Before I begin, I’d like to point out that this post does not have any specific consulting firms in mind. This is not an attack on any company I have worked for, along side of, or competed with during my 11+ years in this industry. If you take my article personally then it might be a good indicator of a need to look inward rather than outward.

Think about specific consulting firms you’ve interacted with over the years.

There are three different types of consulting firms you encounter. 1) The Big Dog – larger firms which you know a Partner or Senior-level person. You see this person a few times a year, you know the Manager assigned to your account pretty well but most of their team rotates for various reasons. 2) The Mid-Tier firm – almost identical to the Big Dog, but with slightly lower rates and less “prestigious” name. 3) The small and boutique firms – You probably know one or two of the Partners, most of their staff sticks around year to year but they always send in one or two that you aren’t happy with but put up with since the rate is considerably lower than the other two.

Every one of these firms are failing their clients and their employees. Every. Single. One.

Think about it, the Big Dogs charge you “Big Dog” rates but love to bring in people fresh out of college as a large percentage of their team. Which means you are paying higher rates to train their people for them. Don’t worry, the Partner over your account will “review” the final work, but considering all of the issues being reported in the news about those same firms… I sometimes question the quality of those reviews (or they’ll go over the top and blind side you with concerns when you’re moments away from critical deadlines). But don’t worry, they’ll charge you Partner rates for the reviews, just to make you feel better about it.

The mid and smaller firms rarely use the rookies and their Partners normally do a better job reviewing the work, but they have a major flaw in their business model. They focus on their name and the next big client rather than their employees. Professional growth, compensation for new business, etc. are severely lacking. They’ll have the nice office, spend money on “Business Development” people, be high profile sponsors at various conferences and events, but then cut it short on their real assets, their people.

Business Development at its finest

So now you’re paying more reasonable rates but every time they show up you notice half (or more) of the team has changed. You ask about latest trends and their response typically implies they have no clue but they’ll go Google it. Their company provides services you could probably use but they never bring it up so you don’t even think to ask but don’t worry, once or twice a year the main salesman, I mean Partner, will be sure to increase your rates at the annual project renewal proposal. You know the one, the proposal that was copy and pasted from last year’s that rarely provides anything new except for known buzz words like “Rev Rec” or “Leases”. Or you’ll hear from their Business Development person whom you don’t know, try to sell you something you don’t really need then when you ask their people sitting in your offices they roll their eyes and apologize “it’s the boss’ Sister-In-Law, I’m so sorry she bothered you”.

Now the people on your team are hesitant to bring up any potential projects which could be beneficial to your company because they either don’t want to come across as salespeople or then don’t want to mention anything to that Business Development person in fear of another bungled sales call.

The next time you consider a consulting firm ask them these important questions:

1. Who (specifically) will be on the project
2. How does the firm ensure employee retention is high
3. What other services do they do
4. What are ways to get discounts on the services (added services, longer-term deals, referrals, etc.)

What most consulting firms focus on

You’ll learn very quickly if the firm cares about their clients and employees, or just about that P&L. If they only care about the P&L, then they’ll negatively impact yours as much as you allow them to. If they focus on their clients and employees, everyone will come out ahead.

And yes, Re-Vision Management Consulting, LLC can answer every one of those questions and show why we’re the best choice for the services we provide. Contact us as info@r-vmc.com and let us give your company a new perspective.