Why Hire a Consultant?

Many employers struggle with the idea of hiring a consultant. Especially when a business is in cost cutting mode or looking secure assets to fund growth. Why pay an outside consultant when you are already paying your employees to meet the company’s goals?

As a former corporate employee, I understand the team angst brought on by the arrival of a consultant. “Why does so and so get $200 an hour when I only get $100 for the same job?” “Why does he get to make his own hours and I don’t?” “Oh, THEY’RE the expert? I thought I was the expert?” Those are the collective thoughts that can crop up when a consultant is brought into the mix. Once the consultant – employee relationship is forged, however, it’s hard not to admire the consultant’s fluidity, his or her ability to not care about politics, and what appears to be the genuine enjoyment of the work. A lot of us doing the same kind of work each day or those trying to find a way up the corporate ladder don’t have the luxury of that experience.

I see two main advantages of hiring a consultant:

Efficiency: a consultant is there to do a job, not to schmooze, not to climb. Get in, get out, collect a fee, move on. It’s pure and simple. When an employer is looking to get results quickly a consultant can take them there without the distractions of performance reviews, career development, or training that is required of and expected by full-time employees.

Objectivity: a consultant can take more risk in telling it like it is. Consultants are paid for their expertise. We’re obligated to speak up, make recommendations and find the problems that a full-time employee might be too close to see. We get to do all this without worrying that we’ll commit the dreaded CLM if we say the wrong thing to the wrong person. You hired us to analyze, assess and fix. We’re not afraid to do it.

Putting key initiatives into the hands of someone who is outside your work family can be daunting. There is a degree of letting go and trust that has to be present when hiring consultants. More often than not however, consultants can give you a perspective you can't get on your own. In today's business environment, why not have that advantage?