Online consultant network, Skillfair, reports that the recession is biting in the independent consultancy and freelance market, with the exception of HR.
Skillfair’s annual fee rate survey was sent to over 40,000 independent professionals, covering every specialism from PR to Engineering, across the whole of the UK, giving a comprehensive snapshot of the sector. The average daily fee rate reported for 2009 was £523, an 8% decline on 2008, but rates for human resources consultants fell by just £1 to £642
The news isn’t all gloomy for consultants in other disciplines however, rates for higher level consultancy in areas such as Change Management, Engineering, Telecomms, and IT fell by less than average and 93% of all survey respondents expected to do as well or better in 2010 than last year. This suggests that companies are increasingly turning to the UK’s highly skilled flexible freelance workforce as business improves.
“We find that consultants with good skills and experience who put effort into marketing themselves are doing very well”, says Gill Hunt, Managing Director of Skillfair, “they invest time establishing good relationships with their clients and concentrate on adding value to the business, so they are often the first people that clients turn to in a crisis.”
Fee rates vary significantly across different specialisms and different regions in the UK, so the survey results provide an invaluable resource for clients looking to hire freelancers as well as to consultants, whether new to the market or well-established.
Independent consultant Nick De Voil, says “Skillfair’s survey provides an invaluable benchmark for me to measure my rates against the market and make sure that I provide good value for money to my clients”
