What use is a consultant? Here are six ideas

Expertise. It always comes at a price. It may come from those ‘different’ to us. And there’s always the question of “well what do they really know about what works for us?”

All legitimate questions! But even if you hate consultants and think they borrow your watch to tell you the time, what benefits and value might they offer? Is it worth giving consultants a second chance and thinking about them as an investment rather than a cost?

1. Expertise. No one is a master of everything and expertise is important. Whether it’s strategic thinking, modelling, people, process, data, technology or change, expertise alongside you is likely to get you a better end result and more quickly. In some cases it’s essential to challenge pre-conceptions (or question the suppliers who make you nervous). You could learn all this extra stuff but do you have time or the will?
2. Experience. If you haven’t done something before you’re likely to be learning and that takes time and costs money. You probably won’t know the traps or viable shortcuts or best ways of working. One of the joys of consultancy is continually learning and improving so each project is better than the one before. We learn alongside that in domains you don’t have time to, so we can deliver the best value of that experience. The focus gives us experience – different to your own experience – which dovetails with your own knowledge and awareness for a better end result. We also have expert colleagues in related areas.
3. Reassurance. We can help allay and resolve your fears. After all, you might be embarking on your first major strategy review for years or first digital transformation. We’ve been doing them as a day job. You can ask us questions and we can address your fears or concerns. We can spell out the issues at the beginning (sometimes projects need to be killed at birth). We can also support and hold your hand through the challenge. It’s part support, part facilitation, part peer coaching, part critical friend. We won’t (recommend) you do anything stupid.
4. Capacity. Get the job done and get it done more quickly. If you’re struggling to devote a few hours a month to something and not quite getting your head round it then you probably need capacity. You could recruit a staff member but for short term and relatively low cost projects, that’s not cost or time efficient. Sometimes it’s about headspace. Sometimes it’s the meeting with a consultant that offers you ‘permission’ for that headspace.
5. Fresh perspective. Maybe you need a different perspective on the same old things and reduce biases. Consultants will be separate from your culture but as long as they share your values this is a good thing. They can be curious, ask open questions, get to the heart of the matter and offer a fresh view. And you don’t have to agree with it. Above all, you can be honest with your consultant. What happens in the consulting room, stays in the consulting room (unless you ask us to share the report).
6. External conscience and challenge. This can be the hardest but also most valuable. Staff (whether new or old) often feel they need to bow to the boss (or become lethargic to change and give up trying). Even new staff often wait a while to get the lay of the land. Consultants come in, ask questions, test assumptions and share observations ahead of recommendations. We can push because we don’t mind if you fire us. We can tell you if it won’t work. We can tell you that you need to get on with it. That challenge might be important in driving something along at a pace you would like to meet but don’t always feel comfortable with (and often get distracted from).

Consultants can help you solve problems, or implement good ideas or fill a short term gap. We’re not a long term solution but we do move things along. And the ethical ones amongst us (most consultants actually) won’t take your money to do things we don’t think will offer you value.

At Omega Alpha, we see ourselves as caring consultants. We work with empathy (whilst also being prepared to take a critical friend role), focus on outcomes, value and benefits (as well as getting the job done). The bigger picture does matter to us. We listen, understand, inspire then push.

And of course we use ‘consultants’ too – accountants, communications experts, technical wizards and coaches. Experts with experience who provide capacity we don’t have, perspectives beyond our instinctive reaction, reassurance when we struggle and the challenge to ensure we do things right.

It’s not even expensive. Sure, day rates seem expensive, but the cost of recruiting a staff member and paying for their desk and kit, training them, managing them etc can all add up. And that’s before you account for frustrations with internal efficiencies. A good consultant comes in, helps you deliver the result and goes.

Assuming a manager on £40,000 is operating at 70% delivery on outcomes (the other 30% is on internal activity), working a normal full time role with holidays, with normal oncosts and office costs, then their approximate day rate is £360. Definitely cheaper than most consultancy but add in that off the shelf expertise, experience, fresh perspective and conscience and challenge and it’s not such a big jump is it?

Consultants aren’t the right answer for every problem or opportunity but don’t write them off. They can be a worthwhile investment. They can make significant impact in ten, twenty, thirty days. How many new hires can do the same in their first month whilst they’re learning on the job? And when was the last time you had a spare twenty days to get a job done…