Expanding the View

It's that time. The time to stop trying to be all things to all people and consultants. And as with the question posed to Nancy Pelosi today, it's time to start grooming burgeoning talent.

So it's with great joy that I'd like to introduce you to a new voice on The Consultant's Desk. Charity Rowell is a DeVry undergrad earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Her focus is on Human Resource Administration and her talents are many. Her perceptions are strong. She does excellent research and is well spoken. In addition to all of that, she goes the extra mile when formulating a response by collecting the information that is needed for a reliable and accurate response.

I've asked her to share with us the knowledge she gains from her studies so that we may move forward with new perspectives of what is currently being taught in terms of progressive principles, theories, and practices in Human Resources and consulting.

If a concept is not clear, please come here and ask Charity to explain it. Definitely enjoy the voice of future trends in professionalism, Human Resources, and consulting. Join her as she takes a seat at the Board conference table.

Management Consultants According to the Book

Although we've looked at the duties of a Consultant and considered when to use one, there was nothing that pointed our attention to the official Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) in order to get the official word on what a consultant does. So let's resolve the mystery. Let's turn to the OOH and get more information.

It helps to know where to find it. It's a publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Once you've reached the OOH page, you'll discover there are a lot of ways to explore occupational titles and classifications. You career coaches probably already know about the Handbook and use it to discuss career options with your clients. And during these horrid economic times (complete with lack of jobs in particular titles) you recruiters undoubtedly use it to help your clients discover alternatives to what used to be the right fit for their personnel.

Technology is changing many things. Demand for certain types of work as well as certain types of skills are just two examples.

But we have something specific in mind, a Consultant, so let's examine how to find that classification. We can go to the alphabetical index and select "C" in order to search for our term. Unfortunately, it only lists "Consultants, financial" and tells us to see "Personal Financial Advisors." That's not quite what we had in mind. We want information about a Management Consultant. Sometimes the best thing to do when the answer is too difficult to find is to use that trusty site search box. The Government's works very well; it provides us with quite a few titles that fit our query. The four that are closest are

• Management Analysts
  
• Operations Research Analysts
  
• Human Resources Managers
  
• Administrative Services Managers
  

Each of these titles is slightly different from the others and can sometimes simultaneously serve two or three of the roles defined by the OOH. Fortunately, there's also the last classification, Administrative Services Managers, that can be considered an outside specialist who performs more executive management services on a contract basis an could in many instances be a long-term relationship rather than provide ad hoc support.

The Human Resources Manager principally focuses their efforts on the matters connected with personnel issues. The Management Analyst could also be called the solutions person as they look at more of the internal issues that impact the company's overall financial status. Many times these issues derive from the same source. So it's important to carefully consider what needs to be addressed so that you can identify and retain the right type of specialist and carve out the terms of engagement that most accurately fit your needs.

There's more useful information in the OOH that will help guide you to more satisfying engagements. It's a good idea to explore it even in a limited way so that you have a good starting point for remedying your needs or counseling your clients.

Sponsored Link: The Rules of Management, Expanded Edition: A Definitive Code for Managerial Success (Richard Templar's Rules)

The Consultant's Duties

One of the reasons a company (or an individual) seeks the services of a consultant is because there's so much on their plate that work is becoming counter-productive. Eventually, the realization manifests itself that someone with expertise in a unique area is needed in order to do the special project while the more routine things are kept on track in the normal flow of operations.

Being a consultant is a role that has many contradictions. While it involves being a person who cares very much about taking care of the needs of others, one needs to be discrete about allocating their energies. It is entirely possible to work on several projects simultaneously or have some at different stages while developing the next. But giving equal attention to every phone call, drop-in visitor, or shriek for help is not possible. The internal, as well as the public task master, needs to discriminate with regard to their time in order to stay focused and be the expert.

It is then the consultant's responsibility to take control of things and lead the client through each step of the process, from the initial consultation, parsing out the needs, determining whether there is a relationship, bringing forth the contract, developing the parts of the project, and generally keeping the client's life livable and under control. Actually, taking the reins puts sanity into the lives of everyone involved.

Call for Assistance

The ball starts rolling with the call for assistance. It's basically a conversation to determine whether you have the right players for the project. This the time when the consultant will be looking for answers to questions. What questions? Things like what is it you do? What do you do best? How do you go about doing this? What do you want to accomplish and why do you need me to help you do it? What have you done in the past? How did that work out?

Screening and Assessing the Needs

These questions serve several purposes both for the client and the consultant. This is a time when the consultant listens very carefully to what's being said and what's not being said. And in regard to the silence on certain topics, there's something being said by implication as to what's really going on and needs attention. The consultant serves as the independent observer who sees more of the picture because they are not part of the picture.

Asking for the Contract

Once the consultant has an idea of what's needed, it's time for them to take control by first outlining what can be done by this specialist. Milestones are worked out. And it's important for the consultant to speak up when the timing is not realistic or the materials too scant. Then the consultant asks the client for the contract that memorializes the terms and a retainer to start the work.

Taking Control

Because of the initial conversations and screening process, everyone has an idea of where they're going in order to reach the recommended solution. But the most important element here is that the consultant takes control of the situation and manages it from the very beginning of the discussions. It's one of the reasons the client reached out for assistance -- because there's so much going on that they've become distracted and have difficulty managing the priorities.

consulting, screening, interview, client management,