Consultancy
Firstly, a consultant provides expertise that a client lacks or support that a client is unable to fulfill. In return for their professional services, the consultant charges a fee.
Secondly, a consultant operates independently from the client, implying that, from the respective consultant, there is no conflict of interests between the client's issue and the services.
Thirdly, a consultant operates in a professional manner, which ranges from having the right qualifications to ensuring high quality service delivery and a solid internal operation.
Why do clients hire consultants?
One of the defining features of a consultant suggests that clients hire consultants because they possess a knowledge advantage. In the overlarge majority of cases this is the main reason; a client hires a consulting firm to provide expert advice that ultimately (should) lead to the resolution of an issue within the client's organisation. There are however more reasons why consultants are hired:
• consultants are independent and provide an objective view on dilemma's and solutions
• external consultants are less susceptible to internal politics and/or sensitive situations
• hiring consultants may in certain areas be cheaper than retaining the expertise in-house
• when firms find themselves short in capacity for projects/positions consultants can backfill
• consultants can easier do the 'dirty work', i.e. take the decisions no one internally wants to make