Navigating the Consulting Landscape in 2025: Strategic Shifts in a Time of Transformation

Julie Sergent

Content manager

April 15, 2025

5 min

Text Link

Introduction: A Pivotal Year for Consulting Firms

The year 2025 marks a strategic inflection point for consulting firms across Europe. Following a decade of double-digit growth, 2024 disrupted expectations with lower-than-anticipated performance and increasing economic volatility. As consulting firms face mounting pressure from shrinking public spending, tighter procurement budgets, and geopolitical instability, the need for agility, strategic foresight, and innovation has never been greater.

The latest Napta study provides a nuanced exploration of these shifts, offering key insights into how firms are restructuring to maintain profitability, develop talent, and deliver value in a transformed economic and technological landscape.

Access the full study here: download your free report.

‍

Economic Realities and Market Outlook

Slower Growth, Stronger Headwinds

2024 was marked by economic underperformance across the consulting ecosystem. For instance, the IT services sector grew by just 0.7% in France—falling short of forecasts (Numeum). Across Europe, 46% of professionals expect the situation to remain flat in 2025, while 38% foresee further deterioration. (Consulting, audit, and IT services companies: Focus on 2025 trends, Napta).

‍

Several structural factors compound this outlook:

Budgetary constraints and fewer public sector tenders.
Rising operating costs driven by inflation and regulation.
Trade barriers and protectionist policies impacting international expansion.
A retreat from high-risk geographies, as illustrated by McKinsey’s downsizing in China due to political tensions.

‍

Strategic Responses: Doing More with Less

Precision Over Volume

Firms are not standing still. They are realigning their strategies around four key priorities:

Selective hiring, prioritising senior and expert profiles over large graduate intakes.
Investment in training, with a focus on high-impact, just-in-time learning.
Focus on resilient sectors, such as cybersecurity, energy, insurance and data-driven industries.
Cross-staffing, enabling internal mobility across geographies and business units to optimise utilisation and margin.

This cautious approach extends to external spending too, with many firms limiting freelance contracts unless for critical, niche roles.

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL

READ THE CUSTOMER STORY

WEBINAR

Achieving operational excellence: resource management best practices from Grant Thornton

DOWNLOAD THE REPLAY

GUIDE

IT services - Talent management and retention guide for C-level leaders

Key strategies for attracting, developing and retaining IT services talents. Optimise your talent management on the long term and boost your company's performance.

DOWNLOAD CONTENT

WHITE PAPER

DOWNLOAD THE WHITE PAPER

Skills-Based Transformation: The Consulting Model Evolves

From Pyramid to Diamond

The traditional pyramid structure—with a wide base of juniors—is giving way to a "diamond-shaped" model, where intermediate and expert profiles take precedence. This model better matches client expectations for specialisation and agility, but also increases average labour costs.

Pricing in a Skills Economy

As projects become shorter and more technical, firms are rethinking billing models. Time-based billing is giving way to:

Fixed-price engagements, requiring precision forecasting.
Success fees, tying remuneration to client outcomes.
Hybrid pricing, balancing risk and reward while maximising perceived value.

This evolution places renewed emphasis on measuring ROI, client satisfaction and quality of delivery.

‍

AI Integration: Technology as a Catalyst and Challenge

A Double-Edged Sword

Artificial intelligence has moved beyond hype to become a strategic differentiator. Yet the gap between ambition and execution remains wide—while 50% of CEOs expect AI to boost profitability, only 34% observed tangible benefits in early 2025 (PricewaterhouseCoopers, UK CEO Survey 2025).

To bridge this gap, firms must:

Consolidate data infrastructure to enable AI use cases.
Upskill consultants to act as interpreters and strategists—not just data collectors.
Develop proprietary tools and methodologies to own the value chain.

AI is no longer just a productivity booster—it is reshaping the very architecture of consulting services and operating models.

‍

Talent and Retention: Redefining the Consultant Experience

Strategic Upskilling and Internal Mobility

With external hiring slowed, the focus turns inward:

Continuous learning—combining e-learning, peer coaching, and on-site training.
AI readiness—equipping teams with the tools and mindset to thrive in a tech-augmented environment.
Smart Staffing™, a data-driven approach to matching talent with high-value missions, optimising project success and employee satisfaction.

Retention is no longer about perks—it’s about purpose, progression, and personalised pathways.

WHITE PAPER

DOWNLOAD THE WHITE PAPER

GUIDE

IT services - Talent management and retention guide for C-level leaders

Key strategies for attracting, developing and retaining IT services talents. Optimise your talent management on the long term and boost your company's performance.

DOWNLOAD CONTENT

WEBINAR

Achieving operational excellence: resource management best practices from Grant Thornton

DOWNLOAD THE REPLAY

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL

READ THE CUSTOMER STORY

Flexibility as a Retention Driver

Firms now offer adaptive work environments, from hybrid work models to redesigned office spaces. The new expectation is flexibility with impact: striking a balance between autonomy and connection, remote work and on-site collaboration.

Moreover, ESG commitments, upskilling opportunities and international exposure are now central to attracting and retaining top talent.

Operational Excellence and Margin Protection

Resilience Through Efficiency

In response to shorter project durations and increased client scrutiny, operational optimisation has become the norm. Leading firms are:

Centralising staffing systems for visibility across business units.
Rationalising tools and platforms for scalable knowledge-sharing.
Closely tracking margin erosion risks at the project level.

This new discipline around margin management allows firms to remain competitive without sacrificing delivery quality.

Client-Centricity: Satisfaction as a Strategic Lever

Delivering Value Beyond Expectations

In a cautious market, client retention and reactivation are more cost-effective than new acquisition. As such, client satisfaction becomes both a KPI and a cultural pillar.

Firms that invest in aligning the right team with the right mission—while maintaining high standards of delivery—see better conversion rates and long-term client loyalty.

The rise of procurement-led decision-making in Europe also calls for stronger stakeholder alignment and more transparent value demonstrations.

Conclusion: Prudence and Innovation Hand-in-Hand

Consulting firms must simultaneously:

Navigate uncertainty with financial discipline.
Invest in people, particularly in strategic upskilling and career development.
Redesign operating models, including pricing, staffing, and delivery.
Adopt AI with clarity and strategic intent.
Align with client outcomes, not just hours worked.

As Per Breuer Global Managing Director of Roland Berger notes:

Ambidextrous leadership is key: balancing rapid, agile innovation in AI and other thought leadership topics, while providing as well impactful more “classical” consulting services with focus on performance, cost and efficiency.

2025 may be turbulent—but for firms that combine foresight, resilience, and transformation, it could also be a breakthrough year.

‍

Ready to Future-Proof Your Firm?

Explore how Napta’s AI-powered Smart Staffing™ solution is already helping leading firms achieve operational excellence and talent alignment—visit www.napta.io.