Different types of consultancy
If our definition of consulting sounds a bit vague, that’s because management consultancy covers a wide range of areas – consultants can, in theory, get involved in any part of a company’s operations.
However, individual consultants, or consultancy firms, will often have specific areas of expertise – and therefore specialised services that they offer to clients.
Smaller consultancy firms may focus on one area or service in particular, while larger firms will often have a number of specialities allowing them to offer their client company an expert consultant in whatever area they require assistance.
By Sam Royle
Specialised Areas:
Business Strategy
Running a business is a bit like travelling on a train line – there are many different routes to choose from that will take you to different destinations; some not as desirable as others. To succeed in business, it’s crucial to take the right line. Normally this means the line that will make the most profit. Business Strategy consultants specialise doing this, possibly by analysing:
- The company as a whole – to see how successfully the company is operating and assess what could be done to improve it.
- The structure of the company – there may be employees who aren’t working to their full potential… a business strategy consultant would relocate them to other parts of the company where they could combine jobs to cut company costs.
Finance & Management
Finance is crucial to any business. Consultants specialising in finance will look at a company’s accounts, and advise on and assist in changes in this area, seeing where a company is going wrong and where it could improve in managing its financial affairs. This might involve:
- Budgetary control systems/ profit planning – a company may need assistance in how to divvy up their annual budget. eg how much to spending on recruitment, HR.
- Reorganising the company to be more cost efficient – eg if an office is separated so that certain employees are constantly crossing to another part of an office for meetings with another department, a consultant might suggest merging the two, or placing them next to each other.
Human Resources
Employees need to be looked after in any company. A number of things a consultant specialising in this area would advise on are:
- Job enrichment – Keeping the staff happy, and therefore more productive. Rewarding, motivating and engaging the workforce could achieve this.
- Job evaluation – A big part of consultancy is advising businesses how to cut costs, and that often means cutting staff. Someone has to decide which staff should stay and which should go, and an HR consultant may evaluate the role of each employee, and assess whether they are useful or expendable. Welcome to the not-so-pleasant side of consultancy!
Information Technology
Businesses are becoming ever-more reliant on IT, but non-IT companies do not necessarily have the expertise ‘in-house’ to make crucial decisions on which IT systems and technology is most appropriate for their operations. This is where IT consultants step in. They might advise on:
- The kind of computer system a company would need.
- How a company should use systems correctly, and how they can use them in the best possible way.
- The design of specially-made IT systems to fit certain aspects of a business. If a company needs a programme to specifically collate the personal information of all its job-applicants, and there was no computer programme on the market that does that job, an IT consultant might advise on how to develop something to specifically do what the company needs.
Environmental Management
Being ‘green’ is all the rage these days, and with pressure on businesses to clean up their act and ‘save the planet’ there’s never a quiet moment for environmental management consultants. Their duties include:
- Assisting companies in reducing their ‘carbon footprint’.
- Ensuring a company’s operations, or any changes in the way they work, have the least amount of damage to the environment.
Communications/Quality Management
How a company interacts with its customers and clients is just as important as keeping the books in order. How managers interact with the employees they are in charge of is also key to a successful business. Consultants are often brought in to:
- Advise on a company’s strategy / policies with regards interacting with customers and clients.
- Ensure complete customer satisfaction, and advise on how to achieve this.
- Advise on how managers can best manage their teams to ensure the best possible results.
This article is part of the unicornjobs.com guide to Working In Management Consultancy. Click here to go to the guide index.
