What Exactly Does a Management Consultant Do?: Part One

What does a management consultant do anyway? Are they needed? Do they communicate real value to companies they work with? All of these questions ask valid questions. Management consultants can, at times, be vague and offer non-specific results of their work. This is not how I conduct my consulting business. Here are fourteen specific and valuable actions I take to assist companies in functioning better for their employees and customers.

Instruct management teams to create a consistent, constant purpose for their employees

If there are employees whose objectives and tasks conflict with one another, this is an issue. Management Consultants teach managers how to create specific objectives that apply for all workers.

Teach leadership teams to encourage ethical practices by not offering bonuses and realize they are in control, not the workers

When leaders are taught that they are in control of outcomes, not the workers, it instills a sense of urgency in communicating effectively to team members. Management Consultants show leaders that they are responsible for issues in their team, not the workers. This makes leaders take minor issues seriously instead of letting them go. This creates a less stressful work environment for employees, where they feel as though their qualms matter to their superiors.

Show management that quality must be ascertained now, not through correcting mistakes later

Leaders need to know that they need to take the time and money to create a quality product now instead of getting it out, seeing there are issues with it, and then changing the product/service after the fact. This change will certainly take more effort, but in the long-run, it will create more wealth for the company. Management Consultants teach companies why this is important with hard facts, not just vague, positive sayings.

Teach leadership to not chase nickels and dimes with ever-increasing prices of products and services

Major overhauls of pricing structure to meet company demands is one thing, increasing prices by pennies every year or month is another. Where real wealth comes from is long-term relationships with vendors and contractors. Management Consultants teach this so that leaders don’t focus on the wrong goals, making their employees work harder for less important priorities.

Instruct management on how to reduce variation in products/services

Nothing, even machinery, is perfect. Machines can create slight variations in products even when they are programmed to be exact. Leadership needs to pay attention to this so that marketing efforts are communicating the right messages to consumers about what they offer. Management Consultants teach leaders how to specifically reduce variation in their products and services according to in-depth production analyses at each company.

Teach leadership teams how to give on-the-job training throughout the duration of one’s career

Leaders who do not continually train their employees will find their employees are undervalued. Employees who feel appreciated for not only their work, but also for their strengths that they bring to the table, will feel as though the company cares for their professional development as a person, not just an employee.

Show management teams how to be leaders not bosses.

Management consultants teach bosses how to become leaders that look like this:

Not this:

Stay tuned in a couple of weeks for part two!