Human Resources Consulting Services
Companies in this industry provide advice and assistance to businesses regarding human resources and personnel policies, employee compensation and benefit planning, and wage and salary administration. Major companies include Aon Hewitt and Mercer (both based in the US), Willis Towers Watson (based in Ireland), and divisions of global consulting firms such as Accenture and Deloitte.
The worldwide human resources (HR) consulting services industry generates about $31 billion in revenue annually, according to Consultancy.uk. The US is the largest market for consulting services overall, but global firms are targeting other industrialized regions with emerging economies for growth. The Asia/Pacific region is a leading market for industry growth.
The US human resources consulting services industry includes about 8,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $20 billion.
Coverage of the larger Consulting Services industry is included in a separate profile. Professional employer organizations (PEOs), which provide outsourced human resources management services, are also covered in a separate industry profile.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is driven by the needs of businesses, nonprofit institutions, and government agencies for outside HR advice. The profitability of individual companies depends on the efficiency of their operations and their ability to maintain a steady flow of business. Large firms have advantages in being able to offer broad ranges of services and to take on more complex projects. Small firms can compete effectively by specializing. The US HR consulting services industry is concentrated: the top 50 companies account for about 60% of industry revenue.
HR consultants may also compete with payroll processing firms, professional employer organizations (PEOs) that provide outsourced human resources management services, and human resources technology solutions such as cloud-based self-service bundled HR offerings. Additional competition may also come from financial advisers and investment management firms that are building expertise in retirement plan design.
Products, Operations & Technology
Major services include strategic management consulting and implementation, which accounted for more than 50% of the industry revenue, and is followed by
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Human Resources
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