Vencon Research 2018 Brochure

Vencon Research
International
Products and Services
V E N C O N R E S E A R C H R E P O R T S
S a l a r y a n d b e n e f i t s d a t a o n t h e m a n a g e m e n t c o n s u l t i n g i n d u s t r y
D e t a i l e d r e p o r t s c o v e r c o n s u l t a n t s , p a r t n e r s a n d n o n - b i l l a b l e s t a f f
O v e r 7 5 c o u n t r i e s a c r o s s 5 c o n t i n e n t s
P r i m a r y d a t a s o u r c e f o r t h e m a j o r i t y o f l e a d i n g c o n s u l t i n g f i r m s

Vencon Research International
A N I N T R O D U C T I O N TO V E N C O N R E S E A R C H I N T E R N AT I O N A L
For 20 years Vencon Research International has been a
primary source of compensation benchmarking data
to the international management consulting industry.
Working for clients whose businesses are
characterised by their commitment to data accuracy,
analysis and confidentiality, Vencon has become a
trusted global information provider to the world’s
leading consulting firms. Vencon produces in-depth
benchmarking reports on the size and range of cash
compensation - both target and actual - as well as noncash
benefits offered by the leading management, IT
and strategy consulting firms.
E r w i n H a r b a u e r
Managing Partner
Today our reports not only examine consultant remuneration, but separately cover
Administration & Support staff as well as Partner/VP compensation structures. Our
client list extends to some 85% of the world's major management consulting firms,
and includes major global ‘players’, virtually all the recognised independent
management consulting firms plus leading consulting boutiques in each country.
Our level of repeat business, at over 90%, testifies to our commitment to
recognising and meeting those clients’ requirements.
I N S I D E
Consultant Salary Survey 3
Consultant Benefits
Survey
Administration & Support
Survey
Partner Compensation
Survey
Family Friendly Working
Policies Survey
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Additional Data Analysis 12
Pricing 13
Contact 14
C O V E R A G E O F M O R E T H A N 7 5 C O U N T R I E S
Vencon’s compensation reports now extend to over 75 countries, with coverage increasing in response to client
developments and expansion into new consulting markets.
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Consultant Salary Survey
C O N S U LTA N T S A L A R Y S U R V E Y - C O M P E T I TO R & J O B M ATC H I N G
One of the unique features of Vencon Research’s
benchmarking reports is (where available) the
option for each participant to choose the
participant group providing clients to be
benchmarked with the most relevant peer-group,
and to define the firm’s actual proposition, to
obtain the firm’s market positioning as well as to
define and to simulate the firm’s ‘Target Market
Percentile’. These “tool-like” features also make
our reports unique.
Individual bespoke comparisons can also be
presented, provided that participant anonymity is
not compromised.
By including only those firms who compete in
the same consulting space, with the same
consultant profile, the surveys avoid diluting the
benchmark data-set with firms operating with a
different economic or staffing model. Even in
mature markets, where remuneration structures
are stable and relatively harmonised, average
base salaries amongst the ‘pure’ strategy firms
can be fully 35% higher than those for an
equivalent role in a full-service firm. Thus, this
close-focus ensures the maximum utility of the
resultant benchmarking.
For each country, a cross-calibration of
the career levels surveyed is
established and agreed, detailing each
firm’s job-titles against Vencon’s
generic grades. Three sub-levels are
also mapped against each career level.
The resulting job-matching matrix is
included in all reports, to enable
cross-validation of each firm’s
structure and titles against those of the
identified competitor group.
Vencon Research works with each client to
match their career structure against Vencon’s
generic structure where tasks, responsibilities,
and qualifications of the positions are being
examined to ensure a like-for-like comparison.
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Consultant Salary Survey
C O N S U LTA N T S A L A R Y S U R V E Y - L I N E S O F B U S I N E S S
In every consulting market (country) in which a representative sample of firms is operating, Vencon Research is able to
segment remuneration data between different types of consulting firms, such as e.g. accounting-based firms, fullservice
consulting firms, IT consulting firms, and ‘pure’ strategy consulting firms, each of which occupies a different
market space in terms of service proposition, billing rates and, consequently, remuneration profile. Therefore, Vencon
Research can provide a unique granularity of data (where available) divided into more then 30 ’Lines of Business’:
In larger markets, the greater sample size facilitates further delineation of the data-set to identify differing
remuneration levels across multiple lines of business. This enables participating firms to select increasingly more
specific comparator groups for their benchmarking.
In the most mature markets, it is possible to segment more than 30 different service lines or industry practices.
