POST COVID-19 CONSULTING

Do you work with consultants, or do you have a consulting firm? If so, the consulting environment is changing quickly. Threats and opportunities exist everywhere. It is how you respond that matters.

Evolving technologies and antiquated business models have altered the consulting industry. However, the swift overnight changes to society and business practices caused by the pandemic will transform the consulting sector even more.

Work from home settings, reduced budgets, and the immediate need for contingency plans are three huge emerging trends. That said, we reached out and interviewed The Collective Partners, Mike Chandler, Matt Dunn, Ravi Rajcoomar, Kevin Smith, and Kris Smith, to discuss four additionally significant trends that will affect the industry.

1. Consulting Strategy

In this time of change, consultants can be hired for strategy or their resources. The pandemic and uncertainty that has followed have strengthened the notion that having a strategic mind and path forward is needed more so now than ever. Organizations now have a strong need and will continue to pay for strategic planning, detailed go-to-market scenarios, and business insights. “The biggest challenge currently is the lack or misunderstanding of how the virus can affect an area. Communities want to get back to what they envision as normal, and that varies from area to area. Just wanting to host an event is one thing, to understand the implications and concerns of all the stakeholders is going to be the key to success,” said Mike Chandler.

One of the results we see in the marketplace are voids in leadership and expertise. This blind spot can come from various places, including lay-offs, retirements, organizational changes, business need pivots, and often determined by a reduced headcount. Kris Smith stated, “Leaders are skilled at triage, able to stabilize their organizations to meet the crisis at hand while finding opportunities amid difficult constraints.” Strong, meaningful leadership is the hallmark of a successful organization. A third party can often fill the role of team builder, confidante, and expert advisor. We have seen this model grow in the last few years and spike during the pandemic as managers and leaders are looking for assistance. Masterminds and regularly scheduled cross-functional and multi-industry meetings are great examples of tools that we see work quite effectively.

“We have been able to lead conversations and bring to the surface challenging problems and viewpoints during the pandemic by facilitating mastermind-type calls and webinars and see that only becoming more effective moving forward,” noted Ravi Rajcoomar who’s Executive Coaching Practice - The Moonshot Collective uses this process for both individual and corporate clients.

3. Digital Delivery

Companies were forced to immediately embrace remote work and associated technologies in the early days of the pandemic, and these are likely to stick. It is expected that organizations will insist consultants, and consulting firms, transfer performance, methods, and work processes to be delivered through digital technology remotely. How do you deliver a strong, cooperative strategy or build key performance indicators on a digital platform?

“We believe that every organization in the sports tourism industry is challenged with combining technology, data, and software into convincing user experiences that support their business strategy. Our job is to help them think through it and come up with solutions. Structure and purpose are now identical and united. The combination of research and gut instinct, informed by actionable strategy and technology, leads to remarkable client and customer experiences, said Matt Dunn. Digital delivery must reach further than usual video conferencing and standard tools. These methods and offerings will differentiate one consultant from another.

4. Scalable Business Models

The long-standing consulting business model in sports tourism has been based on leverage. Historically, there have not been that many players in the game. Firm owners solidify projects that are usually delivered by newly minted consultants or are farmed out. Billable margins can be substantial when considering the project word load. “Consultants often have a deeper understanding of the marketplace because of their years of experience. Since they have had the advantage of working with many different organizations or projects, they can bring a variety of solutions to the table to help. In some cases, a consultant can fill a short-term gap role of staff to help bridge an organization’s staffing shortages. They bring contacts, resources, and industry knowledge to an organization to help keep things running smoothly or, in some cases, help right the ship,” said Kevin Smith. Post-coronavirus clients will demand digital delivery, and those consultants that create scalable best-practices that deliver value far beyond cost will excel. When asked about value, Kris Smith replied, “the value of a consultant is being able to combine experience with critical thinking, creating thoughts, systems, and processes unique to your organization, while providing a high return on your investment. We provide supplemental human resources and intellectual capital in critical times of need.”

Pandemic or no pandemic, every industry is disrupted, good or bad, at some point. It is a matter of time.