Junior consultants called back to office as AI increases need for human skills
AI is making human skills scarce again. Consulting firms are calling junior staff back to the office to build the interpersonal chops that machines can't replicate.
Why it matters
As AI handles analytical and technical work, consulting firms are repositioning junior consultants as relationship-builders and client-facing strategists—a significant shift in how the industry develops talent and values human labor in an AI era.
The key facts
8 to knowJunior consultants being recalled to office specifically due to AI capability shifts
Interpersonal and relationship skills now considered more valuable than technical skills
Executive sentiment: AI is changing the career development pathway in consulting
Implication: remote work policies reversing due to workforce-skill recalibration
Junior consultants recalled to office by major consulting firms
AI credited with increasing strategic value of interpersonal skills in professional services
Shift reflects changing skill mix: routine analytical work increasingly handled by AI
Workplace policy change driven by AI capability in junior-level work (data analysis, research synthesis)
Go to the source
Financial Times Technologyft.com
Publisher excerpt: Artificial intelligence has made interpersonal skills more valuable, executives say