Management Consultants Archives - USC Consulting Group

If you’re considering hiring a management consultant to improve efficiency, reduce waste, optimize processes, or streamline workflows, you may be wondering how it all works and if it will disrupt your operations.

Management consultants serve as a trusted resource with a fresh set of eyes to analyze your operations and work together with your team to drive process improvements. Yes, you can do this internally and obtain results. However, teaming up with consultants will accelerate your efforts while augmenting the deliverables, all while your team maintains focus on your #1 priority – your customers.

Management consultants can provide you with the expertise and boots-on-the-ground help to maximize your improvement efforts. Here’s a rundown of how the partnership works.

What is a management consultant?

Management consultants are experts in efficiency and process improvement, who come into a business, analyze your operations, identify gaps and inefficiencies, and then implement positive, impactful change. Implementation is a key difference between a management consultant and a boardroom consultant. Boardroom consultants’ work generally ends with recommendations for change. A management consultant gets into the thick of it, guiding and working with employees to effect that change.

As described in “Management Consultants vs Boardroom Consultants: Which is Right for You?”, management consultants start by listening and learning, then involve your entire team in the improvement process… from C-suite executives to frontline workers.

While C-suite participation is vital in their process, the nuts-and-bolts of the work centers on the employee level at the point of execution. That’s the best way to get to the root of the challenges, uncover opportunities for greater efficiency, optimize processes and in the end, increase profits.

With a management consultant, you can expect:

Boots-on-the-ground involvement in your operations.
A collaborative, team-first approach.
A deep dive into your business.
Process analysis and guidance in their methodologies.
Involvement from employees at the epicenter of the process improvements.
A roadmap for sustainability that includes the training of your people.

Here’s a primer in how management consultants team up with your organization.

Assess and analyze

It’s critical to first understand the client’s current state of operations (The “As Is”), employee behaviors and disciplines they are using to get the job done.

That’s why management consultants typically start by listening and learning to get a thorough understanding of a client’s current outcomes, their ideal outcomes and the gap that exists between the two.

For example, a food processing plant is getting X amount of throughput per shift. Ideally, they’d like to increase it by half. Is that goal feasible, and if so, what’s the best way to get there?

In this initial information-gathering phase, consultants perform a comprehensive analysis of your systems, procedures, and more. This system review tells the story of a company’s process and can depict how it will look with the deficiencies from current state corrected. It shows the flow of data, actionable information and decision-making points in a closed loop environment.

Process improvement methodologies

Management consultants use various process improvement methodologies and tools, depending on the needs of the project. They include:

Lean Six Sigma. LSS is a combination of two powerful methodologies, Lean, which focuses on limiting waste in a process, and Six Sigma, which focuses on increasing quality.

Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning (SIOP). SIOP aligns sales, inventory and operations planning functions to improve demand forecasting, efficiency, supply chain performance and more.

Employee Involvement Prototype (EIP) Process. The EIP process is unique to USC Consulting Group where we validate and measurably implement positive changes at a grassroots level. Your employees are the most vital components to every project and having them write the narrative to success is vital. However, there are tactical steps that need to be followed in the EIP process and the strategy USC imparts is critical.

AI, Machine Learning, and Predictive Analytics. Much like Netflix’s use of predictive analytics created a seismic shift in consumer expectations, this technology is transforming operating procedures and processes. Predictive analytics helps companies better understand what’s occurring in any given process, refine and optimize processes, and more. But it also needs the human touch. People aren’t getting replaced by the bots in this area any time soon.

Prototype

Prototyping is a technique management consultants use that can be best described as starting small. Say a client has a manufacturing plant filled with machines that process their product. Prototyping involves choosing one area, one machine, one shift, and rolling out the plan for change in just that one place.

It serves as a pilot to demonstrate the effectiveness of new procedures, policies and practices.

The team of client and consultants outlines their plan and goals for any given day, or any given shift. After the day or shift is over, they compare their results to their plan. How did it work? Did they hit the mark? Why, or why not? What are the issues? Where are the bottlenecks? If they fell short, why? What can they do better on the next shift?

This part of the process involves weekly meetings with employees, managers and even the top brass to hash out these questions and devise solutions together.

Rollout

When the prototype is bullet-proof, it’s time to roll out the process companywide. Consultants may do this phase in stages, adding one or two more machines to the mix and repeating the prototyping process.

This phase constitutes the bulk of the project and involves careful monitoring, analyzing and reporting to measure its effectiveness and success.

Educate and support

Solid change management is critical and one of the most important elements of that is to involve employees in the new processes, policies and procedures from the beginning. Educating the client’s employees on the how and why changes are made is the key to lasting success and ensures sustainability for the process improvements.

At USC Consulting Group, we are management consultants. We roll up our sleeves and engage with our clients to implement positive, impactful change, both financially and operationally. It’s very much a “with” and not “to” attitude.

If that approach sounds right for your needs, give us a call. We’ll be happy to talk with you about the positive change we can bring to your company.

You’ve hit a snag in your operations. You’re wondering if your manufacturing line could be more productive. Your demand forecasting didn’t hit the mark. You’d like to increase your throughput without adding machines.

Whatever the reason, you’re thinking about bringing in an outside consultant to ramp things up. Now what?

You’ll find two types of consulting firms out there. Boardroom consultants and Management consultants. What are the differences between the two approaches? Which is best for your situation?

Here’s a consultant primer to help you sort out those questions and make the right choice.

Boardroom consultants

Boardroom consultants do most of their work with the upper management of the company. They typically come in, perform a three-to-four-week analysis of a client’s operations, provide a report of their findings, give recommendations for improvements, and then head out the door leaving the client to implement their recommended changes.

