A Brief Discussion of Various Consulting Specialties
Author: Jerry Zhang
Over the past years, we have been seeing more and more new graduates from top business schools around the world being drawn to the consulting industry, attracted by the growth opportunities and high wages. However, many young job seekers find themselves confused when they are faced with a vast number of different consulting specialties, unsure about which specific specialty suits them the best. According to Vault.com, there are four major types of consulting services: management/strategy consulting; financial consulting; IT consulting; and HR/staffing Consulting. Additionally, there are other types of less popular specialties, such as healthcare, political, and marketing consulting.
In this week’s article, we discuss how the work entailed by various types of consulting specialties differ; and how students can make better decisions on which type of consulting specialty to pursue based on their skillset and academic background.
Management Consulting
Management consultants offer services that address a wide array of organizational concerns. In particular, they advise companies on their corporate strategy, organizational design, and operations management, etc. For instance, management consultants may be tasked with identifying the cause of declining market share and devising a remedy to resolve the problem. Ultimately, they cerate value for their clients by effectively improving their operating efficiency and profitability. A typical management consultant’s work entails identifying the problems behind the business issue faced by the client, by interviewing key employees and analyzing relevant company data; devising appropriate solutions; and delivering presentations to clients.
Management Consulting vs. Strategy Consulting
Moreover, even though the terms management and strategy consulting are usually used interchangeably, there are important distinctions between the two. Management consulting is a collective term that encompasses many branches of consulting services including strategy consulting. As a result, management consultants work in a wide variety of fields. In contrast, strategy consultants focus on specific management issues, and they usually work with top directors in the client organizations such as C-suite executives. For instance, strategy consultants may be tasked with recommending a strategic short-term plan for a company, such as whether to enter a new market or to decide on the appropriate mix of sales channels.
Financial Consulting
Financial consulting is another common speciality in the consulting industry. As the name suggests, financial consultants provide a wide variety of financial advice, such as capital budgeting, project evaluation, financial risk management to client corporations. In general, they help client organizations enhance their capital efficiency. Some consulting firms also provides financial services to high-net-worth individuals, offering support on wealth management and clients’ other financial needs. The skills required to become a competent financial consultant include knowledge in accounting and the financial industry as well as skills in quantitative analysis. Therefore, it is naturally a potential career path for students majoring in accounting and finance. As the nature of the work of a financial consultant resembles that of professionals in banks, insurance companies, and accounting firms, it is a good idea to accumulate work experience in these alternative industries in order to better prepare for a job in financial consulting.
IT Consulting
As firms of all sizes embrace digitization, many rely on IT consulting agencies to implement new technologies in hopes of improving operating efficiency and reducing cost. IT consulting is an umbrella term and it entails a number of capabilities such as data analytics and cloud computing. IT consultants may be tasked with designing new software customized to clients’ needs or fixing clients’ existing software/hardware applications. Additionally, clients may also ask IT consultants to offer advice on cutting-edge technology as well as staff training. This specific specialty of consulting services is expected to see high growth in the following years, as many industries are accelerating digitization and as the application of new technologies expand. An unprecedented amount of data is now generated by businesses every day, to properly manage and process their data has become imperative for any business to prosper and grow. Businesses’ needs to improve their operations by leveraging data will continuously propel the growth of IT consulting.
HR/Staffing Consulting
Last but not least, HR/staffing consulting is another popular consulting specialty. HR consultants are hired to assist client firms in their attempt to find and recruit permanent or temporary talents. More importantly, HR consultants can help analyze clients’ staffing needs and ensure that the client organizations are equipped with sufficient human capital while scaling and expanding. Besides staffing and recruitment, HR consultants are also capable of resolving clients’ human resource management needs, such as designing appropriate compensation programs, formulating personnel policies, and employee training. To put things into context, imagine a firm that is establishing a new line of business and is in need of a director with experience in the newly entered sector. Executive recruiting consulting agencies can help the firm look for suitable candidates and convince them to leave their existing employer to join the client firm. The outlook for HR consulting is also positive as the demands for consulting services related to employee retention and employee productivity enhancement are growing.
In a nutshell, for those aspiring young consultants, it is important to have a clear understanding of different consulting specialties and pursue the one that is most compatible with your skillset and capabilities.
