Why Hire A Consultant

Note: The content that will be presented on this blog over the course of the next few days was drawn directly from an article written and posted to the Resources section of the TVCNet website titled “Why Hire a Consultant?”. This is the first of three. Feel free to download the entire article from the TVCNet website or sit back, relax and enjoy the posts to come. One thing I hope to accomplish by reproducing portions of the article here on this blog is to spur discussion of our profession and draw what I feel is needed attention to it here in the Treasure Valley.

It would seem most of today’s business problems could be easily solved with the armies of MBA’s employed in our nation’s organizations. Just call a meeting or two, put your heads together and brainstorm a solution! Unfortunately, coming up with solutions to unique business problems are not always so easy. Sometimes, people are tied too closely to the problem and are unable to see the big picture or different perspectives. This is where a consultant can help.

What Are Consultants?
Consultants are individuals with specialized knowledge and skills on various subject matter who work with multiple clients, usually on a contract or per diem basis. Consultants are typically self-employed. Some consultants pool their resources and collective knowledge to form partnerships or firms to target and serve specific industries. Ultimately they help clients address unique or specific business problems based on past work experience or research.

What Do Consultants Do?
Consultants often work with individuals or groups of people inside organizations and analyze how their own specialized knowledge and expertise will help meet specific organizational needs usually resulting in enhanced productivity, increased overall performance, or lowered costs. Efforts are usually focused internally to help the organization but sometimes externally to help the organization better serve their clients Consultants offer a wide range of services and address a wide range of needs. They are far too numerous to list here. Rest assured that if there’s a problem, somewhere, someplace there is probably a consultant willing to help and lend their knowledge and expertise.