In my opinion, one of the best options available to businesses (regardless of size) is to hire an outside Technology Consultant. There are really nice people you can call (or email), explain exactly what you need done, and they will send someone over to do it. That makes me think Uber might need to start a new leg of their operation and call it Uber Tech – you order a consultant and they will pick them up and bring them right to your door! No? Well, anything is possible.
There are so many reasons why hiring a consultant is beneficial, but I want to focus on just three. A consultant’s primary role at a company is to assist in a specific area of work or project, to offer guidance and results, and ultimately to make the business more profitable.
Hiring a consultant will assure you are going to have someone with a specialized skill set you probably will not have with in house employees. IT and technology consultants have experience in implementing projects for a significant number and a variety of different organizations – because that is what they do for a living. You will benefit from their knowledge and experience needed to take advantage of best options, and avoid common pitfalls. The complicated nature and rapid change of technology in businesses means you need someone who has seen these circumstances first hand and already has the experience needed to complete their task quickly and proficiently.
Offers Outside Perspective
A consultant provides much-needed objectivity. They can provide a fresh viewpoint without having to worry about offending anyone or playing “office politics”. Sometimes there are conflicting ideas about which direction a project or task should go, and an outside consultant can provide valuable, unbiased perspective. The consultant will be able to remain calm in the face of conflicting technical views and conflicting information, and pursue a solution using an organized, fact-oriented approach. Given their experience, they can often bring new and innovative ideas or possible challenges to the table that companies probably wouldn’t have been able to see on their own.
Saves Money/Resources
Hiring a consultant actually cuts down on costs – since they are independent workers, you do not have to provide employee benefits, tax contributions, or other perks/incentives. And since they can be provided to you from a reputable consulting/staffing group – you save weeks of time and resources by not having to perform hiring and onboarding tasks, such as advertising for candidates, conducting interviews, running background checks, looking into references, and making offers or counter offers. You will automatically be given the best fit for your company and be able to begin working with the technology professional with little to no training required. Consultants are hired on as-needed basis, which means when their task is completed they move on. There is no complicated process of trying to repurpose the employee into another role or planning a dreaded layoff.
Lindsey Packett
I am a person who cares about people, and technology, and technological people!