McKinsey amps up pressure on staff to perform as the consulting business slows

• McKinsey sent memos to some staff that the clock is ticking for a promotion, Bloomberg reported.
• The memos follow a recent spate of poor performance reviews the firm handed out to staffers.
• The consulting business is rough right now as business dries up.

Consultants at top firms are feeling the heat to prove their worth — or suffer the consequences.

Management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. has sent some senior staffers in North America memos warning them that the clock is ticking on getting a promotion, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The memos were sent to engagement managers and associate partners — who typically have eight or more years of experience in the field, according to McKinsey's own job postings — to remind them that it takes an average of two and half years to be promoted in these roles, Bloomberg reported.

The underlying message: Move up or out.

While McKinsey reported record revenue last year — in part from generative AI — demand for consulting services has slowed across the industry in recent months.

Several big firms are under pressure to tighten their belts as a result. Accenture, the professional services firm, cut its projected revenue growth for this year and said consulting revenue for the second fiscal quarter fell by about 3% compared to last year. Consulting firm Deloitte embarked on a massive overhaul of its global operations to cut costs.

Some of the McKinsey employees who received the memos also received payout offers if they decided to leave ahead of their performance review, Bloomberg reported.

The pressure on performance at McKinsey has been especially high recently. The firm hit some 3,000 staffers with poor performance ratings internally known as "concerns." When an employee receives this rating, they usually have about three months to improve their performance, or they'll be "counseled to leave" the firm.

"We have always maintained a high bar for performance and for attracting and developing exceptional people," a spokesperson for McKinsey told Business Insider by email. "We routinely refine our approach to development and performance to ensure we continue to meet these goals, and we continue to recruit and hire robustly."

The spokesperson also noted that people come to McKinsey to "learn and develop at an accelerated pace."