Actuarial Consulting Services (ACT)
Audit and Assurance Services (AAS)
Assurance Services and Controls (ASC)
Audit Services (AUD)
“Big Data” Analytics (BDA)
Business Process Outsourcing Services (BPO)
Accounting Services (ACC)
Corporate Secretarial Services (SEC)
Human Resources Administration and
Payroll Services (HRA)
IT Outsourcing (ITO)
Procurement Services (PRO)
Corporate Finance and Transactional Services (CFT)
Corporate Finance Advisory (CFA)
Transaction Advisory Services (TAS)
“Digital” Consulting (DIG)
Economics Consulting (ECO)
Executive Search Services (EXS)
Forensics, Fraud and Risk Advisory Services (FFR)
Forensics & Fraud Research Investigation (FOR)
Risk Advisory Services (RAS)
Human Resources Consulting (HRC)
IT Consulting (ITC)
IT “Hot Skills” (ITH)
IT Implementation / Realisation Consulting (ITI)
IT-Infrastructure / Architecture Consulting (ITA)
IT Risk & Cybersecurity Consulting (ITR)
IT Strategy Consulting (ITS)
SAP Implementation (SAP)
Telecommunications & Billing Systems Consulting
(ITB)
Law Firms (LAW)
Legal Consulting Services (LEG)
Management Consulting & Advisory (CON)
Operations-oriented Consulting (OPO)
Strategy-oriented Consulting (OPS)
Restructuring & Turnaround Management Services
(RMS)
Research Services (RES)
Strategy Consulting Firms (SCF)
Technology & Software Development (TEC)
Tax Services (TAX)
Government and Public Services Consulting (GOV)
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Consultant Salary Survey
C O N S U LTA N T S A L A R Y S U R V E Y - F E AT U R E S
Vencon Research’s Consultant Salary Surveys are usually
issued between June and July, in advance of the main
recruitment season, as well as according to specific client
needs whose salary cycle is outside of this range.
In addition to the conventional salary data-sets of
maxima, minima, mean and percentiles for base salary,
target and actual bonus, Vencon Research reports have
several unique features:
Competitor Selection: The participants to be included into
the benchmarking may be tailored to the client. This
eliminates any potential issues resulting from simple
aggregation and weighting of data - whereby data from a
few very large firms can skew the distribution curve,
leaving smaller firms as mere outliers.
“Tool-like” presentation of data: Clients may undertake
their own further analyses, perhaps choosing to compare
against specific market percentiles, or conduct simulation
analyses using the “Target Market Percentile”, and
calculation estimated implications on personnel budget.
Additional analyses encompass salary and bonus changes
from the previous year by career level, and data on actual
and target bonus percentages. Promotion timelines per
grade are also included, facilitating the identification of
firms where ‘fast-track’ promotion practices may distort
salary positioning.
Various compa-ratios are provided, such as the firm’s
relative positioning against the overall survey mean,
median, or defined market percentiles, separately for all
examined remuneration components, such as base salary,
bonuses, and target or actual total cash compensation.
Information on additional relevant recruitment issues is
also presented and the scope of the surveys is regularly
revised in line with client requests or perceptions of ‘hot’
topics. This section includes information on e.g. preferred
universities and business schools for recruitment, the
availability and value of sign-on bonuses, intern salaries,
tuition reimbursement, incentives paid for recruitment
referrals and overtime payment.
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Consultant Salary Survey
C O N S U LTA N T S A L A R Y S U R V E Y - O U T P U T F O R M AT S
Results and data will be presented in two output formats: a) as MS Excel® “Worksheets”, and b) as a report in
presentation format (PDF).
In addition to the full
presentation of results in the
report itself, clients also receive
a full data-set in the form of an
MS Excel® “Worksheet”, thus
avoiding the need to transcribe
data across platforms.
These Excel data-sets comprise
the full market data, per career
level and sub-level, complete
with full statistical analyses
including mean, median,
various percentiles for all the
remuneration components
examined. This allows a
detailed analysis of each
remuneration component as
well as conclusions on the risk
profile of remuneration (i.e.
ratio of variable remuneration
to total compensation).
The “Worksheet” comprises more than 20 tabs, whereby the market
data is presented for all remuneration components, such as (among
others):
Basic Salary (current and previous year)
Target Bonus (percentage and values)
Target Total Cash Compensation (current year)
Actual Bonus (percentage and values)
Actual Total Cash Compensation (previous year)
Market data are calculated and presented in two methods, Firm
Weighted (i.e. each firm’s salary point is equally weighted in the
percentile calculations), and Incumbent Weighted (i.e. the individual
firm data points are weighted according to their number of
consultants at each career level).
