Why do you want to hire a consultant? The study shows that the main reasons why organizations hire outside consultants are that they lack specific expertise, require someone to innovate, staff are few, and need help identifying problems. Moreover, ask for help in starting a business, new connections, promoting change, and needing an objective view. All of these reasons mentioned require the consultant to know their things, work with your team, and understand your work. This guide will help you make sure the consultant you hire can get the job done.

The consultant should know their stuff

An IT consultant who lacks technical knowledge wouldn’t complete tasks alone or earn the respect that allows them to motivate your technical team. In the current scenario, a strong tech background doesn’t necessarily mean having a college degree - tech skills can come from hobby experiences, a nanotechnology course, or a training camp. It doesn’t matter where the technical knowledge comes from, as long as the consultant’s curriculum includes the necessary technical skills, including specific hardware and software products and versions. You don’t want to pay the consultant to learn on the job. Competence can be demonstrated by conducting a pre-employment interview with your internal team, an online job portfolio, including contributions to open source projects, or confirming their skills from conversations with their references.

The consultant must understand your business model

An efficient IT consultant must not only have the right technical knowledge, but also the appropriate business knowledge. Although the technology is the same wherever it is deployed, each business domain has certain limitations that determine how technology is used and how effective it is. While not essential for solving technical issues, it helps if the consultant has experience working with other companies in your industry. It is also helpful if that industry experience has existed in a company of comparable size. The IT problems, business challenges, and appropriate solutions to both problems are not the same in a Fortune 500 company or a mom and pop company. In order to create a solution that is appropriate for the environment, it is important to understand how the size of the company can affect its ability to adapt and support a proposed solution.

Ensure your consultant can work efficiently with your team

Whatever the scenario, IT strategy consultants must have good communication skills. Depending on your workplace, communication can occur in person, via email, or PPT presentations, so speaking and writing skills are vital. They need the ability to use their communication skills to work with their IT team, their business contacts, and IT and business management. Consultants need the ability to defend their point of view and recognize when others have a better idea. Apart from communication skills, the consultant must be integrated into your team; it means that your work style should be in sync with the way your team works and schedules.

Feel free to reach out to me if you need help with what is right for you, using this link.

Cheers!