Are any consulting firms working remotely in 2022 and onwards and/or are they willing to accommodate 100% remote work? (Canada & US)
Hi there,
The short answer is yes, but no. There are firms that do this, but the top/big firms are moving more and more away from pure remote work.
It just doesn't make sense from a business perspective to not be on the ground. Facetime with the client is paramount to A) Success on the project and B) Radiation.
Agree with Ian. Long term success as a consultant relies on being on the ground.
The exceptions that I have seen are in more specialist roles e.g. digital and analytics specialist teams within the large consulting firms.
There may also be very unique individual cases but it is usually where the person already has built a reputation and standing within the firm and needs to work remotely for personal circumstances but the firm wants to keep them. The person (and the firm) is then making a conscious decision to accept the downsides e.g. less traction with clients long term etc.
Agree with both others on this. A lot of the success of being a consultant depends on being on the ground. With the bigger companies they are even mandating employees being on the ground and as clients are opening offices, the preference is for being at clients site.
You could look online for smaller firms that may allow for this or think about a freelance consulting gig that would let you work remotely from wherever.
Hybrid is the way forward…100% on-site or 100% remote is not going to happen. While companies have opened offices, human behavior has changed. No body wants to be in the office 100% of time and its logistically more taxing for clients to create desk space etc for consultants. In terms of sustainability, only important travel is being approved. There are exceptions to everything, but I am giving you a broad picture.
In UK for example, we are seeing 3 days home/2 days office setup becoming very popular and I hear very similar setup in US.
Hello!
Yes, but not in the Consulting sphere, at least overall. What I mean is, I know that are people that are working 100% remotely, but this is negotiated in a case-by-case scenario
Cheers,
Clara
