Every business owner understands how difficult it is finding that perfect candidate who can pretty much do every task you throw them for a salary that won’t empty your pocket.
Hiring a consultant is a perfect way to meet initial costs for specific jobs but ensuring the work can be done by a seasoned professional.
One issue with an employee is that they are able to perform the roles for the job they were employed to do, but the time to train them to undertake work that a consultant has a skill set in doing is something that is too time costly.
Not to mention potential issues with existing customers not being supported if those employees are detracted from their daily tasks to learn immediately required new skills.
I am not suggesting internal continual professional development and training should not be actioned as it should, but when a specific piece of work for a customer needs to happen, it makes sense hiring a consultant who is able to tackle the role without too much management from the business owner and, more importantly, their chargeable rate although sometimes quite expensive, is only an initial cost which can for the majority of times be claimed back from the customer.
IT consultancy is an ideal way for companies to hire very experienced professionals to tackle specific, technical tasks that they have the requisite knowledge in.
It is also a good way of forming long-standing relationships or even Venture Partners that you can rely on for future work, plus your customer will be happy knowing that the task at hand is being handled by a professional.
At the end of the day, a business owner simply needs to know the following: The work can be done, the work can be done well, the work can be done without costing too much money and that their customer will be happy.
The answer to the above is find a consultant who is able to undertake the specific task that you need, whether that be through an existing contact, online outsourcing website or consultancy firm. Then hire them, brief them on the work, ensure that they follow the job sheet and then act as the intermediary management between them and your customer.
You will find a lot of success with this method and in the long run, using a consultant at those required times does keep the costs down, especially if you can bill your customer for their time. Plus, if you retain the consultant on your books for future work, you would have already formed a good working relationship to work together effectively and efficiently next time.