Re:How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
by ZenoArrow on Saturday December 23, 2017 @12:41PM
(#15995228)
The issue you're overlooking is that these management consultants are being paid large fees for information that a company can get for free just by listening to their existing employees. However, that's not a slight on the management consultants themselves (nice work if you can get it), but is a slight on companies that don't trust that their employees can give them sound advice. Problems at the ground level are going to become apparent earliest to those working at that level, if you ignore that feedback you're potentially throwing away valuable information.
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Re:How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
by amenod on Saturday December 23, 2017 @03:47PM
(#15996183)
As GP stated, this is not about (not) believing your employees, this is about risk management. In many cases it is justified - do you really want to run your company based on everything your employees come up with? Sometimes you need to check if their instincts are right, especially for decisions that have huge impact on your business. Price for consultants, while it might seem high to you, is actually pretty low compared to business values. Look at it as a kind of insurance.
Re:How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
by Kinrany on Saturday December 23, 2017 @01:22PM
(#15995443)
How do the companies know that they can trust their employees?
Re:How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
by pjc50 on Saturday December 23, 2017 @01:58PM
(#15995635)
How do they know they can trust the consultant?
(More seriously, being unable to trust your employees to give useful feedback is a sign that your culture is a disaster)
Re:How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
by jwhitlark on Saturday December 23, 2017 @03:57PM
(#15996222)
They diff the output of the consultant against that of the employee. Trust, but verify.
Re:How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
by ZenoArrow on Saturday December 23, 2017 @01:52PM
(#15995603)
They must trust them enough to employ them. Even if they don't think any single person they employ has "all the answers", if you listen to feedback from your employees you can get a sense of trends. Furthermore, these observations should be something verifiable. You're asking for concrete feedback on issues, not vague comments about what's wrong.