The benefits of finding the right professional for your project
Whether you’re looking to build a website, write a customer newsletter, establish a strategic business plan, spark a public relations program or develop a customer sales proposal, using a consultant may be the best way to get the job done.
For established businesses, using consultants translates into cutting-edge skills and fresh perspectives to help get jobs done faster and better. Using consultants gives business owners and managers a chance to focus on other aspects of their business. And for new businesses, consultants provide the expertise needed to grow quickly without diverting scarce resources from daily tasks.
Consultants can help complete projects quickly, without the cost of additional overhead that full-time employees require. And they provide flexibility so, as business goals change and new projects arise, you can tap the specific talent needed to get the job done.
Finding the right person begins with understanding exactly what you need. When engaging a consultant you're engaging a specialist with unique skills and expertise, so ask these questions as a starting point:
- What isn't getting done now that needs to be done?
- What is my budget?
- Is this an ongoing or a one-time project?
- Can this project be done remotely or in the office?
- How much guidance will they receive?
- How much technical expertise is required?
After developing a thorough understanding of your needs, create a detailed job description that specifically addresses your requirements. Once you have a potential consultant, how do you know if he or she is the right person?
- Request work samples and/or a resume.
- Ask detailed questions about work samples or resume accomplishments. The goal is to understand how this person thinks and what his or her role was in previous successes.
- You may want to ask to see a client list.
- Conduct an interview. Look for evidence that your professional styles are a good fit. Ask for concrete examples of past performance.
- Talk about money. Find out how the consultant fee is structured. Some work on retainer and others work on an hourly basis or quoted project fee. Put rates and compensation requirements in writing--it makes everything easier down the road, even on simple projects.
- Ask for references and check them. Talking with former or current clients will give you a feel for the scope of the candidate's past projects and how he or she handled them.
Overall the benefits to business make it a simple choice.
Time Don’t spend time doing projects which take you away from growing your business, jobs that you dislike or perhaps aren’t even that good at. A qualified and experienced consultant could complete in a few hours a task that you have been dreading for months. Time is money!
Efficiency Manage your staff head count by retaining people when you really need them and reducing staff costs in quieter times.
Flexibility Have the flexibility to decide how long you need a consultant for, what hours they work, even whether they are working in the office or from home.
Choice Larger businesses can attract whole teams for specialist projects by employing consultants for the duration of the exercise, simply by posting an appropriate job.
Patrina Kerr is a Director and Co-Founder at Consulting WorX Pty Ltd.
Consulting WorX www.consultingworx.com.au is a website that connects businesses and consultants for various projects across Australia. We provide a new way of doing business that gives consultants and businesses a better work life balance as well as a great online network and community.
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