Increase in use of services

Press, 1 July 1986, Page 29

Increase in use of services

Just as company management seeks legal, accounting and taxation advice as the world of business becomes increasingly complex, so too are sought the services of management consultants who cover a varied range of professional services covering a multitude of disciplines. The reasons for this are quite simple. Whereas, previously, the world moved at a pace which could be readily kept up with, the phenomenal change which has occurred during the past five years, and the need for increased specialist knowledge has meant that it is impossible for an individual executive to acquire and maintain indepth knowledge across numerous disciplines.

Indeed, the successful executive of today tends to be a generalist who can adapt and make profitable use of outside resources in the areas in which he or she is not skilled.

The growth of the services sector, and in particular professional business services, is predicted to continue until at least the year 2000, therefore the range of services offered by management consultants will continue to grow.

The consultancy businesses of the future will either be large, in which case they will have individual specialists addressing vertical market sectors, or they will be small to medium, where the principal has a unique skill or ability complimented by some other specialists

operating their own companies and working together on a networking principle. Executive leasing, contract personnel and temporary help are growing at a much faster rate than most consulting service sectors. Although there has been a significant increase in executive search (headhunting) it is not expected that this will become as significant in the South Island or New Zealand as it is, for example, in the United States where some 75 per cent of all recruiting from chief executive level right down to secretarial-cleri-cal, and office support staff is carried out by the search method rather than contingency placement methods.