​The current winners, from my perspective? The multidisciplinary consultancies.

Not simply because they’re bigger, but because they can take responsibility for more of the project.

The race isn’t necessarily to become the biggest consultancy. It’s to offer developers a broader service.

It’s all connected

 Developers rarely have just one environmental issue to deal with. Ecology, arboriculture, landscape, planning, BNG, drainage and infrastructure all intertwine, with decisions in one area affecting another.

 For developers, there’s a clear attraction to having more of that expertise under one roof.

The alternative is coordinating multiple specialists, waiting for information to feed between disciplines and potentially slowing projects down.

 From conversations I’ve had this week, I’m seeing more businesses becoming open-minded about adding disciplines to their offering.

I don’t think that’s about becoming bigger for the sake of it. It’s about staying competitive.

But there’s a problem

Ecologists…

Everyone wants Senior/Principal Ecologists with 5+ years’ experience. There aren’t enough experienced ecologists to support every business looking to grow, and experienced ecologists are expensive!

So, as more consultancies look to broaden their offering, they’re all looking for the same experienced people. That market is only going to get tighter.

The opportunity?

Look earlier in someone’s career.

Businesses that are willing to look earlier in someone’s career could have an advantage.

An ecologist with two years’ experience may not have the same experience as a Principal, but they don’t necessarily need to. With the right support and development, they can become an important part of a growing multidisciplinary team.

It means businesses need to look beyond simply asking:

“Where can we find another Principal?”

And start asking:

“Who could become our next Principal?”

That means investing in people, giving them the right support and accepting that development takes time. Businesses that can offer developers more, bring different disciplines together and build the people they need rather than constantly competing for the same experienced hires.

The real winners?

Businesses that spot this opportunity early, invest in developing people and hire before the market gets even.