It is extremely trite to call the year 2020 “a difficult one”, but it is also impossible to disagree with that assessment, especially for us working in the B2B service sector. But not everything is so simple – there are companies and people who have managed to magically turn all challenges into opportunities and success.
Our St Petersburg office showed a considerable growth in turnover in 2020. Yury Mikhailov, Consort Petersburg’s Managing Partner, shared with us the secrets of their achievements.
Yury, what was the reason for the success? Did you deal with yet another major client, as in 2017-2018?
Yury Mikhailov: No, last year there was no such client that would bring most of the income. Although with that major client we continued our partnership that has been proven over the years.
In 2020, we worked with a greater variety of companies, old clients and new ones. The demand in the Russia’s North-West market was mostly centered around key executives for businesses, which lead to a year-on-year increase of 55% in the average search fee for Consort Petersburg.
Russian clients, manufacturing companies, were looking for stronger managers who could work efficiently in an ever-changing critical environment.
International companies considered it a good time to strengthen and develop on the Russian market, requesting us to look for key managers for them.
Was there a demand for new services?
Yury Mikhailov: Yes, there was a demand for salary surveys re the level of compensation in competing companies, which was very reasonable in an unstable market. I believe that service will be even more in demand.
In general, the year was really a time of challenges, and required from my consultants and myself a lot of perseverance, endurance, and quick reaction. I rate our office’s work a success!