more complex human and emotionally challenging roles.

Indeed, former strategy consultants often exhibit a gap between their intellectual skills, for which they were initially recruited and which they have enriched during their early career years, and their human skills (empathy, conflict resolution, team management, etc.), which often primarily develop through experience.

Leadership and driving transformation

At a Project Leader or Principal level, strategy consultants are often appreciated for their ability to manage teams with high intellectual potential and, in some cases, for their sector expertise. Consequently, they are often called upon to lead transformation teams or internal consulting, and their interaction with high-level managers allows them to strengthen their emotional quotient before making the transition to a role managing P&L and a more diverse team.

Sector experience and executive roles

Finally, at the Partner level, companies seek genuine sector expertise, and possibly a network of contacts. Indeed, the Partner operates for several years in a limited number (at most) of industries and functions that enable them to quickly identify the source of a problem and deploy resources (internal or external) to solve it. Former Partners usually occupy an executive committee level role, often in strategy, sometimes in finance or managerial responsibility roles, the latter two being more common when the Partner has prior corporate experience.

Optionality in career development

In conclusion, the contribution of former strategy consultants varies greatly depending on their level of seniority. However, in all cases, experience in strategy consulting enables one to develop specific intellectual skills, such as critical thinking and analytical abilities, as well as in-depth knowledge in particular sectors that can be highly valued in the corporate world. The creation of optionality is a major attraction factor of this career path.

This article was guest-written by Movemeon member, Quentin Toulemonde. You can find more from Quentin on his blog, The FT Explained.

Ever wondered what it's like to be a CEO? It's likely you have, as so many CEOs have a consulting background. We asked Joe Falter (former CEO and founder of Jumia and founder of Zapp, ex-McKinsey) and Giampiero Marinò (CEO at Treatwell, ex-BCG) at our recent event with our hiring partners, Trainline. 

Spoiler alert: it's not always glamorous. When it comes to senior leadership, simplicity takes centre stage, success in the CEO role can be measured by the success and autonomy of your leadership team.

Our data suggests more than half of ex-consultants have ambitions towards the C-Suite. Alongside this article, we have a host of great interviews with industry leaders.

Navigating the CEO Landscape

The Ultimate Decision-Maker:

At its core, being a CEO is about making decisions, often tough decisions. Simply put, it’s about effective capital deployment to further the business. Procrastination or avoidance only exacerbates challenges. Embracing this head-on is the essence of the job.

Resilience is imperative:

The position demands resilience. CEOs are faced with constant challenges, setbacks, and uncertainties. The ability to bounce back and navigate through turbulence is crucial for the role.

Juggling Stakeholders:

Balancing acts are part of the CEO's daily routine. Juggling investors, non-executives, and the senior team requires finesse.

Isolation and Networks:

Loneliness can seep into the CEO role, but building a network of confidantes in similar roles provides a crucial support system. Sharing insights and experiences becomes incredibly valuable in the face of isolation.

Success Redefined:

Success isn't about personal glory. It's when you feel redundant because your team is thriving independently. True success is when operational value becomes secondary to the team's autonomy.

Pearls of Wisdom

Competitor Awareness without Obsession:

Keeping an eye on competitors is crucial, but obsession narrows thinking. CEOs should seek to redefine categories rather than simply play in them. Innovation often lies beyond the boundaries set by competitors.

Over-Communication as Strategy:

Communication is the CEO's most potent tool. Over-communicating, especially about company culture and strategy, ensures everyone is on the same page. It's a relentless effort to align visions and foster unity.

Feedback-seeking Culture:

Creating a culture where feedback, both praise and constructive suggestions, flows freely is an art. CEOs must actively seek feedback, as people won't naturally provide it. It's a vital loop for personal and organizational growth.

Conclusion

As Giampiero said, “The CEO role isn't for everybody but if you’re naturally resilient and can juggle many balls, it can be an extremely rewarding place to find yourself.” Beyond the spotlight, CEOs craft success not for themselves, but for the independence of their teams and the continued improvement of their businesses.

About the event

Our largest community event to date, it was so brilliant to see so many Movemeon members in attendance. A big thank you to our hiring partners, Trainline, who hosted the event where these great insights were shared. As well as to our guest speakers: Joe, Giampiero, Sakshi and Matthias.

If you’d like more information about how Movemeon partners with organisations looking to grow their teams, get in touch by filling out the form below!

