Posted: Aug. 9, 2017, 11:02 a.m.
Choosing a Management Consultant: Part 1 of 5
This post is the first in a series of five that explores the steps in hiring a management consultant.
Why do companies hire management and organizational consultants? We guarantee a good number of individuals reading this are probably asking themselves that very question. So often companies, executives, supervisors and employees bring in outside "help" without fully realizing the reasons that help is there—as well as the implications.
In the U.S. alone, management and organizational consulting has grown to a $160 billion industry that boasts more than 600,000 management consultants. That said, it's no surprise that most companies out there have either worked with a management consultant, though far too many have received results that didn't quite make the desired impact (if they received results at all). On top of that, the truth is that consultants of all kinds can be expensive or lacking in the certification and experience capable of making the organizational difference you're after.
Case in point: In the last week alone, I've met six people who call themselves consultants, but they have little in common when it comes to how they ended up in their present day consulting positions:
One specializes in IT support.
One received his MBA from an online for-profit university just last year.
One has been a high-level executive coach for 30 years after getting his doctorate in education.
One has her Ph.D. in organizational behavior from a prestigious research university.
One has 20 years of experience with self-directed work teams and recently struck out on his own.
The skill sets of these people are incredibly varied, and to be honest, the ability of some of them to offer measurable benefit to your company might be questionable or not scalable—but that won't stop them from trying on your dime.
As you can see, when it comes to bringing in a management consultant to change your company's culture or processes, it can be overwhelming to choose from the many consulting choices available. You might not even be sure where to begin! That's why this blog post series will explore the steps you should take when hiring the perfect consultant for your organizational needs. Over the next several weeks we'll cover the following topics:
- How do you know when you need a management consultant?
- What kind of management consultant do you need?
- How do you decide which management consultant to hire?
- What should you expect from the process?
Stay tuned for post two in our five-part series.
— Eric