Management consultants work with organisations to provide expert advice to help solve problems, improve efficiency and stimulate growth – just a few of the benefits of consulting.
Many organisations struggle with change or are unsure how to transform their operations to better scale or respond to customer and market trends. Issues such as a lack of knowledge and structure can restrict an organisation’s ability to deliver projects and ultimately restrict its growth.
This is where the right consultant can help.
Ten benefits of consulting and using a management consultant
Management consultants offer organisations many benefits – and the true cost-benefit of engaging a management consultant could be far greater than you’d think.
1. Otherwise unavailable expertise
A primary reason to hire a management consultant is the level of expertise they bring to your organisation.
Management consultants typically specialise in a particular field, meaning they are highly skilled, knowledgeable and experienced. At Portevo, we extensively profile every consultant who joins our marketplace to ensure they are of the highest standard to deliver success.
A consultant’s expertise means they quickly understand the issues a company may face and the best ways to overcome them.
Hiring a consultant fills a gap in your business’s skills, enabling your company to tackle specific problems more efficiently. Having worked with various clients, consultants often have more expert knowledge about a particular field than in-house employees.
Discover more about how to find an expert consultant.
2. Outsider perspective
One of the benefits of consulting is the ability to tap into an outsider’s perspective.
It can be difficult to see the complete picture of a strategic business challenge. Offering a fresh viewpoint, consultants can quickly identify barriers preventing your business from running efficiently or provide competitor insights that in-house teams might not consider.
Offering an objective view of your organisation, consultants provide transparent, actionable insights and feedback that might be lacking from internal employees. Consultants are not emotionally invested in the day-to-day operations of your business; they are not influenced by internal politics or the manoeuvring of talent.
An outside perspective can provide your organisation with clarity during times of complex decision-making.
3. You can save money
Hiring a management consultant is a cost-effective way of improving your business.
The alternative can mean hiring new, full-time employees or contractors to tackle a task – a costly investment and often inefficient by comparison. Unlike consultants, new employees might not possess the needed skills or experience to manage the challenge, leading to poor productivity and poor outcomes.
Hiring a management consultant is a short-term investment that supports long-term returns. Many consultants are adept at identifying process and operational inefficiencies, reducing wasted resources and time, and improving the bottom line.
4. You can save time
Consultants can save valuable time.
Managers can lose valuable time trying to overcome issues outside their expertise. By hiring a management consultant, internal employees can focus on tasks within their expertise.
Running a business is time-consuming. Hiring a consultant can reduce your company’s workload, saving time and reducing employee stress.
They can also make time-critical decisions. Without the burden of internal baggage that can lead to indecision, consultants can work with an organisation’s leadership to make timely, effective decisions.
5. Bespoke support
As no two organisations are identical, neither should be the approach to addressing a problem or opportunity.
Effective consultants do not provide one-size-fits-all advice. They analyse each organisation they work with, providing tailored solutions rather than reaching for off-the-shelf answers.
Consultants conduct research and collect data to fully understand your organisation, then form customisable solutions that best match your goals.
6. Deliver transformation
Hiring a management consultant can bring about change within an organisation and this is one of the key benefits of consulting.
Sometimes companies lack the structure and skillsets needed to deliver projects. Implementation can be challenging, with many in-house strategies left stagnant and unable to implement and bring people and teams through any change.
Implementing change involves a mix of culture, change management, stakeholder engagement and the tools to drive and deliver results.
7. Implementation of best practice
It can be hard to know what ‘good’ looks like when it comes to organisational change.
Many consultants can tap into extensive experience gained with different clients and across various scenarios. They’ll often be versed in industry best practices and innovative approaches.
8. Quick wins, long-term impact
Hiring a management consultant can be a short-term solution that has a long-term impact.
Your organisation might need to solve a problem but lacks the skills required or staff power. It is often quicker to hire a consultant and quickly ramp up capability. This is especially true when time is of the essence. Regulatory changes, shifting consumer demands, turbulent economic landscapes or insurgent innovations mean that many companies can’t afford to sit on their hands while a competitor steals the market.
A management consultant can think, analyse and act fast, honing the edge of a business to pivot quickly in the face of opportunity and challenge.
9. Employee upskilling
An overlooked benefit of adding a management consultant to the team is their impact on corporate knowledge and staff experience.
Consultants are experts, providing employees with the perfect opportunity to learn from their experience and skills. By helping a business solve problems, management consultants naturally pass on expert knowledge to business talent, assisting the development of internal teams.
10. Cross-industry insight
Having worked with multiple companies within a specific industry, consultants have deep, interpretive insights into current trends and strategies. Leading-edge insights can enable your company to develop up-to-the-moment business plans, identify emerging opportunities and threats, or tap into innovations that can boost productivity or open up new markets.
Not all industries have the same rate of innovation and change, meaning a consultant can often bring out-of-sector experience and best practice to challenge and inform your organisation.
Realise the benefits of consulting for your organisation and find an expert consultant for your strategic needs.
