Personal Consultancy- Shiv Khera

 Many businesses, understandably, struggle with the decision of whether or not to hire a consultant. Senior management may believe that making such a decision demonstrates their inadequacy in running the company and could be threatened by a consultant's expertise. However, this is clearly a counterproductive viewpoint for any company looking to expand. Some reasons listed below demonstrate why personal consultancy is required and why consultants are frequently required tools for taking businesses of any size to the next level.

Responsibilities of Personal Consultant

Understanding the various personal consultancy roles and responsibilities can help you decide whether this is the right career path for you. Consultants support their clients in achieving their business objectives by providing expert advice in their area of expertise. They consult with their clients on a variety of topics, including business development, finance, marketing, sales, operations, customer service, accounting, and financial planning. A consultant's responsibilities include the following:

• Fully understand the client's short-term or long-term goals' requirements, issues, and needs

• Conduct surveys and interviews to collect data and analyse it in order to identify and understand a problem or issue that has arisen, and explain their findings to management for advice or suggestions on how to achieve the goals.

• Create plans to implement their recommendations and train staff to deal with the changes.

• Evaluate the situation on a regular basis and make changes as needed to discover the best solutions for any problem at hand.

• Guide their client so that their business can be more effective and grow easily.

Major Advantages of Personal Consultancy

An Objective Outsider's Point of View

Owners and senior management have typically invested significant time, energy, and resources into their companies, which is especially true for small to mid-sized businesses. It's no surprise that business owners frequently refer to their companies as "babies." Companies can easily become blind to troubles that are often right in front of their noses because of bias or certainly being too close to the problems to clearly see them. Personal consultancy with fresh eyes can often identify the true issues holding companies back quickly.

Furthermore, family-owned businesses frequently suffer from relationship dynamics that make it difficult for family members to speak honestly and openly about problems dragging the company down. Perhaps one family member's poor performance is causing the company to lack a unified strategy, or perhaps an inter-familial political battle is causing the company to have no unified strategy. A neutral and objective consultant will be able to discuss these issues openly and without fear of consequences.

Meeting Short-Term Objectives

Employees are proven performers in their respective job descriptions. However, when other skill sets are involved, it can be difficult to get employees to implement short-term goals. Employees who normally perform specific tasks may become irritated by having additional responsibilities, or they may simply be unfit and inexperienced for the task. Bringing in an experienced consultant as well as the resources available to him or her often results in significant time and money saved from retraining employees, organising and prioritising their schedules, and executing the strategy.

Making Use of New Skills

A key component of any consultant's job is staying current with business trends, methodologies, and strategies. When these skills are applied, it is common for company leaders to demand an in-depth explanation of the methodologies used and how the consultant arrived at his or her conclusions.

Outside Knowledge And experience

Any consultant hired must have prior experience and knowledge of the industry in which the company operates. Because the consultant has typically spent time with similar companies (which may or may not be competitors), the consultant should have a good understanding of what other companies are doing and what it will take to outperform the competition. For example, the consultant could easily point out that a company isn't using a popular customer communication system that allows similar companies to save money in this area.

Having Time to Plan

Finding the extra time needed to develop effective plans or execution strategies on top of a slew of other responsibilities can be difficult for managers. Taking this time can often feel like a luxury that the company cannot afford, especially in the early stages of planning a project that may never happen. Unfortunately, many potentially valuable projects as well as ideas never gain traction due to a lack of time.

About Shiv Khera

Shiv Khera is a self-help author and activist from India. While working in the United States, he was inspired by a Norman Vincent Peale lecture and followed his motivational teachings. Shiv Khera is the author of several books, including You Can Win. In India, he established the Country First Foundation to "ensure freedom through education and justice," but he also began an anti-caste reservation campaign. He is an expert in life coaching and personal consultancy, and has helped many people achieve their goals and live a happy life.