For the second time since 2017, we have asked independent consultants and industry experts in our network why they transitioned into self-employment. The international trend towards independent consulting has become firmly established for good reason. Our survey results clearly show that highly qualified consultants are choosing to become self-employed to pursue greater personal freedom and to have more control over their work-life. We also discovered that most independent consultants are successful in achieving these goals.
When the Coronavirus pandemic struck and led to nationwide lockdowns, we set up a second questionnaire to better understand whether consultants’ perceptions of their situation had changed. For now, it seems that the highly qualified self-employed consultants are remarkably crisis-resilient, and still highly content with their careers. Despite the fact that most consultants are dealing with economic uncertainty, they prefer being independent to working for an organization. This is because they seek flexibility and autonomy. Consequently, most are open to change and keen to advise companies on how to adapt to the crisis.
The overall goal of this research led by COMATCH was to illuminate the drivers and challenges faced by independent consultants.
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