[feat-img-left]If you’ve never hired an outside consultant, you may question why a business would spend money to outsource help when it can delegate the task to someone inside the company. However, in many circumstances, the most effective solution comes from outside the firm, and a consultant can prove his or herself well worth the investment. An
outside consultant can bring a ton of experience and a refreshing new outlook to the equation.
Here are five scenarios when you should really consider hiring outside help and how it will help your business:
1. The in house staff doesn’t have the skills needed
Sometimes, especially in small companies, the in-house team does not have the specialized skills necessary to carry out a project. These skills range from design expertise to experience with, and knowledge of a complex software. Rather than trying to train a worker or hire a full-time employee, adding a temporary consultant to the staff can bring much needed help on demand without long-term employment obligations.
2. Conflict between workers
When employees are working side by side on a daily basis, disagreements can arise and tensions can flare up. Friction between employees can create hostile working environment that negatively impacts not only the people at odds with each other, but all of the employees in the office. As a peer,
trying to resolve the issue at hand can be difficult, and could potentially turn into a political situation. Certain consultants are well equipped to deal with these problems and can bring an outside perspective to the conflict, solving the problem without an emotional bias. Often, a third party is all that’s needed to restore peace and harmony to the workplace.
3. Dirty Work
Delivering good news is easy. Everyone likes to hear good news and the messenger usually gets appreciated, too. Delivering bad news, however, isn’t so easy. As a boss, one of the most difficult things you have to do is communicate to people that they’re being laid off or let go. These situations can get messy, and are often emotional moments for all involved. Bringing in someone with experience with delivering bad news that has no connection to the staff can make this process easier and smoother.
4. Training
To make employees more efficient or knowledgeable about a new system, it is important that you give them the proper training to learn quickly and effectively. While hiring a consultant to assist on a single project works, if you need your employees to be knowledgeable about a certain topic over the long run, training your current workers is more sensible and cost effective. Learning and development consultants are skilled in transferring knowledge, and can give your employees the tools necessary to become experts in whatever you need.
5. You Need Manpower
There are times when a company is diving into an important project, but does not have enough helping hands to complete it in a timely manner. Using existing employees can be inefficient because they may require training, which costs time and money, and takes them away from their usual roles. Hiring full time employees is very expensive and can be wasteful once the project is complete.
Consultants, however, are temporary,
high skilled workers that do the job efficiently and are gone when once they finish. The nature of their job makes transitioning into a new project less difficult, and they are often very knowledgeable about the responsibilities that come along with the project. Consultants are often the boost that your company needs to get things done correctly and quickly.
