Freelance_Consulting_2020_Report_3_

FREELANCE & INTERIM HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT REAL FREELANCE COST OF MARKET HAS FREELANCERS DOUBLED IN 5 YEARS FREELANCE VS CONSULTING FIRMS MOVEMEON

CONTENTS 2020 FREELANCE REPORT 02 - Executive Summary 03 - Freelancing's popularity has sky-rocketed over the last 5 years 04 - Freelancing is now perceived as a more legitimate career choice 05 - Which functions can freelance consultants support? 07 - Why freelancers reduce their day rate? 08 - Freelancers vs consulting firms 09 - Freelancers - changing demographics and attitudes 10 - Working with freelancers 11 - Employers - how they're getting the most from freelance 12 - Case studies WWW.MOVEMEON.COM

Executive Summary MOVEMEON 2020 Long gone are the days of joining a company for life. Over the last 62% generation, moving from company to company to progress a career has become commonplace. And the frequency of those more professionals moves has continually increased. Over the last 4-5 years, our data are open to and research has also highlighted that a new trend has emerged: freelance jobs vs 5 the openness of highly qualified professionals to dip into freelance years ago work - punctuating a predominantly “permanent” career. 76% Just as the rise in the “gig economy” via companies like Uber and Deliveroo has created threats and opportunities in talent attraction choose to freelance and workforce management, this trend at the professional level is for increased an opportunity for companies who are quick to adapt.The scale control over and diversity of the freelance workforce has mushroomed. lifestyle; 58% for “Contractors”, “Interims” and “Temps” are not new. However, control over type of historically the professionals interested in such opportunities have work formed a career predominantly undertaking short-term roles. The dramatic shift in the past 4 years has been the willingness of 41% professionals within the “permanent” workforce to undertake a freelance role when previously the concern would have been “gaps of our freelance on CVs” between permanent employment. consultants have Simply put, freelance work - either for a few months or for a few worked at BCG, years - is perceived as a perfectly legitimate career choice. McKinsey & Bain “Freelancing is perceived as a legitimate career choice and an increased level of control and flexibility is the main appeal”. Companies open to freelancers are accessing a wider, deeper talent pool while saving costs vs hiring consultancies and other professional services firms / agencies. The implications for talent acquisition are profound. The quantity of professionals who can be attracted by “project-based work” is now close to half of the professional workforce. And there are huge benefits for companies tapping into this talent pool: immediate starts when capacity is stretched; deep expertise on tap; freelancers going “temp to perm” where there is a great fit (a mutual “try before you buy”) and day rates at third of top tier consultancies. The following pages dig deeper into the data and interviews underpinning our conclusions and also cover the practical considerations of hiring freelancers including speed and cost. We’d like to thank the 100s of professionals who shared their perspectives with us and hope the themes arising from their insights prove thought-provoking and impactful. All the best, Richard Rosser & Nick Patterson Founding Directors of Movemeon

03 FREELANCING'S POPULARITY HAS SKY-ROCKETED OVER THE LAST 5 YEARS Today, more than half of all professionals are interested in working as a freelancer. This has grown dramatically compared to one in four back in 2014. Using freelancers gives employers so much flexibility over who they work with. They can access competitive rates for experts in a certain area. - André, Former PwC Consultant More professionals are available for project and interim opportunities This increased openness to freelance at the macro level, translates into greater interest in every freelance job. The below data from movemeon.com, compares the average response to freelance roles in 2019 with 2014. 72 201 11 19 +179% +73% Average number of candidates considering Average number of candidates applying to each freelance role. each freelance role. The ability to shape my working pattern was one of the most important drivers. And the ability to choose projects I want to do. - Kristen, Former McKinsey Consultant

04 FREELANCING IS NOW PERCEIVED AS A MORE LEGITIMATE CAREER CHOICE As freelancing has become more viable, high-quality candidates have been attracted to it - 41% of freelancers on Movemeon have backgrounds from McKinsey, BCG & Bain. 62% of Movemeon's freelancers have experience in industry, in addition to their consulting background. Freelance professionals have spent an average of 75% of their career in permanent roles. However, once they have tried freelancing, they are less likely to be attracted by permanent jobs - only 27% of freelancers are actively looking for permanent positions. Freelancers value control over work-life balance and type of work Control over work-life balance and type of work are the biggest reasons people freelance. This was cited as especially important for the 32% of consultants supporting a family. Motivations for freelancing Work-life balance 20% 40% 60% 80% Type of work Financial benefits Time between projects Increased impact 0% I accept the rate that is appropriate for the skill level required for the role. Sometimes, I need to be able to work with certain time constraints and have accepted roles that have been somewhat junior for my experience. - Gerlinde, Former McKinsey Consultant

WHICH FUNCTIONS DO FREELANCE CONSULTANTS SUPPORT?

