In 2022, the employment landscape has changed, with casual employment and rolling fixed term contracts under greater scrutiny, more organisations than ever are looking to external consultants to support their broad business needs.
Consulting is more than just labour hire, it is about providing fit for purpose support to enhance the organisations. Contrary to what some people might think, consulting is now emerging as a commercially viable option for many organisations. Here are just some of the reasons why.
Independence
Whilst consultants seek to align themselves with the client, there are times when being independent is important. In a recent task, we provided support to an organisation by managing their difficult covid vaccination discussions. The consultant was able to act objectively and listen with empathy without judgment or bias connected with past interactions within the workplace.
Similarly, when a consultant runs a workplace investigation, they can operate independently to focus on the evidence relevant to the matter.
Perspective and value add
Working inside a large organisation you can at times become absorbed by the day to day making it harder to step back and ask those important questions and challenge the established processes and practices.
A consultant provides an empathetic, commercial mindset to a new engagement, often offering a simpler solution that is fit for purpose. Or on other occasions, influencing others to be brave and go big on something that is a big change, but will have a huge positive impact on the organisation.
Access to a broad network
Working with a large client book means consultants work with all kinds of amazing professionals, from senior management to individual line managers, and of course all kinds of HR practitioners. All come with a different needs and ideas on what the right solution is for them.
By working with a wide variety of stakeholders and organisations, consultants have the unique ability to see what works for different organisations and share lessons learned so that a client’s future projects can avoid the same road bumps.
Flexibility and scale
Consulting lends itself well to remote and flexible work with the majority of work performed in a project capacity. This is where organisations can end up optimising their headcount, by turning on the consultants when then need it, utilising the varying levels of expertise depending on the job at hand.
A project which is beyond the capability or capacity of your in house resource can either be outsourced or a consultant can be engaged to support and upskill internal resources.
It is a tough job market out there at the moment, and people talk about finding that unicorn, someone who can talk strategy as well as execute operational projects. By engaging consultants with varying skills and experience across different phases of work, you can have it all.
The take away? With a future full of change and new ways of working, there is a growing place for consulting for all levels of experience. Consulting no longer means something disconnected and external to a successful business model, but can now be embedded and an integral part of it.
If you would like to find out more about working as a consultant, or would like to engage with Azuhr to partner with your business in a HR solutions, contact us for a confidential chat.
Amy Williams
Senior Consultant
Azuhr
+61 400 046 802
[email protected]
