Suidan Associates The Firm
sub-menu  

Top Ten Reasons to Hire a Consultant

By Zuhair Suidan

In the spirit of David Letterman’s Top Ten lists (though not in reverse order), we assembled Top Ten lists of why to hire a consultant, and why not to.

Top Ten reasons to hire a consultant

1.          Get an objective opinion from someone without an agenda

2.          You lack the skills / expertise for something that’s not core to your business

3.          To pay only for work done. You don’t pay for benefits, vacation, sick time, coffee breaks…

4.          You lack the resources for a one-time project

5.          You are too busy to do a piece of work that can be contracted out, such as research

6.          You need an outside perspective

7.          You need focus

8.          You need macro thinking

9.          You need a process

10.     Easy dismissal. Unlike the difficulties of letting go of staff, if you are not completely satisfied with the work, you just don’t hire the consultant again

 

Top Ten reasons not to hire a consultant

1.          You are looking for a scapegoat to blame if things don’t work out

2.          The work can be done by your staff

3.          You are looking for someone to tell you what to do

4.          The project requires long-term support (best to do this internally)

5.          You believe a consultant will know your business better than you and your team do

6.          You believe it is prestigious

7.          You have a budget for consulting, and you’ll lose it if you don’t use it

8.          To get support for a decision you’ve already made

9.          You need an intermediary between you and your staff

10.     Others do it, why not you?

 

menu bar