What Does a Business Consultant Do Exactly?
If you’ve heard of business consultants, but don’t quite understand what it is that they do, don’t worry - you are most definitely not alone! Business consultancy is quite an extensive area, and it’s a lot easier to show businesses what they do, rather than tell.
Having said that, we’re going to do our best to cover the basics of business consultancy, giving you a little more insight into how a consultant could help you.
What is a Business Consultant?
Ultimately, a business consultant is a professional advisor that finds effective solutions… sometimes to problems that you don’t even know you’re having! They focus on finding opportunities across multiple areas of the business to help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be. The core job of a business consultant is to look at where you are now, consider where you need to be to meet your goals, and work with you to identify the most effective and efficient pathways to transport your organisation from A to B.
What Does a Business Consultant Do?
While business consultancy is always tailored to the individual needs of each organisation, every (good) business consultant will start off in the same way: with in-depth analysis and research into existing business processes and protocols. Once a consultant fully understands how you operate, how results are attributed to specific operations, and how processes align with organisational goals, they will use their extensive experience to identify opportunities for improvement and development.
Overall, a business consultant focuses on three distinct aspects: advice, guidance, and training. However, most will also have a niche area that they’re particularly interested in, often falling under the category of strategy, human resources, operations, risk & compliance, or finance, so it’s definitely worth thinking carefully about what you want from a business consultant before hiring. Consider working with a consultant skilled in all areas of business operations if you’re looking for comprehensive, all-round support.
Areas of Expertise
Regardless of why you’re bringing in a business consultant - for marketing, financial planning, recruitment, or anything else - your advisor will typically offer support in a number of different ways as they help you to grow and develop. This includes:
Leadership - A good business consultant is committed to leading businesses to success and sharing knowledge to help managers lead their teams effectively.
Teamwork - Consultants understand how teams must operate together - not in silos - to deliver, and will work to create seamless integrations across departments
Problem-solving - A big part of the business consultant’s role is to identify potential sticking points, and create solutions before issues arise and escalate.
Analysis - Every good business consultant possesses strong analytical skills, allowing them to take a data-driven approach to growth and development.
Change - Business consultants are change implementers and managers. Their role is to adapt your processes to ensure they’re generating even more value.
What Does a Business Consultant NOT do?
A business consultant’s job is to support planning, implementation, and education… not to take over these areas entirely. And so, while a business consultant will offer advice, draw upon their own experiences to assess risk levels and the likelihood of success of different strategies, and point you in the right direction, their job is not to make or implement changes without your involvement or consent. This is your business, and it will remain your business even when you work with a consultant. We’re not here to do your job for you… we’re here to help you do your job in the most efficient, effective way.
If you’d like to talk to us and discuss the impact we can make on your business, contact us to arrange a free consultation.
