Trends by Industry: Retail

In November 2021, we surveyed 1,900+ high-end independent talent to gain insight about their experience consulting for top companies over the past year. Here are our key findings.

How are leading companies using high-end independent talent to address their biggest challenges and opportunities this year?

Flexible, on-demand leadership continues to permeate the organization at all levels with requests for interim leaders increasing by 137% YOY in 2022.

Consumer goods leaders must remain nimble and proactive in the face of continued uncertainty, changing consumer behaviors, supply disruptions, and workforce concerns.

Facing increased competition for talent, financial services executives are embracing on-demand talent models to fill skill and expertise gaps across the organization.

Emerging from total concentration on the pandemic, healthcare companies are returning to strategic challenges like process optimization, digitization, and exploring new paths to profitable growth.

Though faced with significant supply chain and talent challenges, industrial leaders have a full agenda, including growth, digital strategies, and more. See industrial goods trends for 2022.

Independent consultants bring life science companies a unique mix of real-world experience, strategic rigor, and targeted expertise across domains.

Amid continuing disruption, changing consumer behavior, and digitization, media and entertainment leaders are tapping independent talent to evolve marketing plans, identify opportunities, and more.

Nonprofit and government leaders—tasked with ever-growing agendas to tackle society’s biggest challenges—increasingly are looking to the independent talent market for assistance.

To drive value creation across firms and portfolio companies, private equity firms are turning to independent consultants and interim executives to get the right skills in seat and accelerate growth.

Amid record demand and labor shortages, independent talent provide a fast, flexible way for professional services firms to deliver the level of service their clients expect.

As technology companies continue to thoughtfully prepare for future agility, innovation, sustainability, and growth, independent talent remain a key competitive advantage.

With M&A activity at record levels and avenues to growth around every turn, business and corporate development teams are tapping independent talent to evaluate and pursue the many opportunities ahead.

Facing significant workforce challenges, CEOs and presidents are relying on independent talent to rethink their organizations, drive efficiency, and fill interim roles at all levels.

The wave of digital innovation continues as independent talent help digital, data, and IT leaders develop new ways to reach consumers, utilize data, improve processes, and increase effectiveness.

Across industries, GMs and P&L leaders are working diligently to drive the growth engine for their companies. Independent talent are here to help.

In 2022, HR leaders will tap independent experts to boost organizational effectiveness and process efficiency, fill critical gaps, and structure compensation to attract the talent they need.