How to fix big consulting’s brand problem in the wake of the PwC scandal
The PwC scandal is hardly the first example of dodgy conduct by big consulting firms, which have all built a growing anti-consultant sentiment. We Are Unity director Nick Tucker asks: Can the serious brand damage be repaired?
Consulting firms have long operated in the shadows, offering advice and making impactful decisions while remaining largely unnoticed by the general public. However, recent years have seen a series of alarming events shake the sector’s reputation to the core.
The fallout from the PwC Australia scandal continues following their use of confidential information to help clients avoid paying tax.
Meanwhile, McKinsey was found liable for playing a role in the United States’ opioid crisis and Bain in the UK was banned from government work following its involvement in a South African corruption scandal.
The list goes on.
These scandals have caused a rise in a growing anti-consultant sentiment, where
businesses are more prone to seeing consultants as leeches on companies that are only out to drive partner profit.
So, what can the industry do to turn things around? How can we fix the serious brand problem plaguing big consulting firms?
Walk your talk
Management consulting has always been a magnet for bright and ambitious young minds, as a steppingstone to high-profile roles, including CEOs.
However, the conventional ‘pathway to partner’ value proposition that once enticed an endless stream of talent is no longer sufficient in today’s business landscape. Consulting firms must now go beyond financial success and compete authentically on purpose.
We know that 67% of people prefer to buy from a purpose-led brand. The same logic applies to business, with today’s firms needing to compete around ‘why they exist’.
Ironically, PwC claims to be ‘purpose-led, values-driven’ on their website, so it is clear that changing (or saying) the words is not enough. Firms need to commit to translating words into action by truly walking the talk.
The firm’s purpose must become ingrained in the culture, shaping behaviours and driving the firm’s interactions with clients and society at large. Which brings us to…
Elevate your culture, elevate your brand
Shifting a stagnant culture is a critical step in solving consultancies’ woes. To achieve this, firms need to embed the right systems, symbols and behaviours to deliver on their purpose and strategic aspirations.
This will allow them to balance the requirement for financial outcomes, with the shifting expectations that society has of big firms.
There is a requirement to make money, but not at all costs.
Think about what most firms are currently incentivising: revenue growth and revenue retention. In a challenging economic environment, a hard-line focus on revenue will breed antisocial behaviours if not proactively managed via culture.
Consultants have been used in a similar way to ChatGPT: you point them at a difficult problem and they solve it. But just like AI, consultants are at risk of ignoring the unforeseen human consequences beyond the balance sheets (i.e. McKinsey driving the sales of opioids in the US).
Dialling up non-financial measures of success such as customer experience, employee experience and brand equity, will help alleviate this risk and ensure a more balanced approach to business management.
Most complex client issues do not have simple solutions and a detailed, nuanced understanding of the entire system is required to design the right solution.
Hold yourself to account
A professional standards body such as an Association of Consultants would help by implementing a code of ethics for the sector, focusing on client impact, rather than partner profits.
Bodies like this already exist for journalists, doctors, psychologists, accountants, and engineers. So why not consultants?
Inserting transparency into the conversation and setting strong professional boundaries is critical to addressing the brand damage to the industry and ensuring that it remains relevant to the next generation of talent.
If things don’t change, the consulting industry will cease to exist, beyond merely a body shop.
The famous saying used to go: ‘Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM’. Nobody ever got fired for working with PwC, either.
But unless things change, and quickly, perhaps now you will.
Nick Tucker is a director at consulting agency We Are Unity.
