When to Hire or Not Hire a Consultant [electronic resource] : Getting Your Money's Worth from Consulting Relationships  /
Orr, Linda M.author.
Orr, Dave J.author.
When to Hire—or Not Hire—a Consultant:Getting Your Money's Worth from Consulting Relationships is a hands-on, practical guide for anyone thinking about hiring a consultant to set strategy, solve problems, increase profits or revenue, develop new products, open new markets, or improve efficiency. Consulting is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States. According to the U.S. government, there were 719,000 consultants in the U.S. in 2010, and you can expect an additional 274,000 by 2020. Cloaked in “expert” status, consultants might seem to be the answer to many business problems. You call someone in to solve a particular problem or develop new markets, then send them away once the job is done—while reaping the benefits of their expertise. Consultants sometimes do work miracles, but once in a while they wreck a healthy business. And far too often, the benefits gained by calling in consultants disappear far too soon after they leave. Yet as return on investment (ROI) and accountability for results become bigger and bigger issues, business professionals in search of answers to performance or strategy challenges are turning more and more to outside guidance for help. Indeed, few businesses do not use some kind of consultant at some point in their existence. But how can you leverage the skills consultants can bring to the table without adding undue risk to your operations? How can you effectively manage the consultant relationship to get the greatest benefit for the least cost? What metrics can support your decision to hire—or not hire—a consultant? When should you use home-grown talent to solve problems instead? That’s what this book is all about. While there are a multitude of books on how to be a consultant, this is the first to help an executive determine when to hire one. You will learn strategies to decide when a consultant is needed and how to support that decision with hard evidence, how to select the right consultant, how to set clear expectations, and how to know when a consultant is either a valuable resource or a hindrance to the company’s success. The authors of this book bring together two opposing perspectives. Linda Orr has served as a consultant in many companies and situations, while Dave Orr has hired consultants many times. Together, they can help you make the most strategically and financially sound business decisions. This books shows you how to: Work through ROI and other issues to support a decision to hire a consultant. Maximize the benefits consultants can provide. Explore options other than hiring a consultant.
Description based upon print version of record.
Introduction; Why We Wrote This Book; How We Wrote This Book; The Outline of the Book; The Industry; Why the Growth?; Trends in Consulting Growth; International Expansion; Size of Consulting Firms; Types of Industries that Use Consulting; Manufacturing; Public Sector; Healthcare; Telecommunications and Entertainment; Other Industries; Types of Consulting; Types of Consultants: Different Business Models; Contractors and Interim Managers; Types of Consulting; Management Consulting; Information Technology; Program and Project Management; Operations; Outsourcing Advice; Financial; Strategy
Business Process ReengineeringHuman Resources; Environmental and Sustainability Consulting; Summary; Origins; A Brief History of Consulting; Postwar Boom; Changes at the End of the Twentieth Century; The Twenty-First Century; What It Takes to Become a Consultant; Certifications; Career Paths to Consulting; How Consultants Build Their Business; What's a Manager in Need to Do?; Summary; ROI; ROI Calculation; Categories of Gains; Cost Reduction; Cost Avoidance; Risk Reduction; Revenue Increase; Capacity Increase; Cash Flow Increase; Understanding Types of Gains
Calculating Gains from Sales TrainingCalculating Potential for Revenue Increase; Case Example: Bruno Builders; Consulting Costs; Direct Costs; Hidden Costs; Payment Structures for Costs; Putting It All Together: The ROI Spreadsheet; Calculating the Return on Investment: An Example; Proposal # 1; Proposal # 2; Proposal #3; Other Information for All Options; The Best Choice; Paying for the Consultant; Payment Options; Financing Options; Summary; Mistakes; The Decision Rules; Bad Reason #1: To Replace, Repair, or Enhance a Survival Skill; The Typical Excuses
But, Survival Skill Mistakes Are Too Costly . . .But, Objectivity Is Needed . . .; But, There Is Not Enough Time . . .; But, Consultants Are Flexible . . .; Other Survival Skills That Consultants Cannot Supply; Bad Reason #2: To Provide or Repair a Skill or Knowledge that Cannot Be Trained; Leadership: An Untrainable Skill; Personality Theory; Emotional Intelligence Theory; The Faulty Mechanics of Leadership Training; Other Untrainable Skills; Bad Reason #3: To Validate an Initiative that a Company Already Plans on Doing; Consultants as the Bad Guys; Consultants as the Good Guys
When Executives Hire the ConsultantWhen Middle Management Hires the Consultant; Bad Reason #4: When a Company Is Looking for a Quick Fix; Benchmarking and Best Practices as Quick Fixes; Quick Fixes Do Not Offer Long-term Differentiation; Quick Fixes Do not Allow for Sufficient Research; A Quick Cover-up for Poor Performance; Bad Reason #5: The ROI Will Never Work Out, But You Go Ahead Anyway; Bad Reasons #6-9: The Company Does Not Have Time, Resources, or Abilities to Effectively Form and Manage the Relationship; The Internal Resources Needed Are Too Great; The Deliverables Are Unclear
Define the Problem-As Best You Can
Includes bibliographical references and index.
When to Hire—or Not Hire—a Consultant:Getting Your Money's Worth from Consulting Relationships is a hands-on, practical guide for anyone thinking about hiring a consultant to set strategy, solve problems, increase profits or revenue, develop new products, open new markets, or improve efficiency. Consulting is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States. According to the U.S. government, there were 719,000 consultants in the U.S. in 2010, and you can expect an additional 274,000 by 2020. Cloaked in “expert” status, consultants might seem to be the answer to many business problems. You call someone in to solve a particular problem or develop new markets, then send them away once the job is done—while reaping the benefits of their expertise. Consultants sometimes do work miracles, but once in a while they wreck a healthy business. And far too often, the benefits gained by calling in consultants disappear far too soon after they leave. Yet as return on investment (ROI) and accountability for results become bigger and bigger issues, business professionals in search of answers to performance or strategy challenges are turning more and more to outside guidance for help. Indeed, few businesses do not use some kind of consultant at some point in their existence. But how can you leverage the skills consultants can bring to the table without adding undue risk to your operations? How can you effectively manage the consultant relationship to get the greatest benefit for the least cost? What metrics can support your decision to hire—or not hire—a consultant? When should you use home-grown talent to solve problems instead? That’s what this book is all about. While there are a multitude of books on how to be a consultant, this is the first to help an executive determine when to hire one. You will learn strategies to decide when a consultant is needed and how to support that decision with hard evidence, how to select the right consultant, how to set clear expectations, and how to know when a consultant is either a valuable resource or a hindrance to the company’s success. The authors of this book bring together two opposing perspectives. Linda Orr has served as a consultant in many companies and situations, while Dave Orr has hired consultants many times. Together, they can help you make the most strategically and financially sound business decisions. This books shows you how to: Work through ROI and other issues to support a decision to hire a consultant. Maximize the benefits consultants can provide. Explore options other than hiring a consultant.
Business.
Management science.
Business and Management, general.