According to a report from sourceforconsulting.com, there has been a substantial shift in the type of HR services being bought, moving away from traditional services, such as organisational design and change management, to those that offer a measurable return on investment.
Sue Grist, co-founder and director of business consultancy Egremont, said: "There's been a shift to using consultants to help save money. When we sell work now, the impact we'll have on business processes and costs is front of mind."
The survey divides HR consulting services into three groups:
· Recession-specific services: for example, outplacement and advice on outsourcing the HR function, which have grown during the recession but have limited shelf-life beyond it.
·‘Past their peak' services: such as organisational design and capability assessment, which form the bedrock of much HR consulting but demand for which is likely to shrink.
· Potential for growth services: which focus on performance management and personal productivity, as organisations look to get more from their employees and their consultants.
But according to Fiona Czerniawska, joint managing director of sourceforconsulting.com and author of the report, economic recovery is unlikely to reverse these trends. She said: "Our research points to a ‘generational' shift in HR consulting, away from traditional areas to focusing more on performance management.
"The future of HR consulting will see traditional firms collaborating, even merging, with smaller, more innovative specialists, in order to survive. The merger of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt announced in June, and the recent acquisition by PwC of performance management consulting firm Paragon, is evidence of this evolving trend."