The values are also shown on a live graph which displays the firm in
question plotted within the statistical analyses.
The final tabs in the “Worksheet” comprise (where available) time-based remuneration showing the development of the
main remuneration components according to time-in-position (as opposed to career level). By demonstrating earnings
potential against time with the firm, rather than job title only, this provides critical support to firms utilising an
accelerated promotion track, or merit-based career development.
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Consultant Benefits Survey
C O N S U LTA N T B E N E F I T S S U R V E Y - NON- C A S H E L E M E N T S O F C O M P
Vencon Rsearch’s Consultant Benefits Survey presents details of
all non-cash compensation for up to twelve competitor firms in the
relevant country.
The report comprises three main sections:
1) A succinct overview of the range and requirements of the
statutory benefits within the country, including the latest
employer and employee cost parameters, where appropriate.
This identifies a firm’s legal obligations for provision of
employment- related insurances, sickness and maternity leave,
pension provision and vacation entitlement etc.
2) The main section of the report then presents, on a per firm
basis, detail of each firm’s benefit structure within 9 main
categories and approximately 40 sub-categories.
These are broadly grouped into ‘Hard Benefits’ – quantifiable
elements such as Individual and Family Health Insurance, Pension
Plans, Investment Programs, Company Car schemes and provision
of Cell-Phones/Smartphones – and ‘Soft Benefits’ including
provision or funding for further professional development, plus a
wide range of ‘lifestyle’ elements, covering everything from inhouse
catering, class of hotel and travel within the firm, additional
vacation and maternity / paternity leave policies.
Each element is subjectively scored against the standards of the
comparator group to determine best, typical and below-standard
practice for that group of consulting firms.
3) A comprehensive overview is compiled, including a scoring of
each firm against its direct comparators.
At a glance, firms can thus identify standard benefit practice
amongst consulting firms in the country, who has the best (and
worst) overall benefits package, and any remedial steps to improve
their own relative ranking.
Additional survey elements can be added at client request, making
the survey a dynamic document at times of new initiatives or
retention issues becoming relevant.
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Administration & Support Staff
A D M I N I S T R AT I O N & S U P P O R T S TA F F S U R V E Y
Recruitment standards and performance expectations within
leading management consulting firms extend beyond a firm’s
consulting professionals, and are typically reflected in the quality
of their support and administration staff (i.e. their “non-client
facing staff”).
Compensation should therefore be benchmarked against
equivalent firms, rather than general industry norms.
Vencon’s Administration & Support Staff Survey presents
comprehensive benchmarking data on base and total cash
compensation for multiple roles and levels, divided into functions
and sub-functions according to relevant departments.
The scope extends also to roles specific to management consulting,
e.g. Staffing, Graphics, and Research.
The report details the cash compensation of relevant consulting
firms for specified country markets, providing per-firm data on
both range and typical value of basic salary, and target or actual
bonus levels.
The findings are presented both, in tabular and graphic format,
consolidating range, mean and variance data for each level and
function.
By including data on a per-level basis, the report enables clients to
undertake their own detailed analysis. Rather than aggregated
distribution curves, often skewed by the weighting of the largest
players, clients can work with the raw data, facilitating targeted
comparisons in place of fixed percentiles within a distribution
curve, and can identify any anomalous data point which might
otherwise distort the data-set.
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Partner Compensation Study
PA R T N E R C O M P E N S AT I O N S U R V E Y – R E P O R T I
Partner/VP compensation is a complex issue: knowing that a
Partner in Firm A earns twice as much as their counterpart in Firm
B may certainly be of interest, but is of little use without knowing
the structure and performance criteria that drive these payments.
Vencon Research’s Partner Compensation Survey addresses these
elements. The study comprises 3 volumes; the first is a countryspecific
report whilst the other two volumes are both global
reports and review the transnational elements of Partner/VP
remuneration structures:
Report I – Firm Comparison & Raw Data Tables: On a per-country
basis this report presents the range of target and actual
compensation for 3 levels (and up to 6 sub-levels) of Partner for
each firm.
This report presents the partner remuneration data as a series of
comparative graphics. Consolidated data per
country, averaged across all firms are contrasted with the
individual firms’ remuneration levels and policies.
The report presents the remuneration data for each of the three
levels of Partner, as well as consolidated data across the whole
partner group.
The data are presented in a consistent, comparable format
delineating Base Salary, Draw, Profit Share/Bonus, Equity Awards
and Dividends (current income), and Options, Pensions and
Investment Schemes (deferred income).
