As a consultant, I am frequently asked why people would want to hire my company.  There are a number of reasons:  experience, cost effectiveness, objectivity, and independence.  Depending on your situation, some or all of these attributes may be enormously valuable to your business.

What is a Consultant?  Dictionary.com defines a consultant as a person who gives professional or expert advice.  Consultants do give advice, but they frequently also perform tasks that result from that advice.  Those tasks can range from running a public relations campaign to building a customized order fulfillment system.
It's important to note that consultants are not temporary employees.  They are business people selling services to clients.  Evaluate potential consultants as you would any other type of vendor.

Experience:  Good consultants have valuable experience in one or more areas of specialty, and they can use this experience to your advantage.  Consultants, by the nature of their business, frequently work on more projects than employees in the same field and generally do so across many more organizations.  As a result, they may have seen more successes and more failures, enabling them to learn from both.  They also interact with many different types of people and learn to adapt quickly to new situations.  Finally, consultants must keep up with industry trends in order to maintain their expertise.

Project Work:  Whatever your business is, you likely have projects that are out of the line of daily business operations, but are important to your success.  Even if your staff has the expertise needed to complete these projects, can they accomplish their daily tasks, and still execute the additional work required for the project?   What if they don't have the expertise? In either case, hiring a consultant may be the answer.  They can provide missing expertise and relieve pressure on your staff, enabling your business, and your cash flow, to continue humming along.

Part-time Work:  Sometimes you have a need that doesn't require a full-time employee, but is too much for existing staff.  A part-time employee might be an option, but sometimes it can be difficult to find an employee with the right skills who is willing to work part-time.  A consultant who provides the needed services might be able to fill your need, particularly if the amount of work varies.  Employees generally want a predictable number of hours (and thus a predictable paycheck), while consultants are accustomed to clients whose needs come and go.

Cost:  Whether you are looking for project help or part-time assistance, the expertise and experience you need can be expensive.  Particularly when it comes to specialties that are in high demand, it can represent a significant payroll cost to hire someone full time.  Hiring a consultant represents a way to acquire the needed expertise, at a cost that is lower and shorter in duration.
When comparing the cost of using a consultant to the cost of hiring an employee, remember that there is more than just payroll.  You must also factor in employee overhead expenses that do not apply to consultants, such as your half of Social Security and Medicare, FUTA, SUTA, and other benefits.

Objectivity:  Consultants have no vested interest in existing ways of doing things.  They also bring another perspective to the table.  Both of these attributes can be valuable, particularly if you're dealing with internal biases or resistance to change.  Sometimes just having an idea pitched or endorsed by someone perceived as an unbiased outsider can be useful.

Office Politics:  Like it or not, office politics can be a significant factor in business.  Fiefdoms are built, friends and enemies made, and bailiwicks guarded.  Consultants are not part of office politics and do not have an agenda; they just want to serve their clients.  This neutrality can help avoid political conflicts, and, when combined with objectivity, can cut through obfuscation and attempts to derail or co-opt projects.  Most consultants have been through this multiple times, and are skilled at identifying, overcoming, or even working around political agendas.

Hiring a consultant is not the solution to every problem and not always the right fit.  In many cases, however, it can provide significant advantages in experience, flexibility, cost, objectivity, and impartiality.  The next time you find yourself with a project on your hands, think about these factors, and consider whether hiring a consultant might be the right move.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Andrew Nevens
InnerTag
407-949-0106
andrew@innertag.com
www.innertag.com