How many hats do you wear as a decision-maker in your company? Whether you’re the head of the entire organization or the leader of a business unit, you’ve likely done sales, marketing, customer service, and maybe some financial management.
Although you have a wealth of knowledge and experience, sometimes seeking external expertise is necessary.
Why Hire a Business Consultant?
Business consultants do more than give advice. They present solutions and propose strategies to transform your organization. They can train your employees and provide coaching. They can also do research and redesign your processes, driving growth and efficiency.
Other consultants bring specialized expertise. Business consultants in the UAE, for example, can help expanding companies gain global competitiveness.
Whether you’re running a small business or an enterprise, the business value of a consultant allows you to see the “blind spots.” When you get caught up in the day-to-day running of the company, and you lose sight of the big picture, a consultant’s objectivity can offer insight and encouragement that allow you to make those tough decisions.
Key Moments to Hire a Business Consultant
Every business has key performance indicators, or KPIs, which organizations use to gauge their companies’ overall and long-term performance. Your business could use a similar gauge to determine when to bring outside expertise.
Be conscious of the following key signals that indicate the need for a consultant.
1. The business is stagnant.
When the business started, incremental improvements helped move it along. Encouraged by this forward motion, your company invested in equipment and people. Eventually, the business grew.
Business growth, however, comes in stages. For some, those stages can include a period when everything is at a standstill.
No business can afford to be stagnant because competition can harm its existence. With an outsider’s expertise and experience, your company doesn’t have to stay in the same space.
The right business consultant can objectively examine your organization and determine what prevents it from moving forward again.
2. The company is struggling to adapt.
Commerce continues to change as technology advances and emerging trends shift goals. Technologies and trends are designed to bring about positive change; digital technology, for example, has made it possible for small businesses to compete with big businesses.
But the changes are happening fast, particularly in technology. Tech disruption jumped from number six in 2022 to number one in 2023. The changes are occurring so rapidly that some companies find it difficult to keep up. From deploying automation systems and AI applications to implementing hybrid work and blockchain technology, these advances and trends require careful transitions to yield favorable results.
When it comes to digital transformation, independent ERP consultants can help you choose the right system to govern your processes. These specialist consultants can provide support from implementation to project management and on to integration.
When such changes also bring about a level of risk and instability, your business’s ability to adapt gives you a competitive advantage. And hiring a business consultant is part of a strategy that allows you to build an enduring competitive advantage, particularly amid uncertainty.
3. The business keeps missing the mark on its goals.
Goals ensure your business stays on the path you’ve envisioned. Because goals must be measurable and time-bound (among other factors), you’ll know straight away when targets are not being reached. When you’re not hitting targets consistently, revenues, profits, and growth are at risk.
It’s natural sometimes to miss achieving business goals. But when they continue to happen quarter after quarter, even after implementing new strategies, you must act to find the root of the failure.
What you need is a fresh perspective on an old problem. The right business consultant will provide insights that uncover the reasons behind those missed targets.
4. You need specialized expertise.
Every business requires specific expertise to thrive. What happens when you lack the resources or your company is just starting up? Your opportunities become limited.
Reach out to a business consultant with a broad spectrum of skills, from fintech to risk management. You may be able to do plenty of things, but some things can be outside your expertise. With a trustworthy consultant, you receive informed guidance.
For startups, a consultant’s capabilities can also provide short-term solutions. They can save the business the cost of hiring and training. A consultant can fill the gap, allowing startups to work on projects requiring specialized expertise.
5. You’re taking the business into new markets with new products or services.
Consultants can come in at strategic periods when:
- You’ve taken on an entirely new project
- You’ve decided to expand
- You’re considering an investment or merger
Another strategic period is when you’re developing a new product or service and entering a new market.
Consultants are not only able to shepherd your business’s journey to new markets, but they can also prepare you better through market research, strategy development, and risk assessments. Better preparation means you’ll be able to maximize the opportunities that come with new offerings and new markets.
6. You took on a significant and time-sensitive project.
When your in-house resources are lacking, this should not limit you from large-scale projects with short deadlines.
You don’t want to pass up a lucrative opportunity – one that could lead to other projects down the line. At the same time, you don’t want to take on a project that will exhaust your teams and resources. The risk with taking on a project beyond your current capabilities is the potential for poor quality, a missed deadline, and, more worrying, the damage it’s bound to inflict on your reputation.
An experienced business consultant can ensure that your first foray into a complex project succeeds.
How to Choose Your Business Consultant
Expertise, perspective, and guidance, create actionable solutions and drive growth. But not all consultants deliver the same outcomes. You have to find a professional who will be the right fit for your organization.
Here are some tips to support your hiring decision.
- Know your objectives. A clear understanding of your objectives will tell you what kind of consultant you need.
- Consider their expertise and choose consultants with a proven track record, particularly in your industry.
- Make sure the engagement model will work for your business. It should identify the scope of the work, outline terms and conditions, define deliverables, and establish a timeline for the commitment.
As a business leader, you can wear many hats. But seeking external expertise can help you focus better and equip your organization with what it needs to succeed in the long term.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ratheesh C. Ravindranathan is the Managing Partner at Affility, a comprehensive advisory services firm assisting clients in the UAE and worldwide with IT, risk and management consulting solutions. Being a specialist FinTech professional with over 20 years of experience, an MBA in Information Systems Management, Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Ratheesh is an expert at guiding through your business’s digital transformation journey, Independent ERP Advisory, and Transaction Advisory for various M&As in this region.
