The definition of business consulting can be framed as follows: it is a service to which shareholders, business executives and public officials can turn when they need advice in solving various problems and in the implementation of continuous improvement processes and a culture of quality.
The fundamental objective of professional consulting is to provide viable recommendations and implement appropriate measures to increase the competitiveness of companies and make them more profitable.
In the United States of America there are more than 10,000 business consulting firms, in the United Kingdom and in many other European countries, the growth of consulting has been very remarkable in the last 30 years.
In Mexico every day more services are hired from companies that are dedicated to consulting.
In developed countries, large, medium, and even small companies frequently employ the services of professional consultants.
There are countries where small businesses have government subsidized consulting services as part of small business development.
Most entrepreneurs have different problems in the administration and operation of their company, they also know that they need to do something, but they do not know exactly what and how, so it is advisable to approach expert consultants in business advice and business development.
Characteristics of the Consultancy
- Consulting is an independent service, characterized by the expertise and impartiality of the consultant. Consulting is a service that provides professional knowledge and skills to solve practical problems. Consulting does not provide miracle solutions. It would be a mistake to assume that once a consultant has been hired, the difficulties disappear. Consulting is a difficult job based on the analysis of facts and concrete findings and on the search for original and feasible solutions. Consulting must give tangible results, concrete, specific and consistent in terms of time and cost. The company must see the hiring of a good consultancy as an investment and not as an expense in terms of what it will gain from it.The nature of consulting requires that every situation be seen in the perspective of future opportunities. Change is the reason for consulting, changes that improve the performance of companies and at the same time, make the work of the company more interesting and satisfying. The professional consultant must be closely related to the design, dissemination and knowledge of new systems, methods and techniques of management, administration and operation The consultant must act as a promoter of change and ensure maximum participation of the client in everything that He does so that ultimate success is achieved through the efforts of both of them. Your role is to act as an advisor, with responsibility for the quality and integrity of your advice.The cooperation between the client and the consultant are as important to the final result as the quality and consistency of the advice given by the group of consultants.
There are several ways to provide consulting, among which are:
- Solve a specific need or problem.
The hiring of an external service occurs when the employer defines a need or has a specific problem, but does not have the staff or the time to solve it and seeks specialists to help him.
- Diagnostic assistance.
The employer needs assistance in diagnosis, when he detects the symptoms of the disease, but does not know how to diagnose the cause of the problems and hires experts to review the company and discover the areas or processes that limit its proper functioning and receive recommendations to correct deviations or anomalies.
- Implement or improve systems and processes.
Specialists are also hired when you want to implement new systems or processes or improve existing ones. You can correct a situation that has deteriorated, or improve a situation, or create a totally new situation.
- Professional general consulting.
The company requires professional multidisciplinary consulting, when the entrepreneur does not know what kind of help is required but detects that things are not going as planned.
Other reasons why companies require a consultancy are:
- The company's personnel are blind in the workshop due to their involvement in the daily operation, due to their established customs and habits, and they cannot find the true origin of the problem and propose novel and feasible solutions.The company does not have people capable of dealing with certain problem with the same probability of success as a specialist The company requires to Implement processes of continuous improvement, reengineering, certain management techniques and / or use advanced technologies. Develop or correct management, administration, operation, sales and control systems and processes.Adjust organizational structures. Plan the launch of new products. Determine training needs. Solve financial problems. Make the management of resources more efficient. Develop a culture of quality.Propose new development strategies In family businesses, to implement corporate governance and family protocols.
10 Benefits of Hiring Professional Consultants
- Take advantage of the capacity of consultants to solve problems of correction, refinement and creation Receive intensive help on a temporary basis Obtain an impartial and innovative point of view in solving problems Facilitate access and adaptation to new technologies, markets and challenges Use measurement criteria and instruments to determine management styles, typical forms of team operation, corporate philosophy and mission, the degree to which areas are intertwined, and diagnose systems and processes Define weaknesses, strengths and opportunities for the company, the forces of resistance and change inside and outside, the way it operates as a system and the appropriate criteria to achieve its corporate and financial health Establish a program of implementation of solutions and in some cases,Implement suggested recommendations Use experts with special knowledge and skills Lower costs and increase return on investment Implement continuous improvement processes and quality models
To avoid misinterpretation regarding the scope of the consultancy, those responsible for contracting the service and the company that provides the consultancy service must decide the limits of the group of consultants.
It is important that the client and the consultants precisely define the areas, processes and indicators that are intended to be improved, the scope of the intervention and at what stage the consulting company should be withdrawn.
Today, the most competitive companies are necessarily knowledge-intensive companies and permanently train their collaborators at all levels.
Consulting can play a very important role as a trigger for the economic and social development of companies and countries.
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