Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays has been all over the press in the last few weeks.

If you haven’t heard about this new book by Wharton Professor Joel Waldfogel, catch him talking at a recent entertaining LSE event about how we waste over £50bn on presents.

“When we buy for ourselves, every pound we spend produces at least a pound in satisfaction, we shop carefully and purchase items that are worth more than they cost. Gift giving is different. We make less-informed choices, max out on credit to buy gifts worth less than the money spent, and leave recipients less than satisfied.” The Professor suggests some alternatives.

If you haven’t ventured out into the High Street yet for the Christmas presents… read this first.

Hello.

In the spirit of the festive season, we at BLT thought you might like to see some of the ‘out-takes’ from 2009’s launch of our YouTube channel. Its like finding an extra comedy DVD in your stocking! (but perhaps not quite as intentionally hilarious as some better known comedians).

You may have seen some of the other videos we have posted previously (if not please do visit our YouTube channel).

In the meantime BLT wishes you a Merry Christmas and we looking forward to catching up in 2010!

Best wishes from us all at BLT.

www.blt.co.uk - www.bltog.co.uk - 0207 405 3404

This month’s consultancy workshop is about media consultancy. Angela Heath responds to questions....

Media – where does that fit in consulting? Much of consultancy is aligned around market sectors or industry verticals. Media consulting can be found in TMT (technology, media and telecoms) and TME (technology, media and entertainment) practices, or as a stand alone unit. There are a number of medium-sized and boutique firms who’ve made a name for themselves as specialists in the media sector. There are also in-house consultancies at well-known media organisations.

What do media consultancies do? Pretty much the same as any consultancy with a sector focus: advise on mergers and acquisitions, help with restructuring, map out strategy in a fast-changing industry. Clients and projects might be: a newspaper group trying to replace lost classified advertising revenue; a cable TV company seeking new content providers; an entertainment group entering new markets.

Sounds interesting. Who do they recruit? Having a few years experience with a media company certainly helps, although as web-based media services become increasingly important, a career in an online business is useful too.

I went to Drama School and I watch a lot of telly. Useful, but not essential attributes. Better if you’ve done well in a business role or business-facing technology role in a publisher, broadcaster or media-related organisation.

Will I get paid as much as Wossie? No. Salaries are pretty much in line with most other consulting sectors: £30-40,000 for an Analyst; £40-50,000 for a Consultant; £50-70,000 for a Senior Consultant/Manager; £70-100,000 for a Principal/Engagement Manager. In-house salaries are 10-20% lower.

Will I get to meet Natasha Kaplinsky? You’ve got as much chance of that as I have of meeting George Clooney. Next question please.

Is the work mainly London based? Not at all. Whilst there’s a media cluster in London, there’s also one in Manchester. Not to mention Hamburg, New York and Los Angeles. Consultancies have a national, if not international reach in this specialist area, so you should expect considerable travel and quite a few nights away from home.

Any recruiting going on at the moment? Sure. BLT is currently hiring for a strategy boutique focused on the media sector and a fast-growing specialist media consultancy.

I’ve got this great idea for a reality TV show... And you’re up for eviction from this blog if you don’t switch off now.....(continued on page 94)

For more information on media consulting opportunities, contact Angela on alh@blt.co.uk now.

As you may know BLT launched a new initiative.

We wanted to hear your view and thoughts about topical issues that we usually come across.
We choose a question and invite you to have your say and share what You think.

Here is the summary of the first Question.
SHOULD CONSULTANTS BE PAID ON RESULTS?

The October Management Consultancy Question of the Month – Should consultants be paid on results? – produced a pretty conclusive result: Yes 79% No 21%

But although almost four-fifths of consultants thought that payment on results was, in principle, A Good Thing, they also – being consultants – pointed out plenty of difficulties in such a scheme.

That clients – particularly in the public sector – are often unwilling to take the tough decisions that are critical to project success was cited by a number of respondents. Others suggested that as ultimate responsibility for the project rested with the client, some of the risk should be shouldered by them too.

Can the project’s success be measured in financial terms, asked one? If not, no deal, she advised. And if it’s just advice about something that’s way off in the future, when does the payment get made?

Another frequently mentioned suggestion was that consultants should get paid a percentage of savings made, or take an agreed base fee and a share of the return on investment.

Discussions on a risk-sharing fee model are already underway, with senior figures in the industry using various platforms to opine on the desirability – or otherwise – of a change in practice. This debate will run and run.

Our next question is coming soon...

You would think that in times of recession it would be easy to find high calibre staff, but that isn’t proving to be the case. Especially for jobs that require specialised skills, there appears to be a lack of qualified candidates. We know that in certain sectors there are skills shortages, but in others could the problem be that prospective employers simply aren’t looking in the right place?

There are plenty of job seekers out there, after all the most recent figures from the Office of National Statistics outs the unemployment rate at 7.8%. So what can prospective employers do to increase their chances of finding the perfect person to fill their vacancies?

That is where niche, specialist recruiters, such as BLT, really come to the fore. Savvy job seekers will register with employment agencies that have an in-depth knowledge of their particular sector and skill set. After all, if you’re looking for a job as a Company Secretary, you wouldn’t sign up with an agency that specialises in placing people in engineering roles.

The same is true for employers who will greatly enhance their chances of finding the right person if they call on a specialised recruiter to assist them. Our consultants know their business inside out. We have a tailored approach to recruiting and work hard to ensure that we have a clear understanding of business structures, corporate cultures and personal motivations, as well as the technical criteria necessary to fulfil your requirements.

You can have a look at the list of job vacancies we are currently handing in the areas of Direct and Indirect Tax, Management Consultancy, and Company Secretarial Services.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the use of specialist recruiters, and if you have a success story, why not share it with us...