Interested in more content about the CEO role:

• How to become a CEO (Video)
• How many CEOS have a consulting background?
• From Strategy to CEO: The best advice

Countless career options are open to you after consulting but Growth and Business Development positions are often the first step out of in-house strategy for consulting-trained professionals. We often get asked what are the skills needed to succeed outside of consulting, particularly in these sorts of functions.

Movemeon recently hosted an event with our partners at Trainline where we asked Matthias Mahr (VP International, ex-BCG) and Sakshi Anand (VP Growth, ex-Goldman) in the landscape of professional growth, what qualities set individuals on a trajectory for success. 

The journey to the top is one for those with a knack for problem-solving, an appetite for continuous learning, and a genuine thrill derived from impacting both the top and bottom lines.

Tips for Moving into a Growth Role

Expand Your Network:

Getting to know people within your company is not just networking; it's building relationships that foster growth. Curiosity becomes a catalyst for learning from others' experiences and perspectives. Getting to know and making an impression on leaders in an adjacent function like business development is often the best first step leading to an internal move e.g. from in-house strategy / transformation.

Choose Wisely:

Joining a company with a track record of moving individuals functionally provides a clear path for progression. Seek environments that value and support your professional development. Choosing a business with a strong growth trajectory will also likely offer more internal opportunities in the future.

Act Beyond Your Role:

Stepping into a role's seniority before being officially promoted is a mindset shift that accelerates growth. Embrace the responsibilities and challenges that come with the position you aspire to be in.

Believe in the Mission:

Aligning personal values with the organization's purpose creates a powerful synergy that propels both you and the company forward.

Leverage Your Strengths:

Identifying and playing to your strengths is your best bet when it comes to professional growth. Recognize what sets you apart and use those attributes to drive success.

Embracing Growth Mindset

Problem Solvers' Paradise:

For problem solvers, growth is a playground for innovation. Constant challenges become opportunities to showcase analytical prowess, resilience, and the ability to navigate uncharted territories.

Learning Enthusiasts:

Marketing strategies evolve rapidly. A passion for perpetual learning is not just an asset; it's a necessity. Thriving in a growth-oriented environment requires a commitment to staying ahead of the curve and understanding that what works today may become obsolete tomorrow.

Buzz from Impact:

A career in growth brings the thrill of witnessing tangible impacts on revenue and profit fuels the journey. Individuals driven by the desire to make a meaningful contribution to the top and bottom lines find their sweet spot in environments where growth is not just a goal but a measurable outcome.

Overcoming Fear:

Taking on overall responsibility and accountability, especially with the intimidating prospect of P&L ownership, becomes a challenge that growth enthusiasts willingly embrace. It's about turning fear into fuel for personal and professional development.

Skills at the Summit

Coaching and Development:

At senior levels, the focus shifts from individual achievements to fostering a culture of growth within the team. Loving the art of coaching and developing others becomes not just a skill but a cornerstone of leadership.

Conclusion

In reality, being in a P&L leadership role doesn’t require a hugely different skillset (than the one you develop from in-house strategy). The biggest change is managing a larger and far more multi-disciplinary team. It far more becomes about coaching and developing others.

About the event

Our largest community event to date, it was so brilliant to see so many Movemeon members in attendance. A big thank you to our hiring partners, Trainline, who hosted the event where these great insights were shared. As well as to our guest speakers: Sakshi, Matthias, Joe and Giampiero.

If you’d like more information about how Movemeon partners with organisations looking to grow their teams, get in touch by filling out the form below!

Interested in content related to growth functions?

• How to become a Chief Growth Officer (Video)
• At what point is it best to leave consulting?
• Life as Senior Business Development Manager

Jumia, Monzo, Transferwise, Funding Circle, Zopa, Qonto, Gocardless, Jobteaser, Innovafeed are some of the most well-known and celebrated start-ups. And they were all founded or co-founded by ex-consultants. In this article, we look at why there are so many consultants founding successful businesses and leading start-ups.

We’d like to start by thanking the following for their time and great insights. Alexandre Prot (Ex-Mckinsey & Qonto founder), Aude Guo (Ex-Mckinsey & Innovafeed founder), Antoine Loron (Ex-Roland Berger & Hublo founder), Martin Pellet (ex-Kearny & LBF founder), Grégoire Schiller (ex-Roland Berger & Simundia founder), Nick Patterson (ex-McKinsey & Movemeonhttps://www.movemeon.com/ founder).

