The business-consulting relationship is a (sometimes misunderstood) love-hate relationship. Consulting, on the one hand, is a theoretically very interesting service but underused by companies. On the other hand there are many cases of unsatisfied companies…. In this article we try to guide an organization in the most objective way possible through the assessment process of a consultancy.
Why do companies need consulting?
Consulting is a high added value service that consists of helping your clients improve their results.
Perhaps the advantages of consulting can be summarized in four points:
1. Have experts in one area (or several): A consultancy has a series of professional experts in certain areas with proven knowledge and experience.
2. Objectivity and clarity since they provide an external vision to the company. Many times being part of the situation (or the problem) makes reality not clear enough. Just having an external vision makes a consultant add value.
3. To be able to face important changes in a short period of time. Because consultant teams can be trained with significant resources and their ability to manage change, they can tackle large projects in a limited period of time.
4. Change management skills. Consultants must have skills to manage organizational change. However, it is common that within an organization, the people of the organization do not have this competence because it is not usual to change the day to day of an organization.
5. Global vision: having participated in various sectors and organizations provides a global vision of best practices.
What do we have to rely on to value consulting services?
It is common for all of us, when we value something for the first time, not to have enough knowledge of the different parameters to do it correctly. The first time we buy a car we do not buy it completely: some forgot to look at the trunk, others looked at the rear seats, others the consumption… but whenever you buy a complex product / service for the first time, it is complex.
Therefore, in this article we try to give you a guide to assess your potential "partners" in a consulting project.
When evaluating the services of different consultancies for a project, in the evaluation process it seems that all the offers are similar and also, on many occasions, have very different fees. This is due to the fact that in the market there are consultancies with very different profiles and also on many occasions «pears with apples» are compared, that is, offers with different scopes are compared.
To clarify the situation, the elements that we advise you to evaluate are:
1. Team. The team of a consultancy is the key element for the success of the projects. Machines are not sold in consulting, it is a people business. It is common to find cases in which the brand or the "image" is basically valued, but make no mistake… the key parameter for the development of a project is the team. Therefore, knowing exactly the quality of the equipment is a key element. For this, deepening and knowing which people are going to be assigned to the project is a very interesting practice.
2. Commitment. Currently, a consultancy must be a "partner" of your organization to achieve project success and not just another supplier. Therefore, the members of the consultancy must have a total commitment to the development and success of the project, having - even - a part of their fees linked to the success of the project.
3. In-depth knowledge of the problem in question and success stories in similar projects. Obviously -and as previously mentioned- one of the most important values that a consultancy provides is knowledge, so checking the real knowledge of the team that is going to be assigned to the project is good practice.
4. The scope of the project. It is usual for two projects in which different scopes are being compared to be compared, that is, require the consultancy to specify exactly what the scope of the project is and what activities and functions it will undertake and which it will not.
5. Methodology. A consulting company must have a solid and proven methodology since it is the only way to succeed in the project, both in generating value for the client and in terms of time. It is also interesting that you ask the consultancy for the methodology to see its degree of development and quality.
Other elements that are often " overvalued " are:
1. The brand. The success of the project has nothing to do with the brand. The success of the project will be achieved by the work team (their commitment, their knowledge and experience) and the methodology. Being a very big firm, being expensive, etc. they are not - at all - guarantees of success in a consulting project.
2. The price. This parameter is often overrated. Keep in mind that in consulting, projects must achieve projects that radically improve business results, so in this case, the price of services is not significant for the results it provides. Therefore, it is best that before entering the project, the profitability of the project is analyzed, that is, what results will it achieve and what resources (human and financial) should be allocated.
Why do many companies find it difficult to buy consulting?
The answer is simple. On many occasions, companies understand that consulting is expensive for the results it provides.
When the market was not mature, there have been many cases of "client exploitation" making the market a little "burned out" of hiring consultants with big words but with very few results.
Therefore, what you should demand of your consulting firm is:
1. Results. You must obtain tangible results from the consulting actions carried out. Do not get carried away by intangible results that are difficult to assess. A job well done has clear associated results.
2. Commitment. You should see the consulting company as a "partner" that commits to you to achieve the aforementioned results, even having part of the fees linked to the results of the project.
3. A team with guarantees and assigned to your project.
4. A proven methodology
Where is the world of consulting going?
In order to add value to the client, it is clear that the world of consulting is moving towards a total convergence between the business of consulting and that of New Information Technologies (ERP, CRM, SCM, BI…).
The New Information Technologies can contribute to improve the results of the companies in a radical way but for this it is necessary to have a vision both from the business point of view (strategy, processes and people) and technology, in order to assess what Technological tools can help us achieve the desired business results.
Only consultancies that can offer a comprehensive service in both areas - in a real way - will be able to provide sufficient value to their clients.
In conclusion of this article, evaluate in depth the possibilities offered to you in each case and invest time in the process of evaluating and choosing a consultancy, since you must be a "partner" that will bring you radical improvements in the results of your organization.
