Junior-senior consultant pairs

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Alíz Nagy

Senior Consultant

Alíz has decades of diversified work experience, gained largely in multinational environments in the financial, capital markets, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and energy sectors. As a member of the MINDSPIRE team, she has been involved in international bank integration and domestic bank merger projects, and is currently in charge of the project management of the IT development business area of the insurance service line. She specializes in e-learning and education digitalization, talent management and economic value creation, which she has practiced as a project manager in international IPOs of Hungarian companies.

Formation and development of HR programs

Changes in the life of every company and organization are most often induced by environmental effects, demands and adaptation to changing circumstances, but there are also situations when a given company develops and transforms its operations as an innovator and pioneer.

The formation and development of HR programs is also the result of continuous professional evolution, for which there is already a fundamental need, both from the employer’s and the employee’s side.

In the case of our company, MINDSPIRE Consulting, there is also a third, very important actor, the client, so a high level of compliance with the client’s needs must also be considered.

Nowadays the career-related needs of people entering the job market for the first time are very complex. Many are motivated by unique ambitions and very definite career goals, but there are those who are just now looking for their place and getting to know the different opportunities.

I have also met a young employee, who had a very distinctive and determined career goal after graduating from the university, which changed dramatically once she started working, discovered the opportunities, the structure of the company and got a better overview of her own skills as well. Perhaps one of the most important things is to be proactive, if necessary, to be able to change in addition to development.

Overview of MINDSPIRE’s consultant support program

Our employees work in various positions, such as consultant, project manager, business analyst, IT architect, project management office (PMO), migration and data migration expert.

Our young colleagues who are starting their careers or have one or two years of work experience can participate in a two-year junior program, which provides support and development in a structured manner.

For all roles the most important field of development is project work, during which our junior employees can learn and acquire consultancy and professional competences and methodologies under the guidance and supervision of dedicated senior colleagues. In addition to on-the-job learning, they must also participate in professional, tool usage and power skill development trainings.

Our aim in developing colleagues participating in the junior program is to familiarize them with as many projects as possible, to give them the opportunity to try out as many roles as possible, and to enable them to carry out consultancy tasks independently by the end of their junior years.

During the junior period, we also support colleagues to develop their skills in a specific project area or role if they are more interested in it, so that they can continue to develop in the desired direction with a sense of purpose. We also set individual development plans each year, which are then followed up at appraisals and adapted as required.

There is a well-known, relatively simple, yet transparent and straightforward international classification system to mark the different stages in the career of a consultant. For MINDSPIRE, this can be mapped as follows:

• junior consultant,
• medior consultant,
• senior consultant,
• managing consultant.

The higher levels are basically achieved through the development of professional and methodological knowledge, as well as counselling and management skills, and increasing levels of responsibility.

The Junior program at MINDSPIRE also has a consultative strand, the so-called mentoring program, which offers a lot of development opportunities for both mentors and mentored colleagues. It takes place in a more informal setting, with mentors supporting mentees based on the needs expressed by the latter, through regular meetings.

Professional development is also of paramount importance for MINDSPIRE due to the nature of the core service. Of course, our employees and consultants can also continuously train themselves outside of the junior program, as internal professional, methodological and power skill trainings are available to all our colleagues, which our consultants are happy to take advantage of.

The basis of the program is that a junior colleague is assigned to a larger project, where resource requirements demand it, alongside the senior consultant project leader. It is important that responsibilities and roles are clearly defined for all at the beginning.

Care should also be taken to ensure that the junior colleague is gradually brought to the forefront with clients, at first “only” learning the ins and outs of consultancy and role specific activities while carrying out background tasks. This includes periodic consultations to discuss any issues and clarify any questions.
The aim is that during such a longer period of working together, the junior colleague will develop to a professional level that will enable him or her to carry out as many independent and complex tasks as possible and to be accepted by the client as a fully-fledged consultant in the relevant field. Quality assurance towards the client is very important, the senior consultant is responsible for deliverables, verifying and finalizing the completed materials and acting as project manager.

