Why Use an External Consultant?

External consultants offer several advantages to other conventional hiring alternatives; however, there may be disadvantages in certain situations. External consultants are value resources when existing teams lack the skills or availability to successfully complete their work. Consultants can be used to accelerate your business because of their skills and flexibility.

Often a senior resource is required to initiate a new program but once initiated, a junior or intermediate resource can run the program. Consultants are excellent resources to launch new programs as they bring a wealth of industry knowledge that can be applied to the project. Consultants can also help with internal decision making by bringing an external perspective and reducing the impacts of internal competition.

Pros and Cons

The following is a list of reasons for and against using an external consultant. We believe that there are situations where an external consultant provides value that cannot be delivered by an internal team; however, we recognize that some circumstances do not warrant the use of external resources. Our objective is for our customers to understand when it makes sense to use an external resource.

Pros:

There are minimal administrative barriers to engage a consultant.
Consultants add skills and capabilities that you may not have in your team.
Improve diversity and reduce internal bias through an external perspective (e.g. project reviews).
Facilitate decision making processes and mitigate internal competition.
Access knowledge from other organizations and industry best practices.
Build capabilities (skills transfer) within your internal team (mentoring).
Isolate internal management from sensitive internal decisions.
Support internal staff during operational peaks (load balancing).
No long-term commitments - use the contracted resource as needed.
Using consultants can let your organization focus on its core competencies.
Used wisely, consulting services can expedite the development of your business or products.

Cons:

It may take some time for the consultant to understand your business.
Knowledge leaves with the consultant if skills transfor is not managed well.
The consultant has limited stake in the outcome of the recommendations.
Using external resources can potentially undermine the self-esteem of existing staff.
Hourly rates and travel costs can be expensive on the short-term.
The consultant may not have the skills you are looking for - chose carefully.

Our Approach:

Abinsi’s strategy is to establish long-term relationships with our clients where our services are used on an as-needed basis. As part of this commitment, we differentiate ourselves from “body shops” and “outsourcing companies” by providing value added business services, skills transfer, and resources that can augment your capabilities. Our team is committed to enhancing your organization's core competencies.