Make Your Professional Services Firm a Place People Want to Stay
Your consultants, accountants, and advisors are your product. When they're disengaged or looking elsewhere, your client relationships, and your bottom line - suffer.
At elevatehx, we help professional services firms design employee experiences that improve retention, productivity, and culture. No generic HR initiatives. Just strategic touchpoints that work for your people.
74% of professional services employees say their experience at work directly impacts their decision to stay or leave.
Deloitte's 2023 Global Human Capital Trends
Why Professional Services Firms Struggle with Retention
The professional services sector faces a retention crisis. According to LinkedIn's 2024 Workforce Report, professional services has one of the highest turnover rates across industries, with 23% annual attrition - costing firms an average of £30,000–£50,000 per departure when you factor in recruitment, onboarding, and lost productivity.
Common friction points we see:
Burnout culture: Long hours and client demands leave little room for wellbeing or development
Unclear progression: Talented consultants and advisors leave because they can't see their next step
Disconnected leadership: Senior partners are removed from day-to-day employee realities
One-size-fits-all perks: Free fruit and ping pong tables don't address what your people actually need
As Deloitte's 2023 Global Human Capital Trends report found: "74% of professional services employees say their experience at work directly impacts their decision to stay or leave."
You can't afford to guess what your people need. You need data, insight, and a roadmap.
You can't guess your way to a better culture. You need insight, data, and a clear roadmap.
How elevatehx Helps Professional Services Firms
We don't parachute in with a generic playbook. We listen to your employees, map their journey, and co-create solutions that fit your firm's culture and ambitions.
Our 5-Day Sprint Includes:
Step 1: Discovery & Listening
Confidential employee interviews and focus groups
Leadership alignment sessions
Optional pulse survey and culture audit
Step 2: Journey Mapping
Map every touchpoint from recruitment to exit
Identify friction points and "moments that matter"
Benchmark against sector data
Step 3: Co-Creation
Workshop with employees and leaders to design solutions
Prioritise quick wins and strategic initiatives
Build buy-in across all levels
Step 4: Roadmap Delivery
Prioritised action plan with ROI analysis
Visual employee journey map
Diagnostic report with cost/impact recommendations
Leadership presentation
Your competitors are fighting for the same talent. The firms that win are the ones that make work a place people want to be
Why This Matters: The Business Case
Improving employee experience isn't a "nice to have" - it's a commercial imperative.
The numbers speak for themselves:
Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2024: Engaged employees in professional services are 21% more productive and deliver 22% higher profitability
PwC's 2024 Workforce Hopes & Fears Survey: "68% of professional services workers would leave for a role that better supports their wellbeing and development"
CIPD's 2024 Resourcing & Talent Planning Report: Replacing a mid-level consultant costs 1.5–2x their annual salary
Common Moments That Matter in Professional Services:
Every firm is different, but we consistently see these touchpoints make or break the employee experience:
Onboarding: Do new hires feel set up for success, or thrown in the deep end?
First client project: Is there support and mentorship, or sink-or-swim pressure?
Promotion decisions: Are criteria clear and fair, or does it feel like a black box?
Workload management: Can employees flag burnout, or is overwork worn as a badge of honour?
Exit conversations: Are you learning why people leave, or just ticking a box?
We help you identify your moments that matter - and design them intentionally.
What Makes elevatehx Different
We're not a big consultancy with a cookie-cutter approach. We're Lee and Lawrence - two consultants who've worked inside professional services firms and seen what works (and what doesn't).
Our approach:
Fast and focused: 5 days from start to finish
Employee-led: We listen to your people, not just your leadership team
Commercial mindset: Every recommendation links to measurable business impact
You own the journey: We equip you to implement and sustain change - no endless retainers
Who We Work With
We partner with professional services firms across the UK, typically with 10-500 employees, including:
Management consultancies
Accounting and audit firms
Business advisory practices
Strategy and operations consultancies
HR and talent consultancies
Typical client size: 50–500 employees, though we work with firms of all sizes.
Bigger than 500 employees? We would still love to work with you - contact us for custom proposal and pricing.

Ready to Transform Your Employee Experience?
Let's map your employee journey, identify what's working (and what's not), and build a roadmap that delivers measurable impact.
FAQs
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Confidential interviews, anonymous surveys, and psychological safety in co-creation workshops. We're independent - employees trust us because we're not "management."
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That's common. We help both sides understand each other's needs and find compromise. Sustainable change requires buy-in from everyone.
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No. We prioritise quick wins (high impact, low cost) and strategic initiatives (longer-term investments). You control the pace.
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ou own the roadmap and can implement it internally. We're available for ad-hoc support if needed, but there's no ongoing retainer.