The “consulting profile” and why some are driven to start companies

“Consultants that started with me at McKinsey had two things in common. Firstly, they were some of the highest achievers I’ve met. Secondly, they didn’t know what they wanted to do.” (Nick)

Consulting attracts high achievers as it is one of the most prestigious careers post-university. This is partly because the brands are so well known across industries. But also because it is recognised as a career that opens doors.  

The combination of high achievement motive, and uncertainty around what you’re looking to do - not a single founder interviewed had entrepreneurship in mind when they joined consulting - means there are a lot of consultants who look to leave after a few years.

Turnover is extremely high in consulting. Whilst some of that is driven by “up or out” policies, the majority of the people leaving do so because they didn’t want to follow the track to partner. And this was commonly accepted within the business. People could therefore talk openly about leaving, and in return would receive great advice that would give you the confidence to launch businesses. Interestingly, both Nick and Alexandre mentioned that consulting gave them the confidence to launch businesses.

Finally, and that’s more an explanation of numbers rather than success, consultants know they have a strong employer brand to fall back on in case it goes wrong. It also means you have some very marketable short-terms skills. The option of  freelancing gives you more liberty to try and start something.

Consultants are great do-ers, despite what you may have heard!

The myth that consultants aren’t do-ers is regularly parotted. However, from what we’ve seen of peers and the consulting alumni community, quite the opposite is been true.. 

In the early days of setting-up Movemeon, the most common challenge we’d hear from potential employers was that they didn’t want to hire consultants. They were concerned that, whilst they were very good at advising, they weren’t good at executing.

Whilst I couldn’t agree more on the importance of execution, I think the common misconception about consultants not being good at delivery, is wrong. Martin said that the high day rates charged by consultancies (especially strategy houses) and the high-standards demanded by boards of large businesses, means consultants have an obligation to deliver results and have to learn to deliver at pace.

On top of being good do-ers and dealing well with time pressure, consultants are also particularly good at multitasking. Alexandre, in the early days of Qonto, was able to work on strategy, finance, management, marketing and even Office Management. Antoine also highlighted that in a similar way to consulting, when you’re an early stage founder you learn by doing. 

Being good at multitasking, being a good “do-ers”, and working with tight deadlines, it looks like early stage start-ups have more in common with consulting than what we could expect!

Problem solving and prioritization: key skills for founders

Movemeon has been founded by two ex-Mckinsey and therefore our working has been influenced by strategy consulting. If I had to highlight two differences between past start-ups’ I worked for - not founded by ex-McKinsey consultants - and Movemeon it would definitely be the omnipresence of problem solving and prioritization in my day to day.

Those two skills are central to consulting work. Diagnosing issues (issue trees, driver trees) and using data to prioritise execution are the central aim of any consulting project.

Alexandre said that his consultant background helped him to structure his reasoning to tackle any complex problem. Aude and Martin agree on this point, in an early-stage start-up you keep resolving problems. How am I gonna finance this project? What type of offices should we choose? More generally, how do you do things efficiently?

Grégoire highlights that consulting gives you the structure to effectively prioritise using concepts like 80/20. Aude defines the ability to prioritise as hugely important. She said “It’s mostly about what you don’t do, not what you do. You need clear criteria to make the decision (not only for yourself but also understandable and acceptable to others; and something that is engaging).”

Networking and communications

If the network is a pretty obvious benefit of consulting, I’ve been surprised how often effective communications have been described as a key skill learnt from consulting. 

Consultancies have unparalleled alumni networks. A shared brand that means people are prepared to not only meet, but give you advice. This is invaluable in the early days, as you look to further develop your idea. Also perhaps more importantly, make your first few sales (if your product is B2B). Grégoire remembers using Roland Berger’s network for closing first clients. Unlinke business school, consulting networks are usually more senior than you and therefore unlock way more opportunities when you’re an early stage founder.

Working with senior people in consulting trains you in effective communication. Aude said “communication is key as 80-90% of the time, being a founder is about aligning people and getting quickly to the point. Our business has people of very different professional backgrounds and needs. You need to understand and address quickly what is important for each person in a way that is relevant for them to get them on board: how do you convey the real message (get to the point). It’s about not spending one hour on a topic if it can require only 3 minutes.“

Related to communication, stakeholders management is a key skill developed in consulting. You need to be able to communicate in the right way with everyone: investors, clients, suppliers.

