Consultants work for (consulting) firms or as freelance contractors. A consultant differs from a temporary worker insofar as they have, as detailed above, a highly specialized career and domain knowledge. This could be true for a temporary worker too, however, for example a medical consultant is unlikely to suddenly become a hotel receptionist, whereas a temporary worker might change domains and branches more frequently. Furthermore, a consultant usually signs a
service-type employee contract (known as
fixed-term,
full-time, part-time), whereas a temporary worker will only be offered a temporary (and scope limited) contract or a work-results type contract (e. g. in Germany a specific type of contract called
Werksvertrag) to fulfill or create a specific work. Additionally, a temporary worker might be directed and managed by a client, whereas a consultant is employed by a company (or self) and provides services for a client. The consultant may not be provided work-related instruments or tools, but only the necessary infrastructure and accesses the consultant needs to fulfill the statement of work, e.g. access to internal IT networks or client-side laboratory. Moreover, a consultant might engage in multi-project services (
matrix organization) for the client or for internal projects/activities at the employer firm. In his book,
The Consulting Bible,
Alan Weiss defines that "When we [consultants] walk away from a client, the client's conditions should be better than it was before we arrived or we've failed." There is no legal protection given to the job title 'consultant'. The consultant's career path is usually not at the client's side, however the consultant will very likely be introduced into the client's
organizational program or project structure. Novel collaborations of expert-contractors or
independent consultants especially in
ICT sector exist, e.g.
ThoughtWorks.
Consulting scope A consultant's activity can last anywhere from an hourly consultation, to a one-day service, three months, 12 months or more. For complex projects, a longer period is needed for the consultant to analyze, resolve the root cause, get to know the stakeholders and organizational-situation, etc. Usually the engagement has set legal boundaries under given law to avoid (specifically for freelance-contractors) the problem of
false self-employment (see also
Umbrella company). The person at client location is sometimes called a
Resident. By spending time at the client's organization, the consultant is able to observe work processes, interview workers, managers, executives, board members, or other individuals, and study how the organization operates to provide their services. In some settings, a consultant is signing a specific contract and is hired as an
interim manager or executive with advanced authority or shared responsibility or decision making of client-side activities, filling a vacant position which could and cannot be filled with an internal candidate. This is often the case by the client-organization due to other constraints, such as
corporate compliance and HR-processes, which lead to prolonged hiring paths beyond six months, which is often unacceptable for leadership roles.
Work location Research and analysis can occur at the consultants' offices (sometimes called
back office) or
home-offices or via
remote work. In the case of smaller consulting firms, consultants typically work at the site of the client for at least some of the time. The governing factor on where a consultant works tends to be the amount of interaction required with other employees of the client. If a
management consultant is providing advice to a software firm that is struggling with employee morale,
absenteeism and issues with
resignation by managers and senior engineers, the consultant will probably spend a good deal of time at the client's office, interviewing staff, engineers, managers and executives, and observing work processes. On the other hand, a legal consultant asked to provide advice on a specific
property law issue might only have a few meetings at the client's office, and conduct the majority of his work at the consultant's office and in legal libraries. Similarly, the growth of online, highly skilled consultant
freelance marketplaces has begun to grow. Additionally, the
COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in
remote work and demand for online-work skills to continue business or operations.
In-house consulting Also known as
ICUs - Internal Consulting Units, which are departments or specialists groups created by or maintained by usually larger companies for their own consulting service needs along the business chain.
ICUs might be internal or own-run businesses.
Success factors of consulting The following qualities are found to be helpful for a successful consulting career.
