The market isn’t broken, but it is changing shape. Here’s what’s actually happening in the insights and strategy hiring space right now, and what it means if you’re in it.

🔁 Quick Pulse: What We’re Hearing

💬 “We’re not adding headcount, we’re protecting it.”

💬 “I’d move for the right role, but I’m not taking a risk right now.”

💬 “The briefs are still coming in, it’s the sign-offs that are slow.”

🧠 One Big Trend: The rise of the “earn the move” mindset

When uncertainty rises, so does the bar for changing jobs. Candidates aren’t disengaged, but they’re discerning. The roles that are cutting through right now share a few things: clear progression, meaningful briefs, and organisations that can articulate why the work matters beyond a job description.

What this means for hiring teams: Vague EVPs and templated JDs aren’t cutting it. The best candidates have options, even in a quieter market, and they’re choosing employers who can sell the substance of the role, not just the title and salary band. The conversation has to earn their attention.

In a stability-first market, you attract the best by making change feel safe.

🔍 Method Spotlight: Skills-based hiring

With junior pipelines thinning and CVs getting harder to benchmark, more insight teams are experimenting with skills-based hiring, assessing candidates on demonstrated capabilities rather than years of service or agency pedigree.

Several consultancies are quietly dropping degree requirements for insight roles, focusing instead on portfolio evidence and scenario-based interviews. Early signals suggest it’s improving both diversity of hire and retention at the junior level.

👀 Brand to Watch: Korn Ferry

The global talent advisory firm has been quietly expanding its research and insight practice, embedding market intelligence more deeply into its talent strategy work. It’s a sign of where the industry is heading: insight capability as a core component of organisational design, not a downstream research function.

📊 Smart Stat

📉 61% of knowledge workers say job security now outranks salary as their primary reason for staying in a role. (Source: Mercer Global Talent Trends)