Little joy in consultants' pay packets
Projected increases in consultants' pay have failed to materialise
Senior associates and principal consultants in boutique firms have pocketed
the biggest pay rises this year, but money remains tight with projected
increases failing
to materialise, according to the latest Management Consultancy salary
survey.
The study reveals that the same small firm that last year reported paying a
basic annual average salary of £104,000 to its senior associates reported that
the figure had risen to around £112,000 in 2005 - a gain of more than double
the average.
Senior associates and principal consultants made the largest gains, but only
took home 3% more than in 2004. Recent graduates saw a small improvement of 1.6%
while, surprisingly, consultants with two to four years’ experience saw the
smallest rise with 0.6%.
In cash terms the average basic annual salary of senior associates and
principal consultants rose by more than £2,000 while a senior consultant’s rose
by £1,700.
The biggest surprise was that the salary projections made a year ago never
actually came to fruition. In 2004 the industry projected a round of increases
at the start of 2005 and another review at the end of June, but this has failed
to occur in the majority of firms.
The trend of firms keeping a very tight grip on payroll now appears to be the
norm, but the study also found that many are thinking more about discretionary
bonuses.
The firms predict that 2006 salaries will increase but with senior associates
again taking the lion’s share, with almost £5,000 more than this year. Graduates
are projected to earn just £1,250 extra in 2006.