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Why Use A Consultant?
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Views from the Cubicle
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In his book, "The Dilbert
Principle," Scott Adams provides a view of consultants as seen from
the office cubicle:
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"Consultants
have credibility because they are not dumb enough to be regular
employees of your company."
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"Consultants
eventually leave, which makes them scapegoats for major management
blunders."
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"Consultants
can schedule time on the boss's calendar because they don't have your
reputation as a whiney little troublemaker who constantly brings up
unsolvable issues."
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"Consultants
will return your boss's calls because it's all billable time."
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"Consultants
work preposterously long hours, thus making the regular employees feel
like worthless toads for working only 60 hours a week."
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And
finally, "Consultants will rarely deal with the root cause of
your company's problems, since it's probably the person that hired
them."
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Benefits
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Even though consultants cannot be expected to be
as familiar
with the organization as the managers, and are generally more expensive for
each day of service than most employees, consultants provide
at least four valuable benefits:
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An independent viewpoint.
Precisely because a consultant is not a member of the organization, he
or she brings objectivity and detachment to the problems faced by the
organization. Because the consultant is not involved in the internal
politics of the informal organization or cliques, the views and
opinions of the consultant can be accepted as unbiased.
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Special qualifications.
An experienced consultant possesses special knowledge, skills and a
variety of personal attributes. Although success cannot be
guaranteed for every engagement, the consultant with the most suitable
qualifications should have the greatest probability of providing a
satisfactory resolution.
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Temporary professional
services. Organizations sometimes find themselves short of
critical expertise in a given area. Engaging a consultant will
probably be less expensive in the long run than hiring new managers or
employees.
Change Management.
Growing businesses must undergo periodic organizational changes to
effectively manage a growing staff. Consultants such as SBDA can
conduct an organizational assessment, recommend changes to the
organizational structure, make recommendations to the internal
processes to maximize productivity, and help you implement the
changes.
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Roles of Consultants
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Consultants can take on several
other roles in an engagement:
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Professional
advisor and counselor. A consultant is a subject matter
expert with an established body of knowledge and code of ethics.
Management advisory and counseling services can assist the owner and top
management in the administration of the organization.
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Qualified
resource. A management consultant is a resource that owners
and management can draw on as needed.
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Change
client. A consultant is a catalyst for change. In the
process of solving problems, the consultant must consider every means
of effecting a proper solution. The solution may involve change within
the organization. Unless the changes are understood by management and
the affected employees, the recommendations of a consultant are of
little value.
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Does your company need help?
Check out our Business Help
Desk. |
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