Anti Ageing Svantess Others What do Consultants do in Practice?

What do Consultants do in Practice?

Are you considering a graduate career in consulting but are unsure of what it entails?

In this article, we take a look at the three types of work consultants do in practice.

The Three Types of Consultancy

The work that consultants perform varies depending on the type of consultancy they do, but in general, if you’re working on a project or “case,” you’ll be doing work that falls into one of three categories: research, analysis, or presenting of results.

  • Research

This type of consultancy involves sorting through all of the information available and determining what is crucial (or not). Research tasks might involve a variety of things, such as reading reports, financial records, or speaking with your client and their clients. It doesn’t always mean simply searching Google on your computer, but there is obviously some of that involved.

You will frequently start your project as a consultant with a hypothesis. A hypothesis-driven strategy enables you to concentrate on demonstrating (or disproving) a specific point rather than “boiling the ocean” (a metaphor for going overboard and, in this case, performing limitless amounts of research).

For instance, do you have a gut feeling that your client ought to liquidate their unprofitable side venture? You’ll first take a look at how that company is now working, how it generates revenue, and how the industry as a whole is faring. Possibly, you’ll discover that the company is, in fact, sitting on a significant opportunity that they ought to seize immediately. Alternately, you can discover that, yes, the company is robbing its parent company dry and has to be sold, liquidated, and eliminated as quickly as possible.

Your hypothesis will help you focus on what’s most crucial, set parameters for your research, and give it direction. After all, there’s no reason to make your task more difficult than it needs to be!

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Research assignments could be as follows:

  • Get a better understanding of your client’s background, what they do and how they do it, how they make money (and whether or not that money is expected to continue coming in), and the opportunities and problems they confront. Interviewing important stakeholders from both inside and outside the organization is a standard part of this research, and it enables you to gain insight into what makes the organization run smoothly. Also, gathering client information may be necessary for yearly reports, financial statements, and other strategic papers.
  • Knowing your client’s industry means getting to know the key players, trends, risks from the competition, regulations, and overall profitability of the sector. You can consult investment banking reports, databases, news stories, or expert interviews. Based on previous project experience or case studies, certain larger consultancies, especially international ones, frequently have resources you can use.
  • Generating critical insights. The standard expectation is for you to communicate the major themes, trends, and conclusions to your team and client once you have a thorough understanding of your client and the industry. This helps you to consolidate your knowledge and strategy for resolving your client’s issue.

Analysis

Even if consultants have strong instincts, it’s not enough for them to make suggestions based just on their gut. It all comes down to the facts and having the analysis to support them. In the end, it is what you are paid to do.

Once you have done the necessary research for a normal strategy consulting project, it’s time to get your hands dirty and start creating Excel spreadsheets. As you continue to support or refute your theory, the analysis phase compiles all the data you have gathered. It serves as the cornerstone of your final advice.

Typical analysis tasks include:

  • Data aggregation. Finding and then compiling the necessary data is one of your main jobs, especially as a more junior consultant. Think of it as basically anything to do with numbers, like balance sheets or income statements. However, data can also be qualitative, like interviews and surveys. In addition to requesting specific customer data, extracting data from industry studies, or using internal firm databases, you may already have some of this information from any earlier research you performed.
  • Data analysis. It’s time to start deciphering the meaning of your data. You should continuously be asking yourself, “so what?”. For instance, your research tells you that the retail sector is likely to collapse due to the introduction of a major international online retailer. But sowhat? What exactly does this entail for your customer, and what measures should they take to protect their market position?
  • All of this research aids in the creation of your final recommendations. It is crucial you have the data and facts to support your proposal because this will give your clients more faith in what you are saying and the chosen course of action.

Presenting Findings and Recommendations

PowerPoint is the primary presentation format used by consultants. If you work as a consultant, you’ll quickly become an expert at PowerPoint!

The “deck” or “pack” is the main way that the client is informed of the results of the research and the consultant’s recommendations. Building a high-level, conceptual plot is necessary, as opposed to just pasting nice charts from Excel into Powerpoint.

The presentation plays a fundamental role in assisting your client team members in updating top executives. For instance, your client might be the CEO’s top subordinate who oversees the execution of the bank’s business plan. There is no space for egos since it is your responsibility as a consultant to enhance the image of your client.

If you do create a model for your customer, you might have to “give over” the model to them after it is finished. This means that before your client can utilize the model, you will need to “clean it up” (no “fast and dirty” spreadsheets are permitted!). Then create documentation so that your clients may comprehend the model. You could also be required to teach a member of the client team who has been assigned to you how to utilize and comprehend the model. This is a standard step in the entire consulting project process.

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