1. The Disconnected Employee Is a Business Risk, Not a Mood
What we’re seeing (Q3):
Burnout, trust gaps with senior leadership, and “checking out while staying put.” Managers remain the biggest shapers of day-to-day experience — yet many are mediating policies they didn’t set.
Why it matters to PE and professional services:
Disengagement shows up as slippage in client responsiveness, missed details, and lower cross-sell — all of which lead to revenue leakage.
Moves to make before Q4:
Rebuild the psychological contract: prioritise safety, wellbeing, fair pay, and clear manager comms before perk-style EX initiatives.
Manager as lifeline: equip managers with scripts, micro-skills, empathetic listening techniques, escalation tools, and clarity around the “why” of decisions.
Listen where it hurts: survey on uncomfortable topics — RTO rationale, restructure fatigue — and follow up with a “you said, we did” loop.
Metrics to watch:
Manager eNPS, team-level retention risk, SLA adherence, client satisfaction on responsiveness and accuracy.
2. AI: From Hype to Measurable Impact
What we’re seeing (Q3):
Enterprises are moving from pilots to scale. Boards now ask for ROI by use case, not anecdotes. Employees save time, leaders expect more output — tension rises.
Why it matters to PE and professional services:
The competitive edge lies in speed to analysis, proposal quality, and cycles closed per FTE.
Moves to make before Q4:
Pick three value drivers (e.g. proposal velocity, interview quality, data hygiene) and rank AI use cases against them.
Instrument ROI by design: define baselines and measure cycle time, errors, and win rates pre- and post-AI.
Create a time dividend policy: be explicit about how saved time should be used — for quality upgrades, skills, or backlog catch-up — to avoid trust erosion.
Metrics to watch:
Minutes saved per task, cost-to-hire and time-to-hire deltas, proposal win rates, quality rework rates.
3. Skills Strategy: Balance Beats Purism
What we’re seeing (Q3):
“Skills-based everything” has been over-rotated. The pragmatic mix is about 70% skills and 30% other signals — values, context, and track record. Pay and recognition remain the missing levers for sustained upskilling.
Why it matters to PE and professional services:
Firms need rapid retooling — especially in AI literacy and data storytelling — without breaking cohesion or identity.
Moves to make before Q4:
Right-fit skills approach by function: some areas go skills-led (TA, analytics), others skills-informed (client service, leadership).
Put money where the learning is: tie upskilling to recognition and retention-minded rewards (e.g. RSUs or bonuses with vesting).
AI literacy for all: baseline the firm and certify to a minimum standard this quarter.
Metrics to watch:
Skills coverage vs. target roles, L&D uptake tied to rewards, internal mobility, bench strength for critical accounts.
4. DEI&B: Quiet Retreats vs. Integrated Delivery
What we’re seeing (Q3):
Some firms are doubling down on DEI&B, while others narrow the focus to inclusion or embed efforts into core people practices.
Why it matters to PE and professional services:
DEI&B positioning directly affects applicant pools, offer acceptance, and client alignment — especially with institutional LPs and global corporates.
Moves to make before Q4:
Pick a lane — public or embedded: either declare your stance and roadmap, or embed DEI&B outcomes into hiring, promotion, pay equity, and accessibility.
Focus on leverage points: multigenerational policies, neuro-inclusion, digital accessibility, and family-friendly benefits.
Prove it: track pipeline mix, time to promotion, and pay equity by cohort — and report to ExCo quarterly.
Metrics to watch:
Offer acceptance by segment, referral rates, promotion velocity, attrition disparities.
5. Hybrid: Commit to Outcomes, Not Optics
What we’re seeing (Q3):
RTO mandates versus flexible hybrids are largely set — the question now is the impact on culture, innovation, and retention. Flex-positive firms are extending autonomy into job design, task choice, and sequencing.
Why it matters to PE and professional services:
In-office days only pay off if collaboration, learning, and client creation measurably improve.
Moves to make before Q4:
Evidence the bet: compare pre- and post-policy scores on innovation proxies, idea flow, cross-team deal support, culture, and regretted attrition.
Autonomy 2.0: let teams define how they deliver outcomes, with clear guardrails.
Make office days high-value: codify office-worthy work — live client war rooms, training, and feedback loops.
Metrics to watch:
Innovation tickets closed, cross-functional deal assists, regretted attrition, office-day NPS.
One-Page Action Plan: Q3 → Q4
Set three firmwide people bets — e.g. reduce time to proposal by 25%, lift manager quality index by 10, achieve baseline AI literacy for 90% of staff.
Name owners and measures — HR partners with Ops, Finance, and Service Line Heads — review monthly.
Communicate the contract: what employees can count on (fair pay, safety, clarity) and what the firm expects (quality, responsiveness, learning).
Fast Facts for Decks
57% believe burnout won’t improve without serious company change.
41% think leaders prioritise money over keeping workers.
58% save time with AI — around 31 minutes per day — and 46% believe that time belongs to them.
50% with very flexible arrangements are less likely to leave, and 54% would trade pay for more flexibility.
