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By Kirsten Ludowig

Markus Ellerbrake would have had to simply sign: The once-in-a lifetime offer had been on his desk. It was end of last year – in the middle of the crisis. The 35-year-old SAP specialist had sent out a few job applications. And sure enough: one of the top strategic consultancies had wanted him. Renowned clients, big money, excellent career prospects – all that was suddenly only a matter of form.

Yet, it didn't feel right. Did he really want to be one of thousands of consultants in the enterprise? Running the risk of ending up as a hanger-on because all those other ambitious colleagues also fought hard to come out on top? Ellerbrake, on parental leave just then, carefully considered things. And in the end decided on the second offer he had received: Consileon, a small firm in Karlsruhe, consulting banks and insurances. "It was important for me that I could bring in my own ideas in the long run and actively participate in the success of the consultancy."

There are about 13,600 consultancy firms on the German market – according to the Federal Association of German Corporate Consultants (Bundesverband Deutscher Unternehmensberater). Just about everybody knows the global players – companies such as McKinsey, Roland Berger and BCG which have numerous job offers even in the economic crisis. They are daily inundated with cover letters, curricula vitae and diplomas. In the background – especially with potential job applicants – are the smaller consultancies frequently specialized on specific subjects and sectors on the market. "That's one of the reasons why many of these boutiques fall back on external support in recruiting personnel", says Arne tom Wörden from the recruiting service provider Access Kelly-OCG. Yet, there are definitely a few "hidden champions".

Currently, those hidden champions are relatively well set up. Although such smaller, specialized consultancies tend to suffer more in an economic crisis – according to Dietmar Fink, professor of economics at the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg and a consultancy expert – because in contrast to the global players, they frequently depend on individual clients, industry sectors, and topics; also, they are less well networked. They all have exceeded a critical size – generally a staff of 50; and they have acquired know-how in niches. This is what increasingly enables them to compete even with top consultancies.

And: They have been hiring in 2009. "Especially those consultancies without any well-known brand in the back cannot afford any hiring stops. Because they particularly would be running the risk that personnel will be lacking when the market picks up momentum again", explains Fink.

On the other hand, they cannot impress anyone with a bright and shiny image and well-known names. In fact, the expert Fink considers the lack of non-existing brand names as the biggest drawback: "A few consultancies – frequently those having high growth ambitions and primarily on the lookout for professionals – try to overcome this shortcoming by paying even more money than the big ones." Generally, however, salaries are significantly lower because a major part of the hidden champions cannot and does not want to compete with the salaries at the top strategists. Thus, rookies on the job can expect, on average, € 48,000 gross annually – according to Personalmarkt, the compensations and salary specialist. And that is more than 20 percent less than with McKinsey, Roland Berger and BCG.

Fink also sees disadvantages for hidden champions in terms of further training. "Due to their size and their great capital resources, enterprises such as McKinsey can invest much more money in this area." Actually, a few smaller consultancies provide individual support to their employees, for example if they want to get their MBA. But only very few have a professional system integrated into the career model. Moreover, Fink adds, "the diversity of projects and the possibility of working internationally might also be limited".

Cutbacks on brand names, salaries, continuing training – will only those end up in smaller consultancies who had failed to land a job with the global players? Arne tom Wörden's answer to that is: "No." The personnel consultant does know job applicants who had deliberately decided on a job in a boutique. And the reasons for it might be just about as diverse as the number of different consultancies on the German market.

"Bad economic times or not – I wanted to work in a consultancy where the human factor is in the foreground and everyday work is not dictated by savings concepts and earnings pressure", tells us Markus Ellerbrake. And he was convinced that he had come with his idea to the right address at Consileon when he heard Joachim Schü, its founder and general manager. "He said: ’Of course we have to earn money, but it's secondary how much profit we'll be making in 2009. For me, it's important where we'll stand together in three to five years.’ That clinched matters for me", says Ellerbrake.

Schü – who had experienced the full bandwidth of consultancy while working three years at A.T. Kearney before he founded Consileon – openly admits that his philosophy has its basis in startup difficulties. "We had Deutsche Bank as our first major account. Shortly after our foundation in the year 2001, the two-year contract fell through – that was sort of a big bang." In this situation, he found out that "we can master anything if we stick together as a team".

These problems are overcome today, and the consultancy is growing further: This year, ten new graduates and (young) professionals each will join Consileon. While the focus in 2008 had been especially on candidates with job experience in the banking and insurance sector, it is now on backgrounds in the energy and healthcare business – Consileon's future consulting fields.

For 29-year-old Philip von Le Suire (see below), it was purely a specialist interest that drove him two years ago to apply for a job with Kerkhoff Consulting in Düsseldorf, founded in 1999. The graduate in business administration (Diplom-Kaufmann) did not want to work as a generalist but rather focus on the subject of supply chain management. "Kerkhoff is one of the leading consultancies for the fields of purchasing and procurement. If you want to go in that direction – like I do – you'll set your sights right away on the market leader in this management area and you don't first get lost in the general strategy consultancies", he says.

