better opportunity

Why does your company need a consultant?

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Why do YOU need a business consultant? To provide solutions to specific challenges, to constructively criticize, to facilitate new systems, to implement new business ideas, or to bring in an experienced outsiders evaluation and point of view? Maybe your company is working on a challenging problem or project and needs an unbiased opinion. Our consultants will not let you down.

A company normally comes to consultants because they are great at these 5 things:

  • Separating people from the problems
  • Focusing on interests, not positions
  • Generating a variety of possibilities
  • Creating evaluation criteria
  • Solving problems

Consultants generate options before deciding. Sometimes clients jump to conclusions because they have been in the industry for many, many years, or because “it has always been done that way”. Consultants are more willing to start with a blank white sheet of paper and begin brainstorming.

Consultants are really good at generating options because they spend the time getting the data and really thinking through the problems at hand. At the beginning of a project, consultants look at all potential scenarios, and look for hypotheses everywhere.

▪  They brainstorm new ideas; at this stage no ideas are ruled out

▪  They interview people up & down the org chart

▪  They keep asking “why” until they get to the core reason

▪  They dig until they get to the root causes and find out what the real drivers are

▪  They reach out to industry experts who know the larger trends

It’s very common for consultants to structure multiple options for the client to choose from. This acknowledges that there are multiple potential solutions, but there are trade-offs.  It really depends on the clients’ time frame, appetite for risk, budget, and opinion. There is often 1 primary recommendation, but multiple implementation options.

There are many different types of consultants, whether you’re a small or big company, there is someone out there who will help you get to where you want to be. Here at Fidelis Companies, we specialize in Engineering, BioPharma, and IT. SiteSuite came out with 4 main types of consultants:

  1. Specialist – world class capabilities in selected area
  2. Game changer – game changing answers that no one else can provide
  3. Vendor – adequate performance + low cost + no hassle
  4. Total solution provider – total package from a reliable supplier

Counter-offers: Accept or Reject

Addressing the possibility of a counter-offer with a candidate is a regular part of every conversation with candidates when they begin the interview process for a new position. Our recruiters have seen counter-offers work out successfully but they have also seen a candidate accept a counter-offer only for it to backfire months later and the candidate is looking for a job on their previous employer’s terms, not theirs. More often than not though, they have seen candidates walk away from a counter-offer and be the better for it.

Walking away from a counter-offer and your comfort zone of employment can be a scary thing, but walking away on your terms for new position and new company can be a great turning point in your career. You’ve already spent personal time working with your recruiter or sending out your resume, dressing up for interview after interview and talking things over with your family so why throw all that hard work and time off of work away to accept a counter-offer from a company you already wanted to leave?

Most people don’t look for a new job at a new company where they are the new guy/girl just for the money; there are usually other reasons someone spends hours of their personal time looking for a better opportunity. Remember those reasons you are unhappy with your current company/position when your current employer tries to entice you with a little more money. Why were you unhappy? Can a larger salary make up for the cons of the position?

Nick Corcodilos, a headhunter in Silicon Valley, addresses this dilemma in “Ask The Headhunter: Should I Reject a Counter-Offer From My Employer?” Nick answers the question: “If another company makes me a bona fide job offer and I resign my old job, what should I do if my original employer comes back with a counter-offer? Should I leave anyway?”

Nick addresses several aspects, both good and bad, of counter-offers and how they can affect the candidate and their current work environment if they accept and stay. If you’re struggling with what to do about a counter-offer, read this article and talk to your recruiter.