Business consultants are brought in by a company to primarily do these three things.
To Detect Problems.
Whether there’s a decrease in sales, cash-flow issues, or internal management problems, there are issues within a company that need to be fixed. Sometimes it’s difficult to find these problems and it’s better to hire a professional who can assess everything with a different perspective. A business consultant can come in and detect these problems by conducting tests and doing research.
Provide Solutions.
Detecting the problem is only half the battle. A good consultant will sit down with the owner, and provide an efficient course of action in order to fix the problems. The initial cost to hire a consultant may be high, but in the long run it is saving the company a lot of time and money.
Optimization.
Some companies do not even realize how inefficient some of their work practices can be. Or they are aware of it, but they don’ t know how to fix it. Hiring a consultant can help provide the company with a fresh outlook on new ideas, evaluate the business as a whole, and determine the best approach towards increasing productivity levels.
General Duties Of A Business Consultant
- Consulting, advising, and creating programs to fill the gaps between actual situations and desired ones
- Developing management and supervisory skills
- Assessing the actual situation
- Improving work performance and organizational communication
- Increasing employee motivation and morale
- Defining the company’s mission, goals and objectives
- Achieving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty
- Coaching, guiding and training employees
- Raising the company’s customer base and market segment
The Consulting Process.
There are generally three steps that a business consultant goes through with a company during his or her tenure.
They are :
- Pre-consulting – Before any work actually gets done, it’s mandatory that the owner and consultant set out the terms, parameters, and agree on a “consulting agreement”.
- Consulting period – This is when the consultant really gets to work. There are 3 stages involved during this period; discovery, research, and a recommendation presentation.
- Post-consulting – Both parties may choose to extend the agreement, or move towards implementation on their own.
What Do We Do Exactly?
The first step for any business consultant is to learn their client’s business, which is also called the discovery stage. It’s important that he or she takes the time to learn as much as possible from the owner and employees. This involves meeting with the board of directors, employees, touring the office, reviewing finances, and analyzing other work material. This is the stage when the consultant will reveal any details of a company’s mission and what operations are taking place.
Once an understanding has been developed, we will need to identify where change is needed. This means identifying the company’s strengths and weaknesses, and any foreseeable problems. It’s our job is also to provide any opportunities to grow business, increase profits and boost worker productivity.
Identifying these problems and solutions is just one of the many tasks that are assigned to us as a business consultant. The next stage is the research stage. This is when we will provide solutions to problems and plans on capitalizing on opportunities when they are available. For example, say a certain company has a strong marketing department but a weak sales department. This is also when we can step in and request that the company increases sales resources and capitalize on the marketing staff. When these changes occur, it’s important that we and the company’s employees communicate openly to avoid any problems.
The owner of a business must take the advice of the consultant as constructive criticism, and not as criticism to how the owner has been doing so far. Since the owner of the business is tied to the company closely and on a personal level, having a fresh “out of the box” viewpoint from us can be extremely helpful. Alternatively, the owner should also have feedback and opinions for us in regards to revision plans and such.
Once both of us are able to come to an agreement on a course of action, it’s time to implement the plan. We will build on company assets while eliminating any liabilities affecting progress. This last stage, also referred to as the recommendation presentation, is when everything is laid out on the table and the changes start to be implemented.