Apparently a good decision because "companies are able to cut down particularly well on costs in purchasing. That's why this consultancy field is booming in the crisis – similar to financial and risk management or pricing", says Dietmar Fink. This is also reflected in the number of new hirings at Kerkhoff:. In 2009, altogether 25 graduates and 15 (young) professionals will be coming on board. There are similar plans at Kerkhoff's rivals, the purchasing consultancies Inverto in Cologne and Brainnet in Bonn.

Since few German universities have business administration faculties offering a major in purchasing, such specialization in the study program is an advantage of course, but not absolutely necessary to have a chance for a job with Kerkhoff. "Lately, we've been increasingly recruiting from our pool of former trainees – that has proven well", explains Managing Director Christian Michalak. "However, in an initiation program, every newcomer will learn the basics on the subject of purchasing – such as how to examine suppliers' structures and how to reduce procurement costs."

In contrast to Kerkhoff, the consultancy firm Management Engineers is, according to its own information, a full service provider with clients from almost all major economic sectors; it has not specialized in industry sectors or subjects. Yet, after nearly one decade with Infineon, Patrick Haibach took the plunge and went to the consultancy in Düsseldorf.

The 39-year-old physicist liked the personnel concept because the company only hires candidates – primarily engineers and scientists – with a minimum of three years experience in the industry. "We have followed this concept since our foundation in 1978; and ever more frequently, other consultancies are trying to copy it", explains Managing Director Hanno Brandes. "The market is increasingly asking for experienced consultants. The economic crisis especially needs well-versed emergency doctors and not hosts of just trained paramedics."

That concept appears to pay off. Last year, Management Engineers had grown by 31 percent; the market only by an estimated 10.7 percent, according to BDU (Federal Association of German Management Consultants). After 41 new additions in 2008, there are now only 33, but that is still equivalent to nearly one-fifth of the firm's staff. Until 2015, new principal and partner jobs are to be created for 25 to 30 positions each – this greatly increases the chances of getting to the top at Management Engineers. That's what Patrick Haibach also says: "It's really on my roadmap to make partner – that's for sure."

The general rule is: Everyday consulting work at a hidden champion does not differ much from that at a top consultancy – whether it's the 70-hour week or the high proportion of traveling time. Even the quota of women is not higher – only with a few exceptions. However, hierarchies are generally lower, and decision lines are shorter. The owner or the corresponding founder can be frequently directly addressed, as with Kerkhoff for instance which holds a forum with Gerd Kerkhoff every few weeks. Due to the smaller number of consultants, each individual employee has to take responsibility much sooner; already as a newcomer, he is expected to use his own network to acquire new clients.

Smaller consultancies frequently accompany their clients during the implementation of a project for several months. "At the per diems demanded by top consultancies, there are only few companies who can afford those prices. Accordingly, the big players frequently do not work along with their clients long-term in the area of implementation." J&M from Mannheim with a staff of about 200 is considered to be highly implementation-oriented. Their consultants are not only commercially fit, but are also all IT specialists. They are thus able, for instance, to convert their clients' software right away to the optimized supply chains and processes. This year, the company is looking for 20 to 25 (young) professionals, predominantly with an IT and SAP background.

Hidden champions are frequently closer to the client. "They generally consult small and medium-sized companies and deliberately take over management tasks", explains Richter. "That means, they are checking offers for example, or they conduct negotiations with stakeholders." And very important: Most of them don't see themselves as a career springboard because, for them, it's a great feat to integrate and build up new employees. And even if there is no development potential to make partner, not all will be lost right away. These consultancies are much less geared to the ill-famed "up or out rule" of the global players which means that either you make it to the top or you are fired.

Philip von Le Suire, 29: Specialist instead of generalist

In his studies, Philip von Le Suire was not challenged enough by the subject of business administration alone. So he took Chinese studies as a minor and went to Shanghai for one year. There, he had a trainee job at Siemens and worked in supply chain management, in purchasing and in procurement. He enjoyed the job so much that, after he graduated, he definitely wanted to work in that field. But not for a major enterprise; rather in a specialized consultancy. "I would have felt confined if I had gone into the fixed structures of a corporate group so early on", explains the 29-year-old. "I wanted to get to know a number of companies and industry sectors." Moreover, he was looking for a chance to support projects in China.

This limited his possibilities, and von Le Suire finally found Kerkhoff in Düsseldorf – a market leader among the consultancies specializing in purchasing and procurement. Also, he was pleased to note that they had a branch establishment in China. He convinced them, and in October 2007, he started as a consultant. Meanwhile, he has been traveling all over the world of enterprises and industry sectors. And he was again in Shanghai for several months – this time as a consultant. As a rule, he will first of all analyze the savings potential in the client's purchasing department. Usually, the practical part will follow. "We conduct negotiations with the suppliers, for instance." And Managing Director Christian Michalak emphasizes what's important here: "We are working objectively, and we are doing without the typical consultant's Denglish and glossy charts."