5 Steps of Business Management Consulting

16 Oct

5 Steps of Business Management Consulting

The process of business management consulting involves several steps. Implementation consultants are hired for various purposes. A management consulting firm often takes up several big projects at once, which they later find difficult to complete in time. This is when an implementation consultant helps out by executing large, company-wide projects. They are a big part of the whole consulting process.

Business management consulting services can be of different kinds dealing in various areas of business. But the process involving the consulting company and the client remains more or less the same.

Consulting services are generally hired when the client organization needs help with certain business practices. However, regardless of the size or type of project, the following five steps are the most important part of the consulting process.

1. Entry and contract

This is the first step of the consulting process where the clients tests the consulting firms skills and the company learns if it is capable of the project. This step basically involves the client providing the details of what the project requires and the consulting firm figuring out if they can take up the project.

Both parties come to know of expectations they have from each other. The first step is usually about breaking the ice and figuring out if a working relationship between the company and the client can be established.

2. Discovery and discussion

Although a lot of information is already gathered in the first step the second step involves the consulting firm doing a research on the client organization and finding out more details.

From the information that is gathered by the firm the two parties proceed to discuss the required steps and how the project can be taken forward.

3. Feedback and action

Put the feedback received from the consulting firm the client organization decides to act. This requires the client organization to understand the feedback given by the consulting firm and how it can be carried out with help from the firm.

4. Implementation

This step involves implementing the solutions offered by the consulting firm to the client organization. The client is responsible for carrying out the solutions provided by the consultancy, but the firm remains deeply involved in the process, offering changes and alterations in the strategy as and when required.

Implementation consultants are often involved in this process, working with the client organization to put the solutions into practice.

5. Extension or closure

This is the final step and begins with the evaluation of the whole process. After the implementation, this is when both parties come together to evaluate the successes and failures of the solutions.

If the solutions need to be implemented on a larger scale, a new contract needs to be formed and the project extended.

If the project was a failure, the contract needs to be terminated. If the project was a success and no further steps are needed, then the project is closed with a working relationship ending on a solid note.

These five steps are the most important in a business management consulting process.