Business consulting refers to a service by one business to help other organizations to improve performance. The primary method utilized is for the consulting business to thoroughly analyze existing business problems of the other organizations and develop plans for improvement.
Organizations hire management consultants for various reasons, including, for instance, to gain external objective advice and recommendations, to gain access to the specialized expertise of the consultant, or to obtain temporary help for a one-time project when the hiring of permanent employees is not necessary.
Consultancies are generally aware of industry “best practices” due to their exposure to and experience dealing with numerous organizations, although whether practices from one organization can be applied to another is debatable.
Consultancies may also provide operational improvement services, organizational change management assistance, technology implementation, development of coaching skills, or strategy development.
Business consultants usually bring their own methodologies to guide the identification of problems and to serve as the basis for recommendations for efficient or effective ways of performing business tasks.
Business consulting consists of numerous specializations, such as human resource consulting, information technology consulting, and others. These may overlap and are usually offered by large diversified consultancies. listed below. “Boutique” consultancies are smaller organizations which specialize in one or a few of such specializations.
Business Consulting is growing in non-business related fields, such as government or non-profit agencies, as the need for specialized and professional advice grows and private sector managerial principles can be applied to their benefit.