What do you understand by independent consultant?

Independent consultants are professionals who play a major role in assisting clients in various industries. They are responsible for evaluating the requirement of the client and provide mentorship in some aspects of a business operation or management of personal matter. The work of a consultant is to identify the strength and weakness of the business operation and then provides advice so as to enhance the efficiency of the system. The consultant assists in restructuring a component of a business in such a way which enables a company to achieve targeted goals.

An independent consultant is responsible for evaluating different operations of a business. Different departments, processes and procedures of a business are first assessed by the consultant, and accordingly, they advice and give recommendations.

What are the different types of consultant?

The market for consulting service is huge. There are various opportunities for independent consultants. Independent consultants are of various types. They are:

1. Personal consultants : Personal consultants offer advices on personal issues like weight loss, skin care, fitness, relationship matters, etc
2. Technical consultants: Technical consultants offer advice on technical matters. They are mainly hired to execute a specific project. Technical consultants include graphic designers, IT consultants, copywriting consultants, online researchers, and many more.
3. Business consultants: Business consultants offer advice on various matters related to business. There are various types of consultants in this category. Some o f them are:

• Strategy consultants: Strategy consultants operate at the top level of consulting market. They focus on strategic topics such as corporate and organisational strategy, public policy etc.
• Operational consultant: Operational consultants provide support to clients so that they can improve the performance of various areas within the business.
• Financial consultants: Financial consultants provide advice on various financial matters ranging from corporate finance to risk management.
• Human resource consultants: Human resource consultants provide advice on topics related to human capital, which include change management on large transformations, compensation and benefits, learning & development and pensions.

4. Executive consultants: Executive consultants include legal consultants, labour relations consultants, conflict resolution consultants, jury consultants, medical consultants and many more. They tend to charge the highest fee.

Why are independent consultants hired?

There are multiple advantages of hiring an independent consultant. Some of which are discussed below:

1. The cost of hiring an independent consultant is less compared to hiring a fulltime employee, to serve the same purpose.
2. Independent consultants are outsiders, so there is less possibility of them getting involved in internal office politics or any sensitive issue.
3. Independent consultants are responsible for their own work. They have the adequate knowledge and experience of working in the specific field needed by the company. So no training and management from the company will be required.
4. Independent consultants can easily take those decisions, which no one inside the company wants to take.