But the aim is not only to develop the juniors; for me, for example, as an experienced professional, such a joint project can also offer a lot. On the one hand, it keeps me fresh, as my junior colleagues have up-to-date theoretical knowledge due to their university degrees from a few years ago, so in many cases my task is to teach them what can and should be transferred to their everyday work, while I keep my knowledge up-to-date.

The IT knowledge and digitalization approach of our junior colleagues is quite outstanding, so we can always distribute the tasks among each other in a way that the customer gets the best in the end. In the background, for example, when compiling a senior executive’s material, I often finalized the content, and the design was often created by the junior colleague, because he or she was stronger in that. The end result was a professional presentation in every respect, and we could both learn from each other. Of course, for more complex tasks, the senior colleague does most of the work, such as budgeting, assessing business needs, preparing data for migration, or setting milestones. In addition to learning, the junior colleague also has a facilitating role, making the project progress even faster and more efficient. After all, our basic goal is to successfully complete the project we have undertaken, and this focus cannot change.

We also find it important that the framework development meetings should not take place during working hours. With this in mind, we built our mindset-forming conversations into the daily routine by scheduling them either before working hours in the morning or as a closing session after working hours.

The role of feedback and evaluation for junior consultants

Although the method is based on continuous improvement and regular feedback, the internal performance evaluation is carried out jointly by the MINDSPIRE manager and the senior consultant assigned to the project with the junior employee. In this way, in addition to drawing conclusions together for the previous period, the objectives for the next phase are set together. In addition to the annual performance appraisal, feedback to the junior colleagues is an ongoing process, as it is a way to move forward efficiently and quickly. The annual appraisal is more of a milestone, a formalized, periodic stopover that provides a framework and sets the tone for the future.

In both the junior program and the mentor program, we are improving alongside each other on a daily basis and are constantly learning from each other. All this in a way that is continuously beneficial and rewarding not only for us consultants, but also for the client.

Theoretical and professional trainings of the MINDSPIRE Junior program

In addition to practical development, MINDSPIRE Consulting also devotes considerable attention to various theoretical and professional training courses for consultants.

To this end, we organize workshops, share the latest market knowledge and trends at professional events and various presentations, and evaluate market-leading and innovative solutions.

The transfer of best practices is an integral part of our work, taking care that it is never company or project specific. We focus on what can be generally implemented in any business environment.

At our company, this professional approach defines the set of competences and knowledge that make someone a professional consultant.

In addition to the knowledge of the specific field, the acquisition of soft skills related to consulting and business analyst topics are also important elements of the training, our colleagues participating in the junior program also learn the basics of these.

In the junior program, the typical tasks and knowledge types that young consultants must apply and know at a skill level during their work have been defined. We analyze individually how these develop during the completion of the junior program.

Our aim is to be confident and credible, so that we can prevail in a client environment. We are suited to consultancy work if we have a fundamental need for continuous improvement and do not shy away from change but see it as a fundamental basis for development. Young people who recognize these qualities, who feel them and see them as their own, have a good chance of becoming professional consultants.

For me, what is crucial in a job is to be able to work effectively and efficiently while learning and developing. Clients expect consultants, even junior ones, to support their business ambitions and to deliver tasks on time. MINDSPIRE Consulting’s junior program and mentoring, as well as on-the-job development, essentially prepares participants for this.

Dóra Beszterci

Consultant

Dóri has been a member of the MINDSPIRE team for more than four years. Recently she gained significant experience in the fields of international bank integration, bank mergers and branch networks.
Her tasks include supporting the project office, with particular regard to the preparation of senior management and decision-making summaries, efficient task management, and ensuring transparent operation.

Do you have a question about MINDSPIRE Consulting’s Junior Program? Contact us now!

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