When to Hire a Consultant?

Any business that isn’t showing profitable results is a burden to its owner, such situations could usually be evident through frequent ups and downs. For instance, a company facing major loses on its new business project. The Chief executive officer of the company called all its middle management to come up with a solution. They joined heads together and come up with a unanimous idea to reduce wastage in the company. However, the suggestions weren’t satisfactory and could not be implemented. The organisation previously attempted to come up with a solution to control the business expenses but failed to find one now. So, in a deadlock like this, what can an organisation do?

Hiring a consultant is the best solution! But wait won’t that be expensive? Would they really have a solution to our problem?

Before finding an excellent consultant firm and selecting them first you need to identify, three main attributes.

1. Credentials
2. Credibility and
3. Great leadership quality

If these characteristics are believed to have been found in a consultant, then there is no problem to trust their capabilities. Do you know Uber? A ride hailing company has acquired Careem in a deal worth 3.1 Billion in cash and stock transaction. By this big plan Careem is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber, working independently with their own brand and name. With such an important decision like this, Careem hired a consultant that go through the evaluation process of Uber’s position in middle Easten countries and also observed an opportunity for Careem to gain momentum with exceptional outcomes such as riders, drivers and cities in the fast-moving parts of the world. 

By hiring a consultant any business or big entity would easily be able to resolve their issues or losses and also take important decisions like Careem and convert it into a profitable investment or opportunity.  The companionship of a consultant can be a healthy decision, though an expensive one but it may help the company overcome the issue with proper decision making, evaluating business records, accountability measures and past performance and enable them to gain quicker results, which in turn will save them 50 times more money in the longer run.

They help set the direction right, so that in the long term we don’t’ end up far away from our destination from just a small error in our direction. Take an example of a car, if it is tilted just 10 degrees right, you will end up quite far away from your destination if it was on the straight path.

So, the question is, when and under what circumstances should you hire a consultant;

• A tax consultant may help with issues relating to tax return submission, tax planning and legal cases relating to tax. Tax consultants are hired for tax planning at the start of the transaction or year, for whichever the tax planning is required. They are also hired on retainership basis to advice on the fluctuations of tax rates and other criteria to allow the company to reap benefits from any tax exemptions or rebates presented by the government for a certain period of time. Having a tax consultant on retainership also help the companies to take advice from them on various transactions without going in the need for formal advice process.
• To trade off the employees with a consultancy firm will allow the company to have expert quality work in almost the same amount. Many businesses do hire consultants for decision making and advisory services instead of employing a highly paid permanent senior management staff. This helps to reduce the cost of paying the employees and giving benefits.
• Companies can also hire consultant for special projects. As the company expands its horizon in further development projects, innovation or adding a product line particularly relating to its growth phase, the need for an experienced task force is required.

For example, an organisation has added a new form of digital marketing to make management processes traceable, transparent and calculable. An experienced digital marketing consultant may help organisation to understand the software and, gain knowledge to how to incorporate the system effectively.

• A consultant might also help in managing operational costs, processes and controls implementation effectively. For instance, a supply chain management system is inevitable, the flow of chain is having a gap or a missing loop to fill the space. The consultant will observe all the operations outside and inside the business, think in a 360-degree view, map out existing processes, improve efficiency, decrease the cost implied and increase the profit flow and provide the entity with a tailored solution.

Therefore, hiring a consultant is like reaching out for a helping hand to enrich an organisational with effectiveness and efficiency in implementing change to grasp newer opportunity and facilitate learning. It has been said, “A good consultant teaches the clients how to fish instead of feeding them fish per day.” But it is to be remembered to be a boss who is acceptable in hearing the truth about his company’s situation and to be open to new and innovative ways recommended by the consultant for a better and profitable business in the future.