Croixstone Consulting – Page 17

In Demand Projects + Skills for Consultants

Have you ever wondered what demand exists in the consulting marketplace for your skills? Well, we have your answer courtesy of Forbes magazine. Earlier this week, the magazine published an online article listing the most in demand projects and skills for “independent” consultants (the article is using this term to reference consultants who apply their skills outside the big firms like McKinsey and Accenture).

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The most in demand projects for consultants include:

61% Strategy: Marketing + Sales Strategy, Growth Strategy, Opportunity Assessment, Product Strategy
22% Operations: Business Processes, Product Launch Planning, Supply Chain
9% Transformation: Business Intelligence and Analytics, IT/Tech Transformation
4% Organization
4% Interim Executive

The most in demand skills for independent consultants include:

Project Management
Market Landscape
Growth Strategy
Strategic Planning
Supply Chain
Program Management Office (PMO)
Corporate + Business Unit Strategy
Product Development and Launch
Market Access and Value
Innovation Strategy

Read the article to learn more about the leading industries using independent consultants, the company size leaders who use independents, and more.

A Virtual View of the Skills Gap Dilemma

According to the just-released 2018 Employer Needs Survey, 50 percent of North Carolina businesses report hiring difficulties and 60 percent of NC STEM-related and manufacturing companies experience the same. A recent Deloitte study estimates 2.4 million positions may go unfilled over the next decade.

Immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality (MR) [collectively called XR], are being used to address the skills gap behind those numbers. Charlotte-based Lowe’s finds VR particularly useful for simulating the numerous home environments a sales or service representative may encounter. Global shipping giant DHL Supply Chain reports an average 15 percent or greater improvement in productivity in its warehouses utilizing AR glasses, while also reducing onboarding and training time by 50 percent.

What does this mean for employee training? Read more on: A Virtual View of the Skills Gap Dilemma.

About Our Guest Writer

Lorraine Russell is President/CEO of Room to Focus. The firm provides the tools and content to help companies increase training retention, attract digital natives, and reduce time spent onboarding and facilitating routine training.

2018 U.S. Emerging Jobs Report

Each year LinkedIn analyzes data from the previous five years to identify emerging jobs and the skills associated with them. Some of the biggest takeaways in the recently released LinkedIn 2018 U.S. Emerging Jobs Report are as follows:

AI is here to stay (6 out of the 15 emerging jobs are related to AI in some way).
Basic business operational functions are on an upsurge.
Soft skills – oral communication, leadership and time management – account for the largest skills gap.

Read the full report to learn more about the top 15 emerging jobs, those jobs with the largest hiring growth and the skills with the biggest skill gaps.

2018’s Most Inspiring Books

We are eternal optimists at Croixstone Consulting and, therefore, love Inc. Magazine’s list of “The 10 Most Inspiring Books of 2018.” Faithful readers of this blog and Croixstone’s social media channels know that we adore “Rebel Talent” by Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino. It speaks to the benefits of constructive nonconformity and our fondness for business mavericks. And we plan to read Bill Gates’ favorite book of all time, “The Better Angels of Our Nature”, that came out in January. Read the list of 2018’s most inspiring books here.

Keep Informed!

The December 2018 issue of Consulting Magazine is now available. Access is easy (and, best of all, complimentary)! Simply register to become a free ALM digital reader, and you’ll receive free access to Consulting Magazine Online and the digital edition.

The current issue highlights the women leaders in consulting who are making a big impact on the industry. Be sure to read the “ShortTakes” interview on page 4 where PwC’s Vice Chairman and Advisory Leader, Mohamed Kande, discusses the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Read the December issue here.

100 Events That Shaped the Queen City

The great city that Croixstone Consulting calls home just celebrated its 250th anniversary. Founded in honor of Her Majesty Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg on December 3, 1768, Charlotte has grown to be the second-largest banking center in the US, a title it regained in early November 2018.

Charlotte Magazine recently published a list of the 100 events (ranging from the 1700s to the 2000s) that transformed our city into what it is today. A “must read” regardless of how long you have lived or worked in the greater Charlotte region!

Consultants On Consulting

Read about the 65 fast-growth firms that are disrupting the consulting profession in the latest digital issue of CONSULTING MAGAZINE (November 2018). Be sure to read the practical tips in the “Consultants On Consulting” article (page 78) to help your next technology modernization engagement run smoothly.

What’s the Future of Management Consulting?

Recently, Croixstone Consulting participated in a thought-provoking webinar about the state of the management consulting industry. Hosted by ALM Intelligence, the webinar provided insights into the future of the industry and featured proprietary research and analysis from ALM’s team of analysts. View the webinar (it is an hour-long) to learn answers to the following questions:

What is the size and growth rates for consulting globally and by region?
What’s the future of consulting?
What will the profession look like in the next decade?
How are client expectations changing the game?
What will a successful firm look like in 2020?

Spotlight on Disruption

Coworking office spaces represent a fundamental shift in the way people work, and the coworking industry is disrupting the commercial real estate industry in a very BIG way. The future of work is a huge topic of discussion every week at Croixstone, and the shift in how people work is what incentivized us to relocate our offices from our business loft in South End to Industrious in Uptown Charlotte nearly one year ago. Learn why companies like Spotify, Lyft, Hyatt and Chipotle have joined Croixstone in calling Industrious home across the United States. Click here.

Robotic Software + Accounting Firms

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the use of a software robot or “bot” that replicates the actions of a human to execute tasks across multiple computer systems. According to a 2015 Accenture report, robotics is predicted to automate or eliminate up to 40% of transactional accounting work by 2020. Read this 2017 newspaper article from the StarTribune in Minneapolis to learn more about how robotic software is sweeping large accounting firms and their clients.

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