The raw data used to compile these graphics is tabulated, on a per
firm basis, in the report appendices.
To facilitate modelling or comparison against a pre-determined
competitor group the full data-set is also provided in live MS Excel®
format. Again, target and actual compensation are reported.
Note that owing to the extensive firm-specific information
provided in the Partner Remuneration series individual
participating firms are not identified by name; rather, key
characteristics of the firms – size, geographic presence, revenue
per consultant etc. - are coded to enable each firm’s type and
relevance to be ascertained.
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Partner Compensation Study
PA R T N E R C O M P E N S AT I O N S T U DY - R E P O R T PA R T S I I A N D I I I
Report II – Remuneration Structures: This
is a global report of more than 300 pages
detailing, for each firm in turn, the nature
of their partnership structure, which of
multiple remuneration components are
employed and how they interrelate.
The level of detail extends to partnership/
equity purchase requirements, the
valuation and disposal of equity where
appropriate and the terms of any deferred
award or profit share.
Wherever possible the firm profile includes
information covering the nature of that
firm’s performance assessment criteria,
factors determining grade promotion, the
scope of responsibility per partner grade
and the firm’s methodology for identifying
and handling under-performance.
Report III – Firm Performance Data: This
second global report benchmarks quantifiable
characteristics of the firms being compared in
terms of key performance measures and ratios.
The factors examined include:
Staffing pyramids and ratios
Revenue targets
Revenue per employee ratios
Income as a percentage of revenue
generated
A number of the key dimensions are then
further normalised to illustrate ‘per million
dollar revenue’ or ‘per hundred total staff’. This
facilitates meaningful comparison across firms
of differing size and service proposition.
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Family Friendly Working Policies
I N D U S T R Y S U R V E Y “ FA M I LY F R I E N D LY W O R K I N G P O L I C I E S “
Professional services firms are able to demonstrate considerable
success at recruiting exceptional female talent at the entry levels.
This success is rarely replicated in retaining female staff at the
most senior levels, where representation of female partners is
often seen below 10%.
Vencon Research’s study of Family Friendly Working Policies
presents a comprehensive analysis and comparison of legal
obligations, standard and best practice across nearly 30
parameters, based on data input across all major consulting
markets.
The study reviews the practicality and success of employer
initiatives across three phases of maternity leave to assess differing
approaches during:
1) Pregnancy phase:
Availability of flexible/reduced hours
Provision for reduced travel
Transfer to non-client facing roles, etc.
2) Parental leave phase:
Duration of maternity/paternity leave
Provision of supplementary maternity/paternity pay
Retention of fringe benefits, etc.
3) Re-integration on return to work:
Availability of part-time/flexible working hours
Financial assistance toward child-care
Provision of on-site/subsidised crèche facilities, etc.
Whilst each country report can exist as a stand-alone survey of
current practice, the overall study is intended to enable
assessment and evaluation on an international basis. To this end,
the overall findings are consolidated within an Executive Summary
to provide, on a cross-country basis:
Quantified evaluation of legal / statutory benefits across all
categories;
Quantified evaluation of the voluntary additional benefits
across all categories;
An overall comparison of the extent of Family Friendly Policies;
Detail of both standard and best practices, per benefit
category.
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Additional Data Analysis
E X A M P L E S O F F U R T H E R A N A LY S E S U N D E R TA K E N AT C L I E N T R E Q U E S T
Total Compensation Comparison: Upon request, Vencon is able to
consolidate elements from the Salary and the Benefits surveys to
establish a Total Compensation Package report. Our report sums
the cash elements of Base Salary and Bonus to major financial
elements with a pre-defined set of Benefits, for example pension
contributions and car allowance, where appropriate.
“Cross-Market-Positioning-Tool” (CMPT): Where a client participates
in a significant number of international surveys, the central
coordinating authority may prefer a simple executive overview,
rather than multiple individual reports. Vencon has developed a
simple ‘traffic light’ format within which the client can specify
the threshold levels – as percentiles, quartiles or absolute values
– which trigger colour-coded annotation of the summary tables,
immediately highlighting those geographies and career levels
which merit attention.
Market Positioning Report: Whilst most firms
appreciate the extensive raw data provided in the
Vencon reports, firms who are new to the
benchmarking process, or who are looking to reassess
their overall market competitiveness may prefer an
external appraisal of their current position. For these
clients Vencon is able to present their data against the
relevant competitor-set in a simple format that is
welcomed as both unambiguous and convincing when
viewed by the firms’ senior authorities - the partner
group or the managing board.
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Vencon Research International
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