How to Select a Consulting Company

Business is not what it used to be. It is becoming more complex and dynamic with every passing day. Companies have to think about their online presence, social media, automation etc. They also have to maintain their competitiveness in an environment with dynamic customer needs, expectation, market disruptions etc. Managing such complexities with current talent pool is a herculean task for any organization. So, many companies are taking help of top consulting companies to support organizational growth. Consulting companies usually help businesses in many ways like improving top line, optimizing cost, developing strategic roadmap etc. They start studying the problems that are faced by the Organizations and then solving these problems by creating plans for Improvement. The benefits that are associated with hiring management consultant companies in India are manifold, ranging from external advice (more precisely, an unbiased opinion) to access to the tremendous knowledge or expertise that the consultants have. Since these companies work with many different companies in solving different issues, they carry with them a knowledge of the “best practices” that are used across the industry.

Generally, Top consulting companies in India Offer following services: 

A.    Change Management
B.    Performance Excellence
C.    Application of Technology.
D.    Strategy development and Execution
E.    Operational Improvements

Management Consulting Companies in India usually use their proprietary practices or frameworks in both identifying the problems as well as in providing recommendations based on the observations to create long term strategies, strategy deployment, improving operational efficiency, organizational restructuring etc. Selecting the right consultant becomes vital for the long term success of the organization.

The following 5 simple steps can help you find the right consultant:

1. Triple Constraints: Before considering a management consultant company in India, you should first evaluate the reason you want to hire the consultancy. The following three questions also known as the triple constraints will help you determine the need:
A.    Budget or the cost is the chief concern.
B.    There is a Deadline to meet.
C.    Are you are planning to include a specific technology, or functionality. 

2. Case Studies and Other Accomplishments: It is important to understand the company before hiring them, hence it is important to go through the case studies, whitepapers and client portfolio of the company to get a gist of their work and accomplishments. Global consulting firm should be preferred to benefit from an international expertise.

3. Client Experience: It is also important to talk to the clients of the consulting firm to understand the value addition by the firm. Current or past client will help you in understanding the strength and weaknesses of the consulting firm.

4. Consulting Firm over a Single Person: While it is cost effective to choose just a single consultant to help you, it is better when a team works on addressing your issues. Since they come up with different viewpoints and experience in consultation. A team can actually do wonders for you and can share workload amongst themselves. 

5.  Honesty: Most important attribute that the consulting firm needs to possess is Honesty, This is reflected in the way they listen to your issues and the way they give advice, if you see that they are only interested in money making but not giving you realistic goals or advices.