TRANSFORMATION 06 53% 4 GROWTH POST On average, MERGER consultants have 37% INTEGRATION expertise across 4 main functional 13% areas. FINANCE DUE INTERIM The range and depth DILIGENCE ROLES of functional 11% expertise available is 21% 30% higher compared to 5 years ago. ORG STRATEGY DESIGN 68% 24% PROJECT MANAGEMENT 46% COST OPERATIONS BUS DEV CUTTING 26% 17% 15% IT Consultants are 12% increasingly looking for roles in strategy, MARKETING GENERALIST transformation & project management. 16% 33% % of freelancers interested in a given function

07 WHY FREELANCERS REDUCE THEIR DAY RATE As a rule of thumb, a freelancer's day rate should be the annual basic salary of that person in a permanent role, divided by ~120 (this takes into account not having to pay other employment costs e.g, bonus, training costs etc). At the Director level, day rates vary more according to expertise and project length. Average day rate Reasons for reduction £1,250 £1,000 3,000+ £750 Industry £500 4% £250 Other Client budget £0 19% 30% Analyst Manager Director Interest Length Associate Manager 26% 21% Snr I'll flex down on my day rate as much as 40% 20-30% for a project that looks really Preferred payment methods fascinating. Or if it is a great development 30% opportunity. 20% - Sam, Former Strategy& Consultant 10% How freelancers would like to be paid 0% Day rate is by far the most popular and frequent payment method, with 75% of freelancers being paid this way. However, our data suggests an emerging trend towards alternative payments such as fixed price per project. Fixed cost Hourly Results Milestones Pro rata

FREELANCERS VS 68% CONSULTING FIRMS A freelance team It's no secret that consultancies charge a high fee on consulting costs 68% less teams - for highly strategic, time critical projects, it makes sense to than a consultancy use them nonetheless. team However, for longer transformation projects or smaller pieces of 500k work, you can realise huge savings using freelancers. Here are the average savings of using freelancers for 2 transformation projects Employer savings by over 6 months: hiring a freelance team ANALYST ASSOCIATE MANAGER SAVING SAVING SAVING 41% 100K 120K 280K of Movemeon freelancers have Day rate charged by seniority backgrounds in McKinsey, BCG & £5,000 Analyst Associate Manager Director Bain £4,000 £3,000 £2,000 £1,000 £0 Freelancers Consultancies If you just need the consultancy approach, use a freelancer. You can get the quality of McKinsey without the invoice. - Alessandro, Former Bain Consultant

FREELANCERS Freelancer backgrounds Phil - Ex-ATK & LEK, Strategy and M&A professional In the last 2 years, I have moved into independent consulting working on a variety of projects; from growth strategy with a VC backed e-learning company, to customer strategy for the National Grid. André - Ex-Accenture (with fortune 500 companies), Management Consultant After an MBA in China, I quit consulting and founded two start-ups from scratch. Alongside personal ventures, I have started to consult on a freelance basis. Gerlinde - Ex-McKinsey Consultant The main reason for moving freelance has been the flexibility & control over wider life. I was also able to focus on my own ventures, whilst still gaining experience with exciting clients. Alessandro - Ex-Bain, Case Team Leader Freelance consulting has provided the perfect opportunity to allow me to focus on my long term aspirations, and contract on the side. Kristen - Ex-McKinsey Consultant My decision to enter the freelance market was driven by two things. The desire to have more control over my schedule and projects. As well as the confidence that I had gained a research and innovation toolkit of sufficient value.

Working with freelancers BENEFITS Phil - The takeaway here is, you can often get more “bang for your buck” as independents are likely to have experience from a range of sectors/projects they can draw upon. André - Using freelancers gives employers so much flexibility over who they work with. They can access competitive rates for experts in a certain area and can also rely on the freelancer to get their hands dirty. Gerlinde - Freelance provides flexibility to get extra skills and resources for time- sensitive periods, which is not necessarily possible with permanent staff. I have also taken on projects with non-standard weeks and thus have been able to turn around work on weekends ready for the client on Monday. Alessandro - If you just need the consultancy approach, use a freelancer. You can get the quality of McKinsey without the invoice. Kristen - Two things: cost and new perspective an outsider brings to the business. If scope and time allows, the employer should soak up everything the freelancer has to offer - great opportunity for additional project / work to be agreed.

