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Employee-owned
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PA: Innovation Responsiveness Delivery
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1943 (Personnel Administration)
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London, UK
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Jon Moynihan, Executive Chairman<br />Alan Middleton, Chief Executive Officer<br />Andrew Hooke, Chief Operating Officer
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~3,000 ( 2006 )
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IT Services , Consulting
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(PA) is an international management consulting firm known for its expertise in technology and new product development.
A Brief History of the Management Consulting Profession . As of 2007 it operates in more than 35 countries.
The firm works across both the private and public sectors. It has won independent awards and recognition for its client work in financial services, energy, life sciencesFor Life sciences sector: PA recognized for role in client achieving 2002 Queen's Award to Industry. PA Consulting Group (1 May 2002) press release: "PA Consulting Group instrumental in Queen's Award for The Female Health Company, developer of state-of-the-art female contraceptive, FEMIDOM®" and healthcare, government and public services, manufacturing, defence, and telecommunications.For all other sectors in this list: Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Best Management Practice Awards won by PA 1998-2006. PA Consulting Group (2006). "Celebrating current and past successes of the MCA's most prolific winner", Ref LON 11802, published by PA Consulting Group; pages 3, 24-25. PA's ''Report and Accounts'' for 2005 defines its services as: helping clients to design strategies for growth, achieve effective IT that improves business performance, mobilise human resources, deliver complex programs and major business transformations, and develop breakthrough products and processes. The latter are created at PA's dedicated applied technology facilities at Melbourn, Cambridge, UK, and Princeton, NJ, USA.PA Consulting Group's Board of Directors, and auditors Ernst & Young LLP (2006)."PA Holdings Limited Report and Accounts Year ended 31 December 2005", Ref Lon 11723, published by PA Consulting Group.PA Consulting Group has waived the copyright it may have owned in descriptive texts in the above paragraphs, excepting trading names, trademarked names, registered logos and domain names, for use in Wikipedia and derived works within the scope of
GFDL licence. Source: A. Adams, Global Head of Marketing and Communications, PA Consulting Group, 2006.
PA is entirely an employee-owned company. PA has no audit practice and does not form exclusive alliances with third-party vendors or service providers. PA does, however, work in non-exclusive alliances on specific programs when it is in the best interests of its clients.PA Consulting Group's Board of Directors, and auditors Ernst & Young LLP (2006)."PA Holdings Limited Report and Accounts Year ended 31 December 2005", Ref Lon 11723, published by PA Consulting Group.PA Consulting Group has waived the copyright it may have owned in descriptive texts in the above paragraphs, excepting trading names, trademarked names, registered logos and domain names, for use in Wikipedia and derived works within the scope of
GFDL licence. Source: A. Adams, Global Head of Marketing and Communications, PA Consulting Group, 2006.
PA operates worldwide in more than 35 countries. Its principal office locations are listed below.
Office contact details
- - Buenos Aires
- - Copenhagen
- - Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich
- - Bangalore, New Delhi
- - Jakarta
- - Dublin
- - Kuala Lumpur
- - Utrecht
- - Auckland, Wellington
- - Lysaker
- - Beijing, Hong Kong
- - Moscow
- - Stockholm
- - Dubai
- - London, Cambridge, Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester
- - Washington, Denver CO, Cambridge MA, Chicago IL, Houston TX, Los Angeles CA, Madison WI, New York NY, Princeton NJ
''Personnel Administration'' (PA) was founded in 's war effort created an insatiable demand for munitions and goods, which had to be produced by a relatively unskilled work force. Butten and co formed ''Personnel Administration Limited'' to provide advice to industry as to how to improve the productivity of their workers.
Like the other three firms that dominated consulting in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, PA was an offshoot of the pre-war
Bedaux Company . Bedaux in turn was descended from the
Time And Motion 'scientific management' theories of
Frederick Winslow Taylor and
Frank Gilbreth .
