Management consulting

What are the benefits and challenges of employing a management consultant?

In 2013, Lasse Lund won the performance of the year in the Management Consultancies association's (MCA) awards said about his vision according to his experience on the role of a consultant "I like being in the middle of all different pieces that need to come together, I need to pull in the right people from the right teams, I need to put in place the right processes and I need to get the right technology in place to fix the issue". This quote basically summarizes the place and the function of a consultant in general but it also confirms that one of the main objective of a management consultant is to offer specialized assistance to optimize the organization of a project, a process or the fixing of an issue. It also focuses on the advising aspect of consultancy and the best way to manage and operate business depending on the need of the company.

But what exactly a management consultants do? A management consultants help businesses improve their performance and grow by solving problems and finding new/better ways of doing things. A company employ a management consultant to provide expert advice that should lead to the resolution of an issue in the internal but also external environment of the company. Many firms in the private and also public sector seek the help of consultants to help develop their services, their performance and reduce costs when it is necessary (Alan Leaman, 2013). We can deduce that, in a competitive market, a consultant can make the difference and bring a different point of view and a different experience to a company. From that perspective we can deduce that there can be many advantages in employing a management consultant but also risks that can't be ignore by firms.

So we may wonder what are the benefits and challenges of employing a management consultant?

This essay will first deal with the benefits, meaning the special expertise, the cost savings and the flexibility of employing a management consultants, then the different risks encountered like the limited company knowledge, the dependence and the quality concerns of a consultant for the client and finally study the challenges of employing a management consultant in an efficient way by seeing different points of the MCA (Management Consulting Association) Code of practice but also the importance of understanding and analyse for a consultant and in the end how it is essential to bring a win-win situation for the company and the consultant employed.

It is first important to notice that employing a management consultant can bring a special perspective. Indeed, consultants work with many different companies and have seen many different situation, so they can really provide an original perspective based on what they've worked. This experience can lead to innovative ideas or new challenges and gain access to gain access to specialized skill set that may not exist in the organization (Guideline by Barclay Rae 2014). Moreover, a management consultant will often provide an outsider's perspective to a company which prevent them from becoming limited in their thinking. A consultant can also help to implement processes and set growth strategies. In order to do so, a consultant use a variety of tactics to help firms innovate new product quicker for example and limiting the risks in the process. Consultants that are for example specialized in some areas or in a particular business can invest in systems and data that are maybe not essential or not financially viable for the company. In that vision, consultant can also deliver a wide range of services and can also compensate the lack of resources of a firm. A company is sure aware of its own limitations and their objectives, but a management consultant can give them the proper assets to implement a more efficient strategy that promote growth (Hellen McKewen 2015). Companies rely on the expertise of consultant to get results in a specific timeline in order to enhance their performance. This experience is also useful in the decision- taking process for companies, indeed, the outside perspective and the experience of a consultant can benefit to a company and help them to do the best moves in the interest of the company and its productivity but also to have a better perspective of the external environment and the competition.

Employing a management consultant has also financial benefits and can lead to save money for companies. According to Alan Leaman, chief executive to the management consultancies association, consultants help achieve "enormous cost savings for the clients". A research made by the MCA (Management Consultancies Association) on their members shows that for every 1£ spent on consultancy fees, around 6£ is returned through cost savings (Virgina Matthews, 2015). In addition, it is economically prudent to engage a management consultant when a firm is implementing a new strategy or changes its business methods Employing a consultant is generally less costly than hiring a new employee, it can be a one-time engagement that will help the staff of a company to focus on other matters for the company which saves not only on benefits but also on payroll taxes. We can deduce that a management consultant can bring an advantage and is not necessary a financial liability for a company that can even spend less money on a project by hiring a consultant. It is even more convenient when a company need more manpower on a specific project or a special mission.

This flexibility of consultants represents an important advantage for companies, making it easier to maintain or not the work with a management consultant after a mission. (Joe O'Mahoney and Calvert Markham, 2013) Consultant can be considered as third-party entities sometimes and can even be engaged to do action on behalf of a client like it is the case in the movie "Up in the Air" 2009 with George Clooney where companies employ him to dismiss staff on behalf of the company/client. In the end, a management consultant's work can help to have more information with their specific skills and experience but also bring a different analyse, so a different interpretation of an issue/strategy which can lead to more efficient results and solutions in order to determine the actions to do for a company. Hiring a consultant allows a company to engage major restructuring or controversial project through an external party which is both experienced and have a step back on the situation without damaging heavily the relations within the organization. On other situation, companies can have a project on the run but still have to focus on the daily missions of the company. In those situation, the consultants seem the best option because they have the experience of multiple situations in multiple firm so they can adapt easier to the environment of the company and be more efficient in their work as they are generally highly-skilled employee in their area, and by using consultant for an issue, the company don't have to pull their employee away from their current position or actual work. The rich experience and the specific skills of a consultant makes it easier for him to have this adaptability on the field and in his work. It is as a matter of fact particularly important for companies that need their help for a specific deadline and generally for a short period to quickly understand the objectives and the expectations of the company on the issue and it represents a clear benefit that can even constitute an asset for companies through their collaboration with consultants.

Employing a management consultant not only have benefits, they are also many risk that can occur and a company have to pay attention in order to work with a consultant in the most efficient way and when it is required. It involves in particular the risk of limited company knowledge from the consultant. Indeed, consultant often lack knowledge of all the in-house procedures of companies in general when they are externally hired. This can create some conflicts as their mode of operation may differ depending of the company and the employee and obtaining an understanding of the organization and its functional areas can be really difficult for a consultant (Jack Gordon, 2017). To understand at best this risk, we can take the example of an international corporation that employ consultant in a foreign country, it can be risky and challenging if we take in consideration the difficulties of language but also of cultures leading to extra resources that can be needed to ensure a productive engagement on the issue. Moreover, a company may not have the expertise to check a management consultant's method and if it will provide the quality of work the company expect. This lack of inside knowledge and its practice by consultants when they are employed by a company can be a real liability for an issue or a project, the risk here lies in the waste of time and money for the company involved and a consultant that don't necessarily have all the information on the mission or the company. It is in that case really difficult to do an efficient work and benefit at best from the skills of a consultant and this can even bring some trouble in the collaboration between the firm and the consultant.

We can also notice the possible growing dependency of the consultancy for companies. They can have a tendency of a constant need for expertise after working with a consultant, so a long-term dependency can emerge. Since the consultants are in the business of generating revenue and profit, the work can be done in a way that a dependency is created which will then lead to further work for the consultant. In that perspective, the risk can be consequent for a company first at the