Hiring a Partner? Better pay attention… Five mistakes consulting firms make with their most critical hires

By Paul Maranville

When it's time to hire an entry or mid-level practitioner, the process is typically pretty straight forward: screen prospects, review resumes, conduct interviews, and select a candidate who can fill a needed role.

But filling partner-level positions is as much art as science.  Unfortunately, many consultancies don't treat it this way, and find themselves with expensive and ineffective leaders. And while back-filling mid-level, client-facing roles is no picnic, the ramifications of a partner hire who turns out to be a bad fit can have material and lasting impact—on business performance, culture and reputation.