How to Use Consultants
Your External Workforce
The term “consultant” is inaccurate. Modern consulting is more of an external workforce. Understanding this concept will help you utilize consultants effectively.
Think of your internal workforce (employees) as the managers of your business. They focus on core compentencies that never go away & are unique to your business or industry.
This is supplemented by an external workforce (consultants & contractors) that are specialists in areas that are non-core to your business. In the tech era, businesses are always evolving. Consultants & contractors give you the agility to bring in flex workers while you need them. This minimizes your overhead & maximizes value/results.
Below we provide videos to educate you on this concept. This is a discussion we frequently have with clients, as they think about how to design their organizations & rely on consultants.
To view all videos on one page — visit this special Vimeo Microsite.
What Consultants Actually Do?
The word "consultant" is totally misunderstood. Jonathan discusses what consultants actually do, and shares a funny story about how his family thought he worked for the CIA!
External vs Internal Workforce
Here’s a statement that often shocks clients — and helps them think different:
Your external workforce is AS IMPORTANT as your internal workforce!
Typically our clients next statement is “whoa”! But they also intuitively agree. Why? Because they understand & can feel that the workforce is evolving. This has been happening for a decade, but has accelerated as technology continues to advance, jobs become more specialized, and the employer/employee commitment shrinks.
Build Your External Workforce
How do you turn your 'External Workforce' into a strategic asset & differentiator vs. your competition. In this video, Jonathan shows you how to think about this, as well as some of the hurdles you'll need to overcome.
Get the Right Team
Client Managers — listen up! This is literally ‘the main point’ for you personally! And it is amazing how many time we see clients miss on this.
Your main job… is to get the team right. Period!
Nothing will determine your success (or failure) more than this. We often have this conversation — and it seems like we’re ‘stating the obvious’ — but it always helps! You have to get the right employees, consultants and contractors.
And if you get the wrong ones, it often takes 2-6 months to figure it out and replace them.
Evolution of the Employer Social Contract
The 30-year job is gone. In this video Jonathan discusses how the relationship has evolved between employer & employee, and what this means for how companies manage their workforce.
Big Firms vs Independent
The consulting industry has evolved over the last 15 years. In this video, Jonathan discusses what this means for clients & consultants, as well as when to use big firms vs small firms and independent contractors.