Consultancy firms better than their reputation, survey suggest

Consultants often come in for a bashing, but they can bring an extra, valuable layer of expertise to the table

A new analysis released by the Dansk Erhverv chamber of commerce reveals that the majority of municipalities in Copenhagen are extremely satisfied with the work carried out on their behalf by consultancy firms.

Around 80 percent of municipal administration heads replied that they felt the firms gave value for money, and even more – 85 percent – expressed a very high level of satisfaction with the services provided by consultants.

“Our analysis shows that private consultants and advisors are valuable to the municipalities in Copenhagen,” said Daniel Møller Jensen from Dansk Erhverv.

Adding value
“It is very popular to criticise the public use of private consultants, but in fact they add professional resources that can be used in a flexible way, just as the specialised knowledge they have can help when it comes to finding new and better ways to carry out municipal tasks,” he added.

According to Jensen, the companies can help raise the level of the services provided by municipalities and show ways to get the most out of the taxpayer’s money.

“The figures also underline how important is it that the chamber, together with the consultancy businesses, continues to work to improve the visibility of the extra value consultants provide, as we know there is a lot of untapped potential in public-private co-operation,” concluded Jensen.

There is no doubt there is serious money in the work. In 2016, Danish municipalities spent 9.7 billion kroner hiring consultancy firms – an increase of 2.9 percent over two years.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.