This is the first in a three-part series about hiring consultants that originally appeared on our LinkedIn page.
There are all kinds of reasons you might want to hire one, and many questions to think about. This series is meant to help guide you on whether and when to consider hiring a consultant, and how to make the most of your consulting engagements.
Maybe you’re unsure why you would hire a consultant, or how working with consultants can benefit your business? We’ve put together a list of some of the most common reasons people hire consultants, though it is by no means exhaustive, as there are truly too many reasons to count.
Get Specialized Expertise
Major initiatives require specialized knowledge or expertise your team may not have. Strategy development or specialization in a platform such as Salesforce or SAP are common examples. But expertise with specific partners (e.g. Microsoft, Google or Trade Desk), with topics (e.g. privacy, online safety or artificial intelligence), and with methodologies (e.g. Six Sigma, Agile or Lean) are also logical places to engage a consultant.
Sure, your team can take the time to learn these specialities, and having the expertise in-house might make sense. But hiring the right consultant can help you get the job done sooner, and done right the first time.
An Objective Perspective
Unbiased insights is another huge benefit of hiring a consultant. Not only do you get a fresh, expert set of eyes, but the consultant can help navigate potential solutions, while avoiding pre-existing biases and internal politics in your organization.
Do More While Staying Focused
Every company has more projects they wish they could prioritize. Consultants can add additional areas of focus -normally with a high degree of specialization- to help develop new strategies and ideas, research new markets, or even take on whole segments of work. Having a consultant pick up some of these extra projects lets your internal teams stay focused on what they do best.
Save Money
Both projects and consultants are temporary and highly focused in nature, so it makes sense that they often go together. You benefit from focused, specialized expertise, without the long term commitment of a full time hire. And even if you decide that you need additional full time support, there’s a good chance your “day to day” resource needs will be very different from the resources you needed to get a project launched. In this way, you save money by rightsizing your resources at every step.
Implement Change
Resistance is a normal human response to change, so consultants are often brought in to help implement changes like restructuring, deploying new technology or launching new business strategies.
Trusted Advisors
Every leader from little league coaches to the President has a circle of trusted advisors. When it comes to executives, consultants are often part of that circle for all the reasons we’ve covered here. Increasingly, consultants are also being used to help train or coach teams or specific leaders. This gives your team immediate access to the deep well of knowledge the consultant offers, and a long term benefit from upskilling your team for where the business is headed.
Benefit From A Decades-in-the-Making Network
Consultants tend to have worked with a lot of people, often in many different organizations, making their network deep and vast. Working with consultants can help you and your business gain meaningful benefit from this network.
If any of these scenarios sound familiar, or if you’re unsure whether working with a consultant is right for you, please reach out. We’re happy to answer any questions you have and help get you started on your way to accelerating your business with the help of consultants.
