In the last issue of Perspectives, we applied our observations on consultant remuneration trends in the developed market of the USA to the four high-growth BRIC economies: Brazil, Russia, India and China. That study, which analysed the 5-year trend in consultant salaries using data from two major consulting sectors – the pure strategy consulting firms (Vencon Research’s “SCF” reports) and the strategy practices of full-service operations consulting firms (“OPS” reports) – confirmed our hypotheses about the factors that determine the movement in consultant remuneration: GDP growth is directly related to industry growth, inflation drives base salaries, Analyst starting salaries correlate with GDP per capita, and Principal level earnings in the USA appear to set the upper limit for earnings elsewhere.
In this issue of Perspectives, we will apply that thinking to see how these factors impact consultant salaries in some of the more “mature” consulting markets of Western Europe, which are experiencing slower or even negative economic growth, specifically France, Germany, Spain and the UK.