Over recent years, organisations have been stretching and straining in all sorts of strange ways. They struggle to compete for space in markets that become seemingly ever more demanding. In the process, they have turned into highly complex creations, full of diverse talents working in myriad ways across disparate locations. The fallout for employees has been adverse and already much discussed, as our recent major survey and campaign on stress in the workplace has shown. At the same time HR departments are entering a new phase of cost-cutting with a vengeance. Big job losses at a number of major employers over recent months have demonstrated an impatience with those HR departments delivering little to further the organisational agenda.

Complicated organisations and simplified(but hopefully more focused) HR mean that something has had to come in and fill the void. The need to understand and harness complexity with fewer resources is therefore showing up in strong growth in the market for HR consultancy. Recent figures from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), which represents about two-thirds of the UK market, reveals that its HR members earned 663 million in 2004, an increase of 22% on the previous year.

The need for advice on many different aspects of HR has meant handy profits for the consultants. But it would be wrong to think that HR departments are turning to these outside experts and taking anything on offer to plug the gap. Another key finding of the MCA survey is that clients are showing increasing confidence and assertiveness when choosing consultants and demanding far more in the way of major organisational change. Many HR directors are prepared to ask far more difficult questions and mix and match suppliers to get what they want. For those who still fear their smooth sales patter, however, we provide a guide (see page 32) with seven key questions for anyone in HR to ask before handing over any of their hard-won budget.

This month's issue also sees the publication of the short list for the Human Resources Excellence Awards, with the winners to be announced at the Dorchester in London on the evening of 4 July. This year is our 10th anniversary for these awards and I'm delighted to report that both the quantity and quality of entries has once again broken all previous records. Our top-notch panel of judges deliberated long and hard to come up with the short list that you see on page 23. And this year, for the first time, readers can vote directly for the five short-listed candidates for HR director of the year by visiting our website www.hrmagazine.co.uk. The votes are already piling up, so log on now to have your say.