The founder of PA,
Ernest Butten , sought to take the somewhat mechanistic and task-orientated concepts of
Scientific Management and add a human dimension to them. The chief idea, along the lines of
McGregor 's 'Theory Y', was that by involving the worker in the process of change, greater gains could be made both by the worker and the organisation. To date, time and motion management consultants had been seen as the enemies of the workforce leading to resistance and even violence (see a spoof of the role of a management consultant in the ''Ealing'' comedy ''I'm Alright Jack'').
PA's new approach was considerably less confrontational and more successful than its predecessors. PA's first assignment in
1943 was to train housewives in the difficult task of assembling the tail gun section for the
Lancaster Bomber , as part of Britain's policy of bringing women into the factories in order to free-up male workers for the armed forces.
The war ended a year or so after the formation of PA, and with its end began the demand for production of civilian goods, coupled with the return of large numbers of servicemen seeking employment in
Industry . Butten and colleagues seized the opportunity and expanded rapidly. By
1950 the company had 84
Consultants .
Over the next 20 years PA's approach succeeded so well that, by
1970 , PA was (by headcount) the largest management consulting firm in the world (closely followed by
Booz Allen and
McKinsey ). In the meantime PA had expanded geographically, mostly along the lines of the
British Empire . Indeed its operation in
Australia was so large that it provided roughly a third of revenue.
In the
1960 s PA diversified its revenue sources significantly by more or less inventing the 'newspaper box' advertisement for
Recruitment purposes. This concept spread rapidly across
Europe and the
Far East : in some countries, during the 60s, the 'PA Supplement' was an extra section of the newspaper filled entirely with advertisements from ''PA Recruitment''.
In the meantime Butten had, in 1958, sold his 100% shareholding in PA to the Butten Trust, which was intended as a long term guardian of PA's fortunes and an assurance that the company would be 'owned by the employees'. In 1970 Butten retired entirely from PA, handing over management responsibilities. This coincided with a downturn in the industry overall, and of PA in particular. For the following quarter century PA's position as the largest consulting firm in the world was rapidly eroded, as emerging competitors such as
McKinsey and the strategy consulting firms (
Boston Consulting Group and
Bain ) redefined the concept of management consulting, and took market share away from the increasingly poorly managed and unfocused PA, and others of its ilk.
While during the
70s and
80s PA had occasional years of resistance with strong revenues, the company was never very profitable and endured a number or economic crises which progressively weakened the company. Part of PA's problem was that while being 'owned' by the Butten Trust, it was owned by an institution, but by no human.
One bright element during this period of general decline was the emergence of what has probably become the world's best Technology Consulting practice, located in
Cambridge , UK. (In this instance 'Technology' refers to the overall concept, rather than specifically computers or IT.) PA rapidly built up a major strength in advising companies on multiple arcane technologies and their potential application to business issues. Arising out of this success, major technology centres were built in Melbourn, UK and
Princeton , USA.
Towards the end of the 80s PA enjoyed the benefits of a temporary upsurge in the industry, and decided it wished to go public. The Butten Trust, after an application to the courts in the UK, agreed to give 15% of its shares to its employees, as part of a long-term plan to float. However these hopes were dashed in the subsequent consulting industry downturn of 1989 to 1992 and, by the end of that downturn, PA was essentially bankrupt, with some £30 million (US$ 57 million) of debt, significant annual losses and a rapid outflow of staff.
Between 1991 and 1994, PA lost almost half of its people, partly because of its downturn in fortunes, and partly because companies such as
IBM and
EDS had started to enter the consulting market and were aggressively hiring - almost indiscriminately. However, as had happened with other companies going through bad times, those that remained at PA were determined to turn the company around and restore it to its former greatness.
