Different Consultants are used for different situations and they can be put into two main categories: the EXPERT consultant and the PROCESS consultant.
An Expert Consultant will have specific expertise in a certain field of business. This may include:
- Financial Planning
- Strategic Planning
- Marketing
- Research
- Training
| - Business Planning
- Business Review
- Computing
- Integration of New Technology
- Advisory, etc
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Their knowledge will be specific to the task in concern and they will usually do the job without your input. They will be employed until the task has been completed and are usually consulted to solve short term problems. For example, it may be the set up of a computerized stock control, or completing parts of your marketing plan that you have little knowledge about.
A Process Consultant will have a general business knowledge and so they can be used in most cases. They will offer and share their advice to all those in the business and will also get involved in solving the issue. Process Consultants can be employed as an ongoing long term solution to a task and so they are particularly useful for developing and changing your business.
Their service will also give an independent view of your business which will provide a different prospective of how issues can be solved. Also, with their experience of working with other businesses, they will be able to relate your issues to those they may have already encountered.
Using Process Consultants
When you decide to make changes, you should involve everyone in the business (including staff in most cases) to identify issues that may not be recognized by others. This is particularly important during decision making where people will have different ideas.
The Process consultant will work alongside yourself and view the business as a whole instead of targeting certain issues too specifically. Your employees should also be given the time to work with the consultant so they can put forward their ideas which can be analyzed and discussed. This is all part of the process that will solve problems to their maximum effect. During this time, your employees will benefit from new ways of approaching problems which will increase the power of your work-force for future problem solving.
It needs to be made clear that process consultants aren't there to take the role and responsibility away from you, they are used to help you with your problems by offering their solutions and advice.
Where to Look For a Consultant
Professional Services such as Accountants, Solicitors and Lawyers will have their own recommendations of the best consultants to use.
Telephone Directories will provide listings of Consultants although there is the disadvantage of not knowing their quality and reputation.
Other Businesses will have contacts or references of consultants from word of mouth or even through their experience of using one.
Universities & Colleges can sometimes provide a consultant from their own teaching staff who may have previously been in business themselves.
Choosing the Right Consultant
Every business will require a consultant that best fits their situation so you must search for the right one otherwise you may be given the wrong advice. If it is an Expert consultant that you are needing, make sure you know the exact type of expertise that you require: computing, marketing, manufacturing, etc. In order to find the best consultant for your need, you should prepare a brief:
Firstly, you should give an outline of your business: what it does, brief history and the organizational structure.
Provide details of the issues or problems concerned and why you have come to the decision that you need the help of a consultant.
State what you expect the consultant to achieve and how long you believe it will take for the issue to be sorted.
Give an estimated start and finish date that you intend to use the consultant.
Specify who the consultant will be working with.
You shouldn't just go to one consultant, contact a few (say, three or four) and determine which one fits best to your need. If you are restricted by cost, then you may ask what they can do for you with the amount of money that you can afford.
During the time that you talk to the consultants, it is wise to find out additional information about themselves to help you with choosing the right one. You could ask them about work that they have previously done that is relevant to your issues or similar businesses that they have co-operated with. Further ask them about the knowledge and skills that they have to offer that will be useful to deal with the issue.
Ask them how they would go about solving the issue (even though it may change when they have finer details) and who they will involve. Let them give an outline of the time they expect each stage to be completed and what costs might be included. They may not give an accurate answer but you will find out how quickly they are at thinking and reacting to situations.
The following factors will also give you some idea of what you should consider when choosing a consultant:
