7 reasons to hire an operations consultant

     The situations that warrant engaging an Operations Consultant are too numerous, and too varied, to ever hope to describe them all in any detail.  Some are purely technical, while others involve less-concrete concerns inherent in group dynamics.  Some require a response to a short-term crisis, or disaster recovery, while others require the development of a long-term strategy.  Some will magnify the challenges by involving multiple levels of management and various groups, internal and external to the organization.  These groups may be geographically distant and culturally disparate.  They will likely have differing responsibilities, motivations, and levels of autonomy.
     While not comprehensive, the preceding should give one a sense of how many “moving parts” could be present in any planning or decision-making process or project execution.  The following 7 Reasons to Hire an Operations Consultant is intended to facilitate focus amid such chaos.  It can be used to help formulate your thoughts on the situation you face, define your needs, and facilitate preliminary communications with an Operations Consultant.

1. An Operations Consultant can provide expertise that may be underdeveloped within the organization.
2. An Operations Consultant can offer the benefit of experience – the ability to apply knowledge and skills to new situations, to recognize warning signs, and to craft an appropriate change of course.
3. An Operations Consultant can provide leadership to an incomplete, inexperienced, or otherwise wayward team.  Consistent communication, organization, and a disciplined approach provide a foundation on which a team – and the individuals within it – can build success.
4. When project objectives and required tasks are understood, but the team is insufficiently staffed to execute in a timely manner, an Operations Consultant can provide the additional manpower needed to propel the team across the finish line on schedule.  There are two common roles the Operations Consultant can play.  The Operations Consultant may manage the organization’s strategic objectives, ensuring they are not forsaken in an environment of “firefighting” and shifting priorities.  Alternatively, the Operations Consultant may play the role of “firefighter,” allowing the staff to dedicate themselves to an important project.
   
5. An unbiased perspective allows an Operations Consultant to refine, or “polish,” an organization’s output or process to maximize the desired effect – and affect – of the team members, customers, and other stakeholders.  That is, the Operations Consultant guides your team’s quest for an optimal solution.
   
6. Engaging an Operations Consultant is an excellent way to disrupt groupthink by injecting fresh ideas, asking probing questions, and challenging biases.  This serves to ensure that ideas and processes are adequately vetted to achieve the best possible outcome for the organization.
7. An Operations Consultant can ensure genuine “buy-in” of various stakeholders by verifying mutual understanding and shared objectives.  A third-party facilitator, with no vested interest in the final decision to be made, can discretely address concerns of various parties by maintaining a discussion of merits, without undue influence of a powerful personality or position.

     I hope you have found this sufficiently brief and clarifying.  If I can help you with this analysis, please feel free to contact me.

Jody W. Phelps, MSc, PMP®, MBA
Principal Consultant
JayWink Solutions, LLC
jody@jaywink.com