What is the role of a consultant?

• 1. A misunderstood industry: more than just advice
• 2. The consultant's role
• 3. Different types of consultant
• 4. Characteristics of the consulting profession

According to the Harvard Business Review, the consulting sector represents sales of over 2 billion dollars in the United States alone. As a result of market globalization, task diversification and an evolving business landscape, consulting has gradually integrated all spheres of the world economy. The consulting profession, symbolic of this phenomenon, remains largely unknown, however, and its multiple roles are poorly understood by the general public. 

A misunderstood industry: More than just advice

According to the dictionary, consulting is the practice of giving expert advice within a particular field. But it's much more than that. More than just giving recommendations, the consultant is faced with a multitude of tasks, adaptable to each industry and each customer project.

First of all, a company will call on a consultant to provide specific information, such as a cost study, a market analysis, a behavioral survey, etc. The consultant thus offers an expertise that does not exist within the company itself, and benefits from an external, independent and objective perspective on the customer's problems. The consultant's role is to solve the customer's problems, by formulating a diagnosis and appropriate recommendations. He or she will then participate, to some extent, in implementing the proposed changes. Answering a question, understanding why the company is asking it, finding a tailor-made answer: these are the main objectives of consulting.

However, the consultant goes further. More than just solving a given problem, his role is to give the client-company the ability to cope with any changes in the issues it faces, offering greater flexibility and working towards organizational efficiency, thereby optimizing the contribution of the workforce and its ability to evolve and meet new challenges. This concrete, long-term contribution is what makes the consulting industry so valuable.

The complexity and scope of the consultant's role has led to the development of different branches of consulting. As a result, we no longer speak of consultants, but of consultants.

The role of the consultant

Human Resources Consulting

Now that the process of hiring and managing the workforce has become extremely complex and globalized, HR consultants help companies reach their employees' full potential and find the right talent for each situation. They will take on different roles such as selection, talent scouting, coordination between employees and the company...

Job types: Recruitment Consultant, Human Capital Consultant, Employment Consultant, HR Consultant, Staff/Employee Relations Consultant...

Management Consulting 

Particularly useful when a company is in transition or expanding, management consultants have expertise in a certain industry segment and will meet the managerial and organizational needs of their clients.

Job types: Business Consultant, Risk Control Consultant...

Strategy Consulting

The consultant will help a company to understand and intervene in the face of possible operational problems or within their working strategy. The aim is to maximize the functionality of business plans in order to improve performance. 

Job types: Strategy Consultant, Organizational Development Consultant, Consulting Advisor...

Information Systems Consulting

The primary role of information systems consultants is to develop software solutions and design a company-wide Tech architecture adapted to its needs, with a view to gaining a competitive edge over its competitors. They master strategic know-how and understand the drivers of technological evolution and digital transition.

Job types: Telecom Analyst, Cybersecurity Consultant, Technology Consultant...

IT Consulting

In the same dynamic as information systems consultants, IT consultants will recommend hardware and software as well as computer networks to enable a business to build high-performance systems and improve internal processes. 

Job types : Application systems consultant, Data management consultant, Network consultant...

Operations Consulting

Operations consultants assist companies with a wide variety of assignments, depending on the industry. There are different categories of operations consultants:

Different types of consultants

Marketing Consultant

It involves developing strategies to successfully promote, sell and distribute a good or service to a target audience. On a larger scale, the marketing consultant works to expose a new brand. But also a new product in the public eye, and turn it into a lucrative, sustainable business.

Legal Consultant

The role of the legal consultant is to identify, prevent and resolve any legal issues a company may face. These may arise in different areas of the law: labor law, contracts, business, intellectual property, real estate, technology and innovation or trusts...

Public Relations Consulting/PR

Managing and calibrating the flow of information between the public and the client-company is the PR consultant's main role. But he also has the ability to help a company build the reputation that will be exposed to the general public. In short, the PR consultant monitors what others think of a company's leadership, political and strategic decisions.

Social Networking/Digital Consultant

The social networking and digital consultant will work alongside a company to increase traffic to its website and social networking pages. His main means of action are SEO, SEA and various digital marketing techniques.

Other types of operations consultant exist, their roles mainly referring to their field of application: healthcare consultant, personal consultant, security consultant...

Different characteristics of the consulting profession

Financial Management Consulting

Financial management consultants use their expertise to help their clients make the best financial and tax decisions. Their role is to protect, restructure and maximize a company's profits.

Job types: Financial Advisor, Financial Analyst, Fundraising Consultant...

Environmental Council

Consultants specializing in environmental issues will be called upon by companies keen to reduce their ecological impact and carbon footprint. But also to comply with current standards and regulations. 

Job types: Environmental Consultant, Environmental Audit Consultant, Air Quality Consultant, Environmental Project Manager...

The consulting profession is divided into different categories. It is characterized by a range of essential skills corresponding to its various roles:

• Analytical skills for effective problem analysis and resolution
• Communication and leadership skills to communicate effectively with customers and understand their needs
• Intellectual curiosity
• Professional and geographical flexibility
• Ability to work as part of a team.

As a consultant, you need to be flexible and mobile. Dealing with a diversity of settings and situations. But also to intellectual challenges and collaborative workspaces. This demanding profession is remunerated accordingly. The median salary for a consultant reached $83,620 in 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. From entry-level to executive positions, consulting brings together a multitude of profiles and roles, and it's not uncommon over the course of a career to do consulting between jobs. 

A consultant may work for a consulting firm or on a freelance basis, but can also be employed within a company itself, such as Google BizOps or Disney Corporate Strategy & Business Development. The latter will develop an acute knowledge of the company in question and exploit this expertise.

Like today's economy, the consultant is a versatile and flexible individual. They have specific expertise in a particular field, and their role is to place it at the service of a company in order to resolve its various issues and help it to progress and reach its full potential.

 

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