The good reputation that PA had enjoyed throughout its existence, and the fact that it was bad management, rather than bad consulting, that had brought PA to its impasse, meant that there remained within the company a very strong set of skills and capabilities. Consequently PA was able, relatively rapidly, to turn itself around, and by 1995 was enjoying record profits relative to any previous year in the company's history. However much rebuilding still had to be done, as a result of which PA was still too weak to fully capitalise on the emerging years of the
Dotcom boom in 1997/98. (This would appear to have been partly a blessing, as shown by the eclipse of many dotcom consulting firms once the end-of-millennium bubble had burst).
By 1999 PA was in robust health and enjoying record revenues, profit and growth. It expanded significantly into the
US , through the acquisition of
Hagler Bailly , and now has a presence in ten offices throughout the
United States .
PA suffered, along with the rest of the consulting industry, in the consulting recession of 2001-2004, which saw such a significant decline in revenues for consulting firms that it represented probably the worst downturn the industry has ever had in its century-long existence. However PA did not suffer as much as its competitors, with the result that the bounce back in 2004-2006 has allowed the company to outpace its competitors.
Today's PA has extensive operations in
Europe (particularly
Scandinavia where it is recognised as the number one consulting firm), the
Americas and the
Far East . Its 2004, 2005 and 2006 results were each, in turn, record years for the company.
In recent years PA has also significantly diversified its activities into ventures. Some 50% of PA's return to shareholders, over the years 2002-2006, has come from its non-consulting activities.
In 2006 PA's profile is of a major global consulting firm, working in both the Private and Public sectors, both in general and in information technology as well as the other major sectors of consulting such as
Strategy ,
Human Resource Consulting ,
Project Management , with industry specialisations such as
Energy ,
Manufacturing ,
Healthcare ,
Financial Services and
Telecommunications .
PA Consulting Group has six consulting ranks: Analyst, Consultant Analyst, Consultant, Principal Consultant, Managing Consultant, and Partner. PA recruits actively at all these levels.
PA's Analysts are typically recent college graduates. No specific educational specialism is required, but an aptitude for problem-solving and analytics is considered essential, and a very strong academic record. PA’s training and development programs are designed to make the Analysts' move into consulting a smooth one. Demand for Analyst positions is high, with approximately 1% of applicants being hired.
The Analyst role can last between 1-2 years, with outstanding performers being promoted at 1 year. A Consultant Analyst is generally a graduate with 2 to 3 years of relevant work experience. There is a lot of emphasis placed on career progression at PA. Consultants tend to follow a long-term career path with the company, progressing swiftly into the management ranks and eventually becoming Managing Consultant and Partner. PA also recruits extensively at senior levels from outside the organization – recruiting people with significant experience either from industry or the consulting sectors.
The interview process, while very selective, is similar at all levels and follows a case-study approach.
PA's venture programme (''PAGroup Ventures'') was established in 2000 to exploit the ideas and intellectual capital generated from its consulting work. This has been highly value generating: for example PA created a third-generation mobile phone business called
UbiNetics which was sold in two tranches for a total of $133 million in 2005; and
Meridica - a drug delivery system company - was valued at time of sale to
Pfizer at $125 million in 2004. Each sale generated a return of many multiples of PA's total investment in its ventures programmes to date.PA Consulting Group (23 May 2005). Press release: "PA Consulting Group and 3i announce sale of UbiNetics' testing business".PA Consulting Group (28 July 2005). Press release: "PA Consulting Group and 3i announce sale of UbiNetics"PA Consulting Group (12 November 2004). Press release: "Pfizer completes acquisition of drug delivery technology venture from PA Consulting Group"
Aditon is PA's latest venture, a mobile advertising application service provider offering operators, advertisers and mobile content owners new revenue streams and channels to market.
Aditon's mobile advertising platform powers U Daily - a channel delivering individually-tailored information and entertainment from content owners that is pushed daily via the mobile phone's idle-screen to mobile operators' customers.