Consulting and entrepreneurship are still obviously two really different worlds. Grégoire was saying that you have to unlearn consulting to do entrepreneurship as the way you take decisions can be very different. Nevertheless, consulting is undoubtedly a great training for entrepreneurship. 

It trains you many key skills for early stage founders: Communications skills, stakeholder management, prioritization & problem solving. Having worked with 100+ start-ups, mostly founded by ex-consultant since 2 years and closing hiring like Director of Sales operations for 360Learning, Head of Germany for Hublo, Head of Partnerships for Luko, I knew consultants were a great fit for start-ups and those interviews confirmed the transferable skills that you get from consulting.

Are you looking for a new opportunity after consulting? Click here to view all jobs on Movemeon.

In-house strategy jobs are a natural destination for candidates leaving top tier strategy consulting firms (like McKinsey, Bain and BCG). But as a leader of an in-house strategy team, how do you attract, recruit and retain the best strategy candidates?

In this ultimate “how to” guide to recruiting and retaining the best strategy candidates and building an in-house strategy function, we collate all of our data-driven insights gained from:

• Partnering with 100s of strategy teams worldwide to help them hire better
• Regular conversations with Chief Strategy Officers in our global network and
• Data collected via our hiring platform - movemeon.com and regular user surveys

Below you will find practical tips that will help shape your strategy team and recruitment approach. We hope you find them useful. 

If you would value a more in depth discussion about any of these insights or how movemeon.com applies ground breaking technology to strategy recruitment, please get in touch so we can schedule a time to say hello and answer your questions.

What candidates are looking for when leaving strategy consulting 

Insight - “work-life balance & impact”

Our survey data clearly shows that there are 2 main reasons that people leave strategy consulting firms. When asked for the main reason they left / would leave, 87% of candidates cite one of:

1. Better work-life balance / control (55%)
2. More impact (32%)

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When it comes to work-life balance, our data shows that job satisfaction remains stable between 35-55 working hours per week. Above 55 hours, job satisfaction falls sharply because working more than 11 hours per day, requires routinely working in the evenings or putting in hours over the weekend.

Pay was the main reason to leave consulting for just 8% of professionals. When it comes to compensation, the vast majority of consultants are happy with a sideways move (i.e, maintaining but not significantly increasing their take-home) when considering in-house strategy roles.

Practical tip: work-life balance

CONTROL is what's really valued (e.g, weekends back; committing to mid-week evening hobbies / family time - rather than receiving a call from a Senior at 6pm and given 5 hours work).

Build your team culture around (1) delivering results rather than face-time and (2) a genuine belief that people do their best work when their fresh and have a balanced life. Don't worry if you do work the occasional evening or weekend - strategy professionals understand exceptions happen and typically aren't set on a 9 to 5!

Here's some text you can use - in job descriptions or to frame an answer to a question about work-life balance:

"We focus on outcomes, not hours worked. We believe people do their best work when they're feeling fresh and able to keep their commitments outside work. So you are in control of your hours.

We're an ambitious & high-performing team, but that doesn't mean we routinely work very late into the evening or on the weekend.

Ultimately we trust everyone to deliver in their job in a way that is sustainable for them."

Practical tip: impact

The majority of strategy consultants miss being able to see the results of the work they do. Typically, they come up with recommendations but the project ends before those recommendations are acted upon.

Build your team responsibilities to include partnering colleagues through the “delivery phase”. Enable your team to help turn recommendations into reality and learn to adjust those recommendations in the “real world” based on what’s working / not working.

Common candidate questions to prepare for:

• What are the 3 most impactful things the team has delivered in the past 2 years?
• Are there common roadblocks to adding value? How do you overcome these?
• How is team success measured (beyond “running a successful strategic planning process”)?

Click here to view our best success stories for strategy hires!

What candidates look for in an in-house strategy team - the “stepping stone”

Insight - “the stepping stone”

Our survey data shows strong demand for strategy roles in all sizes of organisations. Whether you are a start-up or a long established multinational, there is strong candidate interest in joining your in-house strategy or transformation team.

