Business Idea - Consultancy Recruitment

It does sound a good idea but the problem is that most consultancies do not want to flood the market with trainees, why would they want to assist in training up the future competition ? Enough competition for consultancy jobs exists in the well experienced consultants in the UK. Also insuring these trainees, because their skills are lower due to their inexperience, is almost impossible, as they are such a high risk requiring high if not complete levels of supervision. We act as consultants in a range of businesses, assisting in operational, strategic and management issues. All of our consultants are a minimum of 8 years experience post academic qualifications as we believe that is a bare minimum to acquire the confidence and exposure to the range of issues they need to deal with in client's businesses. Given what is at stake in the consultancy jobs carried out, decisions to cut back on premises, staff etc to achieve survival very often before we can plan for their profits, would any business want a trainee to be involved in that process? The whole consultancy business depends upon trusted advisors and confidential close relationships built on trust and a respect in the services offered. I don't see how bringing in trainees into that mix would benefit the client but would be interested to hear your views further. Lee Schwarz Lime One Ltd www.limeone.com 0870 240 4325
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Lee Schwartz Lime One Ltd www.limeone.com 01244 852550

Lee has hit the nail on the head again. Success in consultancy is driven by reputation, which is why opportunities are rarely offered publicly unless by public bodies. Consultants are often employed because they have skills and experience outside that usually found in the organisation employing them, but that’s not the only reason and there may be a ray of hope here if you are willing to change your business model slightly. I have often met people who are inspirational because of their ability to think creatively, laterally or in some way differently to other people. Businesses, particularly large ones, are constrained not only by their physical premises, but also by the skills and experience of their management and have enormous trouble formulating creative solutions to problems, both big and small. If you could find a panel of such people (age and experience being irrelevant; you either are imaginative/creative or you are not and I think approaching a problem with little or no experience of the organisation in which it arose can be refreshing) and offer to do some work for free, at least initially, you may prove yourselves very quickly. So, approach a couple of businesses, say what you are doing and offer to have a look at a problem from a fresh perspective, you never know. Sorry to go a bit off topic, but I think a consultancy of creative thinkers may be a more attractive proposition than a consultancy of people with the same mindset as those that employ them.
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AsMustard

Lee, Thanks a lot for that. Your info is very useful. Apart from competition, do you think it is also specific knowledge and skills for each individual area of consultancy that require a great amount of time and efforts from a person to become a trustworthy consultant? I mean, for example, how can you "consult" somebody on project finance matters(which I did and which is quite specific) if you have never done that before and it will take years for you to gain that experience? To me that does look like a real problem, too. I guess it would be possible to employ a trainee (theoretically) in less specific areas such as generic project management (if that does exist). Do you think it might be (theoretically) possible to employ trainees for pure project management positions, as for example, assistants to leading project managers, at very low salaries? Thanks for your comments. Any other comments welcome, of course. Irina

John, Thanks a lot for your comments. That does sound very interesting and a great idea to go forward with. That is, to put an emphasis not on experience as such but on bringing on "fresh look from outside" by creative people. I will definitely think about it. Does anybody from the forum want to "brainstorm" further on this idea and, maybe, get into a partnership for implementing it with me later? Irina

To answer Irana I think the issue of trustworthy in the eyes of the client is that their project is not the first time for their consultant and that by the way the consultant approaches the job previous experience shines through. I think your example of project management in an assistants' role leading to management roles in the future is how most businesses approach recruitment in this area and also interim management positions fall into this category. I thought John's idea of creative consultancy was a good one, however all consultants who come up with solutions have to be creative in implementation if they want to attract clients on reputation. For example we are lead consultants on a job at the moment which requires a sea change in culture to bring staff into the organisation's new systems. The needs of the company have been stifled by a moribund hirearchy and we are helping the business to reframe their structures. They are clear on the end result they want, we are clear on the paths forward and offer a variety of solutions so the client chooses the ultimate way forward and owns the project. We also are ensuring all keep within the law and offering input as suggestions grow into strategic plans. Creative thinking is crucial to this process as is a sharp observation of Human nature, as clients go through the range of emotions and unease with change that we all do when faced with dilemmas. Creative thinking on its own would be insufficient to achieve the results unless it is backed up by experience of organisational behaviour over time, and the time it takes to effect real significant change. The other issue is that of the low salaries, that on its own is insufficient to attract takers in my opinion. The rate of the salary and the expertise of the consultant is an issue in determining quality and a feeling of you get what you pay for does exist in this market. Cheap here is not synomous with good. A free intial period of consultancy ( maybe a day) together with a results based end payment might work better than a low payment throughout if you can persuade businesses to deal with inexperienced staff, and that I percieve is your first and largest hurdle. I would suggest that you undertake some market research, nothing too expensive, a sample of businesses you feel would benefit and then speak to them about their recruitment needs and that will give you a better view as it becomes tangible. You will then be able to modify your ideas as you get more client type data. When we pick consultants to join us we always look at the number and variety of projects the consultants have worked on. We concentrate on their ability to work under pressure, time constraints and problem solving expertise in their own field. So far we have never found these attributes in someone with less than 8 years experience, and have interviewed many. Lee Schwarz Lime One Ltd www.limeone.com 0870 240 4325
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Lee Schwartz Lime One Ltd www.limeone.com 01244 852550

Hi, I work for a private investment company. I am very interested in your idea, could you send me a business plan to my e-mail address before friday and we will take it from there. (multimedia80@hotmail.com) Thanks,