The practical actions of the consultant, the composition of his work can be presented in a large list. He selects them taking into account the specific task and the conditions for its solution. In practice, the consultant’s activities can consist of such areas as:
- informing the client – within the framework of dialogues, upon request, at the initiative of the consultant himself (most often of an irregular nature);
- diagnostics of problems and determination of methods for their solution (most often analytical methods are used here that are interconnected in the context of a specific task);
- modeling (carried out on the basis of previous experience, which allows predicting various processes by analogy);
- control (for compliance of business processes with fax lists various regulatory indicators);
- process management (instead of the client or jointly with him, given an established scheme of delimitation of powers);
- formation of reports (internal, external based on the results of the implementation of various algorithms).
3. The moment of involving a consultant in solving (diagnosing) a problem or task.
It can be fixe in the binding:
- by the time of opening a business, the stage of development of the company;
- to launch a specific business process (for example, as part of expanding production, creating a new type of activity, opening a branch, or launching a franchise);
- to support the solution being implemented (for example, in the field of IT, HR, financial management).
Thus, the specific composition Personalization of content of consulting services depends on many factors, and it is problematic to identify any patterns in its formation. But it should be noted that, regardless of the type (and content of the work of the specialists involved), consulting is characterized by:
- independence (the consultant may be an external supplier or a specialized department of the company, but in both cases the consulting activity is separate from the client’s activity). If the supplier is a consulting company, it must be impartial in relation to clients. In the event of a conflict of interest between clients, the usual practice is for the consultant to refuse to interact with the relevant parties;
- focused on increasing the efficiency of the client’s work (that is, problems are not invented, but are established rationally, and accordingly, their solution leads to real improvements);
- expertise and professionalism of the persons involved in solving the client’s problems and tasks.
High requirements for the level of training of consultants in various fields are reflected in legislative regulations and industry standards.
What are the requirements for consultants?
There are many professional standards related to consulting. Examples:
- “Tax and Duty Consultant” (Order of the Ministry of Labor dated 12.10.2021 No. 722n);
- “Patent Specialist” (order dated 21.10.2021 No. 748n);
- “Occupational Health and Safety Specialist” (order dated 22.04.2021 No. 274n).
Their specificity (like many others in the consulting segment) is the presence of requirements that provide for a high level of specialist qualification (usually not lower than 6, often 7). Professional standards prescribe quite a lot of labor functions, characterized not only by strict qualification requirements, but also by an extensive list of labor actions.
Accordingly, consulting is a highly skill, labor-intensive job. To perform it, one almost always needs a higher education in the given profile of work, and in many cases – practical experience of the consultant in the segment with which he will interact within the framework of his activities.
Apart from the content of the europe email said professional standards, industry-specific requirements for the competencies of specialists may be formed in consulting segments, which are determined by market demands and changes in business conditions.
The typical skills that are in demand in most cases include:
- high communication skills, ability to build dialogues;
- knowledge of technical solutions for quickly generating reports, models, and presentations;
- skills in financial modeling;
- ability to work taking into account trends in the field of implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
It can be said that a consultant is a specialist who must be ready to constantly master new skills and update them in relation to market realities, to ensure their own competitiveness by mastering competencies that are not typical for their profile (for example, knowledge of programming languages). The set learning goals can be achiev both within the framework of self-education and attending specialized courses, lectures with subsequent examination and confirmation of qualifications.
Despite increasingly stringent requirements for competencies, many specialists seek to develop their careers in the consulting field. This is due to:
- opportunities for personal and career growth, which directly depends on the intensity and quality of investments in one’s own development;
- opportunities to establish various connections in business and the expert community;
- engaging in practically useful work that determines the significance and personal role of a specialist in solving many complex problems, which is a huge motivating factor.
You can build a career as consultant both on the scale of an individual enterprise and within the staff of a large international brand. The leaders of the segment set the standards for the quality of services, which are benchmarks for businesses and new players.
Consulting Services: Global Brands and Industry Leaders
Consulting is a field of activity that is develop in many countries of the world, but the leaders of the industry for objective reasons (historical experience, economic volumes) are corporations originating from Western countries. Such brands include:
- McKinsey;
- BGG;
- Bain & Company;
- Kearney;
- Oliver Wyman;
- Deloitte;
- PWC;
- Ernst & Young;
- KPMG.
The corporations mention can be call multidisciplinary: they have consultants on their staff who can help businesses in a wide range of areas of actions by the consultant of activity. In Russia, there are companies with strong industry competencies, for example, in the field of tax consulting, audit, finance (B1), energy development (VYGON), and jurisprudence (Kapt).
The services of leading suppliers, as well as smaller market players, are in regular demand among Russian enterprises interest in solving many problems related to the development and maintenance of business competitiveness.
Who needs consulting?
According to data RAEX, in 2023, consulting was most in demand in the following areas:
- IT;
- finance;
- taxes;
- production of goods and services;
- strategic planning;
- assessments;
- marketing.
According to experts, the main drivers of growth in the consulting market (including within the framework of the aforementioned leading segments) include:
3. Growing demand for artificial intelligence solutions.
New technologies based on neural networks and machine learning significantly increase business efficiency in many areas (primarily related to process automation). Companies understand that their competitiveness depends on the intensity of implementation and efficiency of using AI products. When solving such problems, questions arise about ensuring the security of data exchange, protecting intellectual property and corporate secrets.
Professional consultants, thanks to a detailed study of actions by the consultant of the capabilities and features of using products, offer companies ready-made algorithms for implementing AI solutions. Following them, the company integrates technological products into the business in the shortest possible time and with a high level of security.
The Russian national consulting segment is successfully developing and responding to new challenges. It is in demand by businesses when of actions by the consultant solving complex problems of adapting to new vectors in the sphere of foreign trade, staffing, and modernization of production. The efficiency of consulting firms will largely determine the success of the development of key sectors of the country’s economy.