With a boardroom consultant, you can expect:

High-level strategic analysis of a client’s operations to identify issues, challenges, and snags.
A report including a strategic roadmap of recommendations for change, which may include industry trends and information about competition.
An objective perspective through “fresh eyes.”
Industry best practices, insights and experience.

These are valuable strengths that can benefit companies, no doubt. If what you’re looking for is an analysis of your operations from an outside perspective, this type of consulting can get the job done.

However, boardroom consultants have their limitations, including:

No direct involvement in the implementation of the changes they recommend.
No training for your people to effect the changes, so they might not translate into actionable plans.
Possible disconnect between what people on the front lines think and what these consultants recommend.

Management consultants

Management consultants start by listening and learning… and not just in the boardroom.

Management consultants value and rely on C-suite participation in their process, but the bulk of the work centers on the employee level, at the point of execution where the job gets done.

As a part of their process, management consultants work on the front lines with employees. In their view, that’s the best way to get to the root of the problem and uncover ways for the company to become more efficient.

With an management consultant, you can expect:

Boots-on-the-ground involvement in your operations.
A collaborative approach that involves your team every step of the way
Process analysis and guidance in their methodologies.
Involvement from employees at the epicenter of the process improvements.
A roadmap for sustainable processes that includes the training of your people.
Quick results as they ramp up for companywide deployment of solutions.

Factors to consider when choosing the right type of consultant

How do you know which approach is right for you? Consider these factors:

Size and scope of your project. If you have a small-scale need that can benefit from a fresh set of eyes and outside perspective, you might consider a boardroom-type consultant. For larger projects that may require complex methodologies like Lean Six Sigma, a management consultant with hands-on capabilities is a better fit.
Internal capabilities. If you need extra horsepower to get the job done, a management consultant may be the best fit since they implement the changes with your team.
Workplace disruption. Boardroom consultants don’t typically disrupt the day-to-day process of getting the job done, while management consultants are in the thick of it, involving employees in the process. Remember, however, that management consultants act as extra horsepower for your team, so they can be driving the changes as the bulk of your staff concentrates on getting the job done.
Leadership style. If you simply want recommendations for change and not hands-on involvement, a boardroom consultant may be the better fit.
Sustainability. If this is a one-off project and not something you want to integrate into your ongoing operations and processes, a boardroom consultant is more in line with your needs. If you are looking for sustainable improvements in things like throughput, speed and efficiency, a management consultant is the way to go.
Budget. Typically, management consultants, with their deep dive into your business and boots on the ground approach, cost more than boardroom consultants. But that’s just upfront costs. The changes and efficiencies brought about by management consultants meet or exceed ROI within a few weeks or months.

If that approach sounds right for your needs, give us a call. We’ll be happy to talk with you about the positive change we can bring to your company.

There are a lot of myths swirling around out there about operations management consulting. At USC Consulting Group, we (good-naturedly) take issue with a good majority of them. We’ve been committed to operations consulting for more than a half century. It’s what we do.

In a previous blog, “Debunking Myths about Operations Management Consulting,” we took on some of the top misconceptions about operations consulting, namely:

It’s all about math. At USC, we like to say we’re 80% people and processes, 20% numbers. Yes, some data crunching is involved in what we do, but the key to it all is getting into your operations with our own boots on the ground.

It’s only for manufacturing. Not quite! We work with a wide range of industries, including food & beverage, mining & metals, chemical processing, forestry products, transportation & logistics and a whole lot more.

It has no strategic importance. This one stings. It’s ALL about strategic importance, like Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning (SIOP), which helps companies get a better, clearer look at their company in order to make better-informed strategy decisions.

But there are more myths out there about operations consultants and what we do.

Debunking operations management consulting myths: Part 2

Myth: Consultants work only with the C-suite

We can’t speak for other consultancies out there, but at USC, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, we meet with the top brass, but that’s only the beginning. The secret weapon to our success is getting down on the shop floor and listening to your people on the front lines. People doing the job day to day have valuable input about efficiencies, how processes could be done better and ideas for improvement that top management may not see. Plus, if you don’t have the buy-in and respect of the people doing the job, making changes to how that job gets done is going to be an uphill battle. Involving them from the outset is the key.

Myth: Consultants offer cookie-cutter advice

In other words, they take what worked at one company and bring it to another. That may be true elsewhere, but we understand that every company is unique, even if they work in the same industry. You can’t just overlay one company’s solution onto another company’s problem. We use tried-and-true techniques that we tailor to each individual challenge or situation. It’s about digging into your processes, finding opportunities for operational improvements, and devising ways to best leverage those opportunities.

Myth: Consultants think they know best

This may be the most common beef out there for companies considering or avoiding hiring a consulting firm — consultants swoop in, tell everyone what they’re doing wrong and offer their lofty advice on how to fix it. This misconception gives consultants a bad rap. It induces fear and mistrust among employees that this interloper is going to change or eliminate their jobs. When we go into a new project, we never come in with that agenda. Our first job is to listen and learn in order to make improvements to the process.

Myth: Consultants set it and forget it

Admittedly, some other consulting firms can and do operate this way. They come in, diagnose problems and provide a playbook for how to fix them, bidding the client adieu when that process is complete. We don’t work that way. This is one area where USC stands out from the crowd. We are change management experts who don’t just recommend changes, but help our clients implement those changes as seamlessly as possible. We are ongoing support partners for the duration, boots on the ground to work side by side until our clients are good to go on their own. This ensures sustainability so the solutions stick long after our engagement.

Myths and misconceptions bedevil every industry. We hope we’ve debunked some of these for you about ours.

If you have questions about operations consulting and what it can do for your business, give us a call or email us at info@usccg.com. We’re happy to walk you through the process so you can feel comfortable and confident bringing in some help.

Tag Archives: Management Consultants