Accenture success factors From Accenture blog, one of the main IT consultancies in the world, the following factors play an important role: • A service-oriented mindset • Sharing of great work • Seizing of opportunities • Setting of goals, seeking of advice and taking time to reflect
''Bronnenmayer's'' success factors Bronnenmayer et al. investigated, by applying a
structural equation model, and due to little empirical research, the management consulting's success factors from a client perspective. It is found that Consultant Expertise, Intensity of Collaboration and Common Vision have strongest performance impact on success. • Common vision • Intensity of collaboration • Trust • Project management • Consultant expertise • Provided resources • Top management support
Sindermann and Sawyer success factors Sindermann and Sawyer conclude in their book
The Scientist as Consultant, that a [scientific] consultant is successful, if they have "achieved a viable mix of technical proficiency and business skills" with "technical proficiency" meaning excellence in competence, credibility, effective networking with colleagues, and ability to negotiate.
Hartel's 10 Golden Rules According to management consultant Dirk Hartel, the following ten objectives or rules are key to a successful consulting career: •
Customer first - Especially the meaning of being available (time) for customer needs •
Appearance - Understanding of self-image and dress for the job •
Determined friendliness - Having concrete mindset and goals, but being diplomatic too •
Punctuality - Leading time management, starting and finishing on time, being prepared •
Engagement and productivity - Supporting, being pro-active, etc. •
Critical questioning - Nobody is born a consultant; asking the right questions is a key skill •
Feedback - Request regular feedback, asking for critique rather than waiting for it •
Acceptance of hierarchies - Professional navigation in client organization, knowing authority-levels, being respectful and being confidential with customer information •
Stakeholder behavior - Study and understanding of client behavior and culture; inspiring stakeholders with presentations, etc. •
Being courageous - Consulting-life is challenging, never lose trust in yourself, but also reflect and lead a positive and good life
Consulting challenges Distinctness Consultants are often outsiders to the client organization. On one hand, this means their work methods, expertise, behaviors, etc. differ from the client-employees and organizational, and is exactly what the client needs, however it can also be a considerable disadvantage for a successful engagement and may lead to a less intimate cooperation with the client's business.
Domain Next to general challenges, domain-specific challenges for consultants exist. In
palliative medicine consulting, emotions, beliefs, sensitive topics, difficulty communicating and prognosis interpretation, or patients expectations despite critical illness are some of the challenges faced by the consultant.
Ethical conflict (manipulation) According to Kelman, "One danger is that [the counselor] does not recognize the control that he is exercising over the client's behavior. The other is that he is so convinced that he is doing good for the client that he does not realize the double-edged nature of the control he is exercising." A consultant therefore needs to be aware and in control of her or his manipulative influences in particular counseling settings.
Expectations (customer) Hartel mentions several challenges that are based on the types of consultants, including a consultant in a short-term role, as integrator, as driver, as project manager or methodology guru, know-how expert, or as scapegoat. In case of
consultant as integrator, the consultant has the challenging task to resolve, negotiate, facilitate, mediate political situations in companies to move forward, such as different opinions, critical characters (persons), difficult relationships or interfaces, goal conflicts, power games, etc. In case of
consultant as scapegoat, the consultant, who is external to the company, is the one to announce difficult company decisions such as layoffs or reorganizations, but it is important that the consultant acts professional and competent, not just as "
Rambo in suit".
Rates of pay Harrington notes that some people transferring from an employee role to working as a consultant are uncertain about how to price their services.
Other general challenges General issues faced by a consultant can be stress, productivity issues with meetings, general "technostresses", high-paced and changing business environments and situations, etc.
Stakeholder management In case of corporate and industrial consultants, the role is further challenged to act and become the "translator of information" from various different client-company cultures and procedures (processes) and between her or his employer-side team, managers and leadership team. What is an important goal to the current client is usually not similar for any other client due to multiple variations in company size, history, product, program, organizational structure, leadership, etc. Hence the consultant must be excellent in sensing and communicating between different layers in the organization and further across it, while maintaining authenticity, integrity and trustworthiness with all parties involved.
Taxation and legal status Independent consultants (contractors or freelancer) usually need to fulfil taxation requirements given by laws, specifically challenging employment status to avoid 'disguised' employment. Compared to contracting, consulting can be seen as being "in business in your own right", not controlled by your client, etc. placing a consultant "well outside" of e. g. IR35. ==Qualifications==