However, the most popular strategy teams are set up as a stepping stone. Candidates are able to join for a defined period of time (typically 1.5-3 years) before moving into commercial or operational roles within the business. In fact, 62% of candidates aim for their career to move towards a CEO/COO/General Manager position. Whereas only 21% aim to stay within a strategy or transformation function (and become a leader there).

Practical tip - “the stepping stone”

Mindset: Leaders of the most sought after in-house strategy teams accept that they will constantly lose talent as those people move internally. They view seeding the business with talent as a key factor that defines their success. 

Job description: Reference the team as a “pipeline” and evidence that by showcasing 2 or 3 people who have moved out of the team and been successful in non-strategy roles across the company. 

Equally, make it clear that progress in the team (either to take on more responsibility / a more senior role) is also a possibility and the approach to progression is meritocratic (i.e, high performers can take on more responsibility, quickly) - after all, 1 in 4 candidates do envisage staying and progressing within the team.

Common candidate questions to prepare for:

• How quickly do high performers progress & how does their role change in the team?
• What teams and roles can people move into from the strategy team? Can you share 2 or 3 recent examples?
• How many years do people typically stay in the team?

https://www.movemeon.com/success-stories/

What candidates look for in an in-house strategy team - “impact enabling reporting lines”

Insight - reporting lines

You’ll recall that at the start of this guide, “impact” was shown as the 2nd most important thing candidates are looking for in an in-house strategy  team / role. Candidates perceive that the team is likely to be more impactful if the organisation structure places importance on the strategy team. The most common things that candidates look for are:

• Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) (i.e, the team leader) being a full member of the Executive team
• CSO reporting to the CEO (as a first preference)
• A central strategy team as opposed to a decentralised structure where 1 or 2 strategy professionals sit in each business unit
  • Where a decentralised structure makes sense, a clear structure for collaboration and clear delineation of ownership areas
• A clear - and preferably relatively flat - structure within the strategy team

Practical tip - reporting lines

Whatever reporting line you currently have, you must be able to evidence that it empowers the team to have maximum impact. In your job descriptions and/or initial discussions with prospective candidates we recommend:

• Describing the team i.e,
  • Size
  • Hierarchy / structure
  • Common backgrounds
  • Way of working
    
• Describing the main enablers of team impact
  • Reporting line
  • Regularity of time with the CEO/ COO/ CFO
  • Regularity of exposure to the wider Executive team

Common candidate questions to prepare for:

• Who does the CSO report to?
• Is the CSO a full member of the Executive team?
• How often do strategy team members meet with the CEO/COO/CFO/Exec?
• Is there 1 group strategy team? Or a team for each region / business? Or both?
• If multiple teams, how do the different teams collaborate? Is there a hierarchy?

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Movemeon was founded by two MBB alumni, but works with consultants from a comprehensive range of firms. Find out how we can help hire a specialised strategist for your team.

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This year marks a decade since Nick, my co-founder, and I welcomed our first paying customer (hiring for their strategy team) to movemeon.com.

Since then, I’ve gotten married, had 3 kids and moved house 4 times. With the support of a fantastic team, we’ve grown Movemeon globally (supporting hiring in 100+ countries), started and exited another people-tech startup and benefited from the support of some amazing mentors and customers advocating for our different approach.

I’ve also made countless mistakes. So now felt like the right time to share what I’ve learned - often the hard way.

I’ve split my lessons into a rough chronological order from the early days through to today. I hope you find them helpful - whatever scale and type of organisation you work in.

Thank you for your support - of me and of Movemeon - and for taking the time to read. Very best,

- Rich (more about me here on LinkedIn)

Getting started

1. Tell your story (people buy from people)
   Our story is simple.
   
   As "candidates" we found headhunter cold calls and trawling through job boards incredibly frustrating. Our colleagues felt the same. We all "switched off" to those channels.
   
   At the same time, we were looking for career inspiration that was 100% relevant to current / former consultants. And we struggled to find the insights we needed.
   
   We spoke to 50 HR and hiring managers about their experiences hiring - almost all complained about the high cost, slow speed and unconvincing reach of traditional headhunters / recruitment agencies.
   
   So we set out on a mission to solve all those problems.
   
   That's our story. And it still resonates with many people today. But as movemeon grew, our story became hidden.
   
   The most important USP you have - as a business and as a professional - is you and your story. Tell it authentically and remember that people buy based on feelings first (pain, frustration etc). Logical reasons (e.g, how the product works) come a distant second.
   
