Have expertise, turn consultant

IF there is one professional designation which has today turned into a generic term encompassing a host of specialisations, it is that of a consultant. In the post-World War period consultants were a glorified lot, who offered invaluable advice to companies, helping them cope with depressed financial markets, severe liquidity crisis and unpredictable economies. In India we can go back further in time and cite the examples of Birbal and Chanakya who were master strategists and planners. Both Akbar and Chandragupta Maurya depended on their advise and consultation, re-orienting military warfare techniques and national issues based on their predictions and advise.

Unfortunately modern day consultants and advisers come dime — a — dozen. Any employer who hires the services of a senior and experienced person but is at the same time unsure of how to designate him, resolves his dilemma by turning him into a consultant. Not only does it add respectability but also stature and weight to his appointment. But along with this flexi and casual usage, some of the seriousness associated with the profession has got diluted. Many of us who are self employed, call ourselves consultants, whether or not we have the requisite expertise. A consultant is not just someone who consults or advises in his professional capacity. He is a specialist, an expert and an authority on his chosen subject. Clients seek him out and are willing to pay him a fee for his analysis, feedback, reaction and recommendations. In recent times expectations have increased and you have consultants offering all kinds of trouble shooting 'remedies' to corporates, individuals, governments, art lovers and financial institutions. You name a problem area and there would be a consultant who would come to your rescue — at a fee of course.

Consultancies can be broadly classified into three areas — management, human resource and finance. Based on the demands of the user organisations, consultancies further add niche services. For example if a management consultant has his core competence in project and retail management, there is no stopping him from adding re-engineering, change management and operation analyses to his services. If while working with his clients he perceives a need for providing support services in areas like adjustment to changing demands of life or in evolving stress busting exercises, he is free to diversify.

Management consultancy is a popular career option with professionals as young as 30-35 entering the fray. The myth that you have to be in your mid-forties, bespectacled and serious looking in order to be taken seriously by a governing council or by decision makers has long exploded. More and more youngsters after having acquired a professional qualification (management degree from a reputed business school) and a wide-ranging work experience, launch themselves independently as consultants or join hands with someone who is already established. You also have a group of people from say the IIT or IIMs coming together to set up their own consultancy firm.

Now why would a company want a consultant when they themselves are staffed with experts ? It is only when they are in the throes of a strategic planning exercise and are seeking an unbiased expert opinion, other than their own top management's, they turn to a highly recommended management consultants. This could relate to computing. IT, personnel or human resource management, projects or management services like actuary, health and safety, mathematical science, public relations, conference and event management. The objective could be to bring about cost effectiveness, to undertake project appraisals, to advise on change of business, collaborations and joint ventures. Whatever a consultant does, he has to back it with sound research and analysis. He has to spend time with his client, do a comparative analysis with competitors, meet up with retailers, suppliers, staff members and then draw up a carefully laid out plan. In other words he has to do a thorough analysis of a prevailing situation both within and outside the company. It is imperative that he prepares an excellent report detailing his findings to enable them in making the right decision. Often consultants continue to be associated with their clients for a long term period so that they can continue monitoring and advising them.

Many management consultants reveal "using jargon and hi-fi management terminology creates in the client a feeling of awe. He feels he is in safe hands." How good or effective this is, however, relative. Services like product enhancement, industry performance research, new product/category tracking, brand extension creation, vendor research and selection, product conceptualisation, product line integration are indeed crucial to any manufacturing concern. It makes sense for them to hire a professional consultant and await his report rather than trust their own instincts and take a plunge in a project which doesn't business sense.

Overseas even a safety solution consultant has ample business. Clients are finicky about detailing and the consultant too is geared to plan the safety programmes down to the last things like environmental and risk management consultation, safety inspections, occupational safety standards, health and training, handing out appropriate resource material to prevent injury and illness at the workplace, applied risk management, employment laws, foreseeing workplace violence, white collar crime and packages on behaviour-based safety are all exhaustive services on his palate.

Financial consultancy could be related to loan syndication, merchant banking, securities transfer, audit, taxation and financial management. Multimedia and computer software consulting could relate to information systems, Y2K repair and corporate management services. Possibilities are endless. You could offer professional music compositions, sound design, website development, production of mid-range to high-end multi media applications, CD 3 consulting where you have interactive communications and project account management. You could help clients improve performance through development of computer-based multimedia training, communications and performance support software. Website development, internet advertising, marketing, laptop presentations, CD training and information kiosks can be set up. Some contemporary multimedia solutions offered by consultants include enhancing business productivity, reducing costs, increasing visibility and improving the bottom line.

You may have to identify problems, collect data, evaluate and propose solutions. Operational research (OR) is an important tool where you apply scientific principles to complex organisational matters. OR takes into account all the variable factors in a given situation and then compares its implications to alternative decisions or options before making the final choice. Here you have to have the ability to translate complex issues into a lay person's language.

An engineering or a management background equips you with wide-ranging skills, leaving you with the option of zeroing in on a few as you turn into a consultant. According to experts in the field, this is one profession where hands — on experience is preferred. Also foreign degrees may not evoke a sense of wonder. The perception is that unless you are a 'son of the soil', you may not be able to understand your client's problem which may be ethnic, regional or local in nature. Other than presentation skills, strong intuitive insights and a clear cluster-free approach, what you need is to be good with numbers and figures, have lots of common sense and a strong network of contacts. Some of the biggest names in international consulting include Arthur Anderson, Price Waterhouse, McKinsey, BCG, AT Kearney and KPMG. Some of the big players in India are Tata Consultancy Services, Billimoria, Feedback, ABC, Jyoti Sagar & Associates and Infosys, to name only a few. Along with companies there are individuals too who are sought after for their brand of specialised consulting.