Consultants can bad a negative reputation - charging millions for 3 months work that results in a bunch of PowerPoint slides, most of which are archived into a dusty digital closet soon after McKinsey or Bain leaves the premises.
Below, Ill paint a more optimistic (and personally held) view on the key reasons why companies need business consultants. Youll have a better understanding of management consulting as a future career.
1) Staff augmentation - self-explanatory. Companies often have short-term staffing needs (in the case of government work, this can extend for a long time) due to a variety of factors (eg, employee downsizings, sudden expansion). While expensive, its common for operational consultancies (eg, Deloitte and Accenture) and, to a lesser extent, for public-sector consultancies (eg, Booz Allen)
2) External change force aka political cover. It can be hard for companies to do whats right " especially when it comes to job layoffs, salary and benefit changes, large strategic shifts. Hiring business consultants can help reach accomplish critical goals with sufficient political cover in case key parties protest (eg, an upset Board or angry employees) or things go astray (Despite the significant associated costs, we implemented Bains recommendations to the letter " Im unsure what we could have done better)
3) Best practices across industries and functions - consultants have the helpful experience of:
a) Serving a multitude of clients in the same industry (eg, Transportation, Energy) b) Serving a multitude of clients facing similar problems across different industries (eg, Middle East expansion, Northeast Asia outsourcing)
This allows them a sort of pattern recognition for effective solutions, applying lessons learned in applicable situations.
4) Analytical horsepower
Similar to staff augmentation, companies often need help executing strategies where their capabilities and knowledge are lacking. Consultants can be of great value given their training and resources - another reason why consulting jobs are so hard to come by.
5) Fresh perspectives
Companies often need an external perspective - youd be impressed by the amount of value consultants can add based on seemingly obvious observations. Critics contend that this is an example of consultants selling glorified common sense, but for front-line workers, it can be easy to fall into daily routines and overlook mistakes and inefficiencies.
6) Employee training and buy-in
Every consulting project - particularly the ones with heavy client interaction - incorporates employee training as a central component. The best recommendations are worthless if clients cant implement and maintain suggested changes after consulting teams leave. Thus, a central part of what business consultants do is teach client employees the necessary skills, knowledge, and mindsets.