   
2. It’s all about action
   There’s a common myth that one day the perfect idea (that nobody else has ever done before) will come along and smack you in the face. It won’t! Starting a business - or doing anything new for that matter - is about deciding to take action. The idea will evolve and become clear, only after you start doing.
   
   Don’t forget - there are loads of huge businesses that weren’t based on a new idea. Rather they copied a business that was already successful and applied it to a new industry or country. Nothing wrong with that!
   
   
3. Keep it simple
   I promise that the first version of your business / product / service that you picture in your head, won’t be simple enough. v1 of Movemeon was so complicated. We got carried away and created loads of stuff that nobody ended up using!
   
   
4. Speak to your customers
   In order to keep it simple, go chat with your target market before building anything. What’s the real pain point (rather than the one you think it is)? How much are they willing to pay? This is the best way to build a true MVP. And what’s more, you have a group of people willing to test your solution, give you feedback and (hopefully) become your first paying customers.
   
   As you grow, constantly ask your customers for feedback.

Building momentum

1. Be a giver
   We all know someone who is only ever in touch when they need something. Don’t be that person! Instead, help people out. Say yes. Surprise people with how much you care - personally and as a business. When you're scheduling that call, it will feel like time you should be spending elsewhere. But being interested and giving with no strings attached, doesn’t go unnoticed. And I've never had a conversation that I haven't learned something from.
   
2. Ask for help
   “Don’t ask, don’t get.” It’s rare that people will volunteer to help you out of the blue. But it’s equally rare that people won’t help you, if you ask them to (especially if you’ve taken time to build that relationship authentically - see “be a giver”). This applies to everything from asking for advice (from friends / colleagues / mentors) to asking for referrals (from happy customers). Ask mindfully. Ask at the right time. But do ask.
   
3. Focus, focus, focus
   It’s so easy to try and add more bells and whistles to your product / service, before you’ve truly mastered the very first thing you set out to do. Less is more. Do things in sequence. 1 KPI is better than 5 (and if you don't measure it, it won't happen).
   
   Being focused is hard. Taking away takes a lot more discipline and time than adding. As Mark Twain famously put it “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
   
   
4. Be mindful about fundraising
   Don’t be distracted by media hype about how much X company / founder has raised. There’s a graveyard of startups who shouted about their fundraising and never made any money. Don’t get me wrong, there are many benefits of raising money for equity. But there are also many benefits in bootstrapping and considering debt funding too. Consider all your options and do what’s best for you and your business. Just be mindful and clear about the “why”.

Staying the course

1. Customers don’t retain themselves
   This sounds so obvious. But it’s easy to forget! Particularly in B2B businesses, there are many innocent reasons why you might lose a customer, despite having done a great job (the most common being that your contact leaves without telling you or making an introduction to a colleague). Nailing the actions and commercial models - like Movemeon's annual fixed-fee partnerships for unlimited hiring - that lead to retention, means you spend more time next year growing new business rather than replacing business you already had.
   
2. Keep stepping back
   When you start your business / business unit or launch your new product line, your vision will be so clear. But as you grow, the nitty gritty will become overwhelming. It’s so easy to get consumed in the day-to-day and forget to step back. My top tip is to do this every 6 months and go somewhere else for it (i.e, not the office, not your home). 
   
3. Find your resilience
   Life is full of ups and downs. Starting, growing and running a business is no different. Building a career in any environment is a constant challenge. I’m grateful for having a co-Founder, supportive team and great friends and family. I also highly recommend finding and spending time with a group of peers (tech Founders for me) who are going through similar experiences and can help you out / buy you a drink / listen to you whinge.
   
4. Don’t let life pass you by
   Yes, some businesses get born, grown and sold almost overnight. Some people are so successful in their careers, that they retire at 40. But these businesses and people are extremely rare. For most of us, it’s going to be a multi-decade marathon. So I’ve learned to truly enjoy the journey and not let business take over my life. Whenever I’ve let time with my family, friends or interests slip away, I’ve simply become less effective at work. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading this article. Thank you for taking the time and also for your support over the last 10 years.

I share my thoughts more regularly on LinkedIn where 35,000 people now follow me (I am a little baffled by that, I must admit). If you'd like to join in, here's a link to my profile where you can click follow.

Keep in touch,

Rich