Aditon
PA venture ''Aegate'' is developing a next-generation approach to patient safety by providing authentication services for
Pharmaceutical products at the point of dispensing. ''Aegate'' received the 2005 ''Frost & Sullivan Award'' for Entrepreneurial Company in recognition of its "unique and commercially attractive solution to combat
Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting and
Fraud ".Aegate (27 October 2005). Press release: "Aegate receives the Frost & Sullivan 2005 Best Practice Award for Entrepreneurial Company" The pharmaceutical authentication company launched its service in Belgium, November 2006, in collaboration with L’Association Pharmaceutique Belge (APB), the professional pharmacy association that represents 90% of independent pharmacies in Belgium. Belgium is the first country to pioneer this new patient safety system.Financial Times (16 October 2006). Article by Andrew Baxter:
"Online system to fight drug fraud" Aegate
PA venture company ''ProcServe'' provides
E-procurement solutions and professional services. This systems provider offers a range of buyer and supplier procurement solutions, managed services, implementation support and professional services. It enables organisations to achieve value and cash benefits from implementing electronic procurement systems and processes.ProcServe (2006). Web site statement at: http://www.procserve.com/index.htm
ProcServe
The ProcServe solutions and services build on PA's experience of the Zanzibar project - the e-Procurement solution for the UK public sector. The Zanzibar Managed Service is now delivered by a ProcServe-led consortium that includes PA Consulting Group. Zanzibar has been adopted by a number of public sector organisations in the UK, including the DWP, DfES, the Environment Agency, NHS Trusts and the DCLG.PA Consulting Group (15 February 2006). Press release: "Boosting public sector buying power - PA Consulting Group welcomes first customers to Zanzibar, Government’s new eProcurement and marketplace service
Zanzibar
Cubiks, the specialist HR consultancy, completed the final stage of its management buy-out from PA Consulting Group in July 2007. This former PA venture company specialises in helping employers to tackle the constantly evolving challenges of personnel selection, development,
Performance Management , and retention. Cubiks (2 July 2007). Press release: "Cubiks completes Management Buy-Out from PA Consulting Group"
Cubiks
PA venture ''UbiNetics'' was founded in 1999, born out of the ''Wireless Technology Practice'' of PA. In six years '']
''Meridica'' is a former PA venture company developing and licensing licence. Source: A. Adams, Global Head of Marketing and Communications, PA Consulting Group, 2006.
These Awards are organized by the MCA, and run in association with the UK business magazine ''Management Today''. Some 50 firms enter the competition every year, including many of the major global consulting organisations.J. Hewgill (2006), MCA Marketing Director, Management Consultancies Association, 49 Whitehall, London SW1A 2BX, UK.M.Gwyther (2006). "MCA Management Awards 2006", ISSN 0025-1925 , published by Management Today magazine, Haymarket Business Publications: pages 2, 3
The Awards are independently judged and aim to identify the best case studies in each of 18 categories, where organizations, in the private or public sector, have achieved a significant improvement in performance with the assistance of management consultants, either in-house or external.
PA Consulting Group was named the overall winner in 2006 for its work with the Georgian Government and US Agency for International Development. "PA Consulting Group battled corruption, improved performance and secured electricity supply for the Georgian people (an average 30% more electricity), proving that proper management can turn around any troubled organization", said the MCA and ''Management Today'' magazine.
In the eight years that PA has entered these Awards the firm has received an unprecedented 32% of all the top awards (Overall Platinum and Gold Category Winners). This includes winning the Overall Award on four occasions, and securing 16 Gold Award Category Winners.PA Consulting Group has waived the copyright it may have owned in descriptive texts in the above paragraphs, excepting trading names, trademarked names, registered logos and domain names, for use in Wikipedia. Source: A. Adams, Global Head of Marketing and Communications, PA Consulting Group, 2006.PA Consulting Group (2006). "Celebrating current and past successes of the MCA's most prolific winner", Ref LON 11802, published by PA Consulting Group; pages 3, 24-25.