11 EMPLOYERS Employers - points of view Michael - Bulb, Head of Recruitment Freelance is quite new to us but has been a perfect solution for covering things like maternity leave. Max - Movemeon, Freelance Team Lead Companies and funds have been amazed with the potential to staff a consulting team without the overheads. It's a cost-effective way to have a consultant trained at McKinsey, BCG or Bain completely dedicated to your company and as such we've seen huge impact from the projects. Adrian - Receipt Bank, CEO Independent consultants enable us to get unique expertise into the business quickly and flexibly, making a rapid impact on results. Nick - Movemeon, Founder and Ex McKinsey Consultant The breadth of experience and quality in the market has grown immensely in the past few years. We're seeing forward-thinking funds and companies leveraging this very effectively for transformations, new market entries and high-impact interim roles.

HOW EMPLOYERS ARE USING FREELANCERS A range of real examples

≤13 SHORTER PROJECTS 3-MONTHS INVESTMENTS PE BACKED BOUTIQUE PRIVATE INVESTMENT COMPANY ADVISORY CONSULTANCY Required: Freelance support to assist Required: Business Analyst to build with strategy definition and the financial models and carry out due preparation of a deck. diligence. Hired: Ex-McKinsey Consultant with Hired: Ex-OC&C Consultant - MBA - 20-day project - £600 pd 1-month project (Vietnam based) - $400 pd CORPORATIONS LEADING SOCIAL MEDIA GLOBAL MEDIA GIANT FTSE100 PLATFORM Required: Experienced Brand Manager to Required: Sales Operations Analyst assist with maternity leave cover. to assist with EMEA focussed expansion and strategic direction. Hired: Ex-Accenture Consultant - 3-month project - £500 pd Hired: Data Science focussed Consultant - 1-month project (extended by 2 months) - £450 pd VENTURE BACKED STRATEGIC INNOVATION FIRM HOME RENTAL MANAGEMENT SME COMPANY Required: Retail Transformation consultant to own key elements of Required: Finance and change project delivery. management professional to assist the Financial Director drive change. Hired: Ex-BCG Consultant - 6-week project - £450 pd Hired: Financial restructuring expert (ex- CFO) - 3-month project - £450 pd - permanent job offered & accepted [email protected]

≥LONGER PROJECTS 4-MONTHS 14 CUTTING EDGE CONSULTANCY PE FUND INVESTMENTS ADVISORY Required: Interim Director to Required: Post-merger integration manage senior client engagements manager to support the integration of a and the day to day management. recently signed French acquisition. Hired: Ex-Bain Consultant - 3-month Hired: Ex-McKinsey Consultant - project (extended by 3 months) - 9-month project - €1500 pd $800 pd GLOBAL TRAVEL AND TOURISM IT FTSE100 COMPANY CORPORATIONS PROVIDER FTSE100 Required: Transformation Director to lead Required: Highly skilled and a small team to identify opportunities to experienced strategy consultant to improve customer service and drive reinforce a business unit re- business efficiencies. organisation project at the top level. Hired: Ex-PwC Senior Consultant - 1-year Hired: Ex-AT Kearney Consultant - project - £1100 pd 9-month project - €450 pd NOT-FOR-PROFIT, POLICY SME TECH-POWERED STARTUP VENTURE BACKED SME Required: Strategy & Management Required: Consultant to help define the consultant to help scope out and strategy and willing to work for a lower shape a long term initiative. rate. Hired: Ex-PwC Strategy & Hired: Ex-Accenture Strategy Analyst - Management Consultant - 3-month 6-month project - £350 pd project - £250 pd - permanent job offered & accepted WWW.MOVEMEON.COM

CLIENTS MEMBERS 4,000 40K+ INTERVIEWS I'm here to help our freelancers secure exciting opportunities & support 12 pd employers looking for quality freelancers. Please don't hesitate to MOVEMEON contact me about Movemeon or simply to chat about the evolving freelance market. You can reach me at [email protected] Max Tollitt - Freelance Team Lead