Concierge Consulting - Expertise on demand. The new consulting model!
The hiring of experts has always been an expensive and frustrating exercise. The process of vetting candidates and trying to find the best fit between capability, budget and availability are indeed some of the challenges that constantly need to be addressed.
Traditionally a company finds itself in need of an external specialist with expert know-how to finish a project or to support the existing team. Usually, companies will hire an expert for six months with an option to extend if required.
During this period, various factors affect the productivity of the new hire. Delays in the HR process, such as onboarding and paperwork, can result in wasted time before the candidate can actually join the company. Issues with access to the systems, waiting for hardware delivery or dependencies on the other teams to complete their work also contribute to reduced productivity. Moreover, non-work-related activities such as team lunches, birthday parties and other social events further impact the productive output of the specialist. These distractions, though often necessary for team building and morale, usually consume a significant portion of a consultant's time.
Since Corona, my business models have evolved. Before Corona, I was typically hired per day/week/project basis and spent the entire time onsite. This required the customer to be ready to utilise my expertise and spend days and weeks with me to profit from it. Still, the issues mentioned above were constantly arising, thus reducing the productivity of everyone involved.
Today I offer "Concierge Consulting"- expertise on demand.
It's an exclusive tailored service that enables my clients to access my skills and that of my business partners as they require it. The process has developed over the last five years but has become more feasible and secure for all concerned after Corona. The times during COVID demonstrated that to achieve a functioning workplace, pre-existing notions of business as usual needed to change if industries wanted not only to survive but thrive during such unpredictable and unprecedented times. Zoom/Teams became the standard rather than the exception. We didn't have the luxury of going into the office or consulting onsite, so everything changed. As the domino effect has shown, more flexible business arrangements, conditions, and locations are being used.
The new model allows clients to book prepaid time or contract me for a specific project with monthly billing which means they contact me anytime with questions, queries, and tasks. They only pay for the actual time I used to finalise these.
A comparison would be buying a DVD and watching Netflix. I provide an on-demand service similar to the model that companies use when they do cloud computing. They only pay for what they use. Another significant benefit is that when engaging with a concierge consultant, the company retains a person who knows and understands their environment and can give a real depth of insight into their challenges and projects, increasing the service's value.
For most of my customers, this is one of their biggest bonuses. I know and understand their struggles, their challenges and the history behind decisions. With this, I'm able to consult and architect solutions that precisely fit their need.
The concierge system not only lends itself favourably to consulting but also to training.
Traditional training often suffers from low participant knowledge retention and interruptions due to day-to-day business activities (BAU - Business as usual). However, by utilising a concierge service, training can be divided into smaller, more digestible segments delivered when trainees have the dedicated time to focus on the content. This approach increases knowledge transfer and retention. Additionally, this approach provides an in-depth correlation between the training subjects and the trainee's daily work and environment, significantly increasing the return on investment (ROI) for these training initiatives.
Another significant benefit of concierge consulting is the capitalisation of time zones. Time differences can be utilised strategically to increase efficiency and decrease cost. For instance, clients in different time zones can assign tasks to consultants at the end of business (EoB) and receive completed tasks at the start of their business day, maximising throughput. Similarly, consultants in different time zones during their daytime can perform critical changes or tasks that require overnight attention, eliminating the impact of time-related concentration issues and labour penalties for the client company.
Concierge Consulting Solutions is a result-driven, cost-efficient approach that has evolved and adapted to today's business demands and dynamic landscape.
Contact Langenhan.Solutions to explore how our proven and result-driven Concierge Consulting can transform the way you access and leverage expert knowledge.
