Business consultants fill a broad role for clients, from conducting research about the company to organizing and executing assigned projects on their behalf. While these outside experts usually assist companies with areas like marketing, human resources, management, finance, and accounting, their work is often customized to match clients’ specific requirements. Regardless of the focus area, consultants strive to help clients improve their operations by assessing weaknesses, recommending, and sometimes implementing solutions, as Analytical Consulting Group often does.

Generally, consultants work with clients on strategy, planning, and problem solving while enhancing their business skills and knowledge. There are five broad categories of consulting: operations, financial, human resources, strategy, and risk and compliance. However, business consulting firms typically specialize in specific areas and industries.

Analytical Consulting Group, for instance, focuses on providing accounting and payroll software systems for enterprise resource planning, human capital management, time and labor, and productivity suites. The company works in accounting, payroll, grants, software, project management, and business model assessment. Analytical Consulting Group guides its clients—which are mainly involved in hospitality, construction, healthcare, and city administration—through the process of software selections, implementation, training, and long-term management if necessary.

Companies—regardless of size—need support services that range from simple software installation to accounting support, training, and collaboration in service management, according to Edman. As such, his company integrates all of these services and creates a customized experience that delivers solutions that are designed to best meet client goals.

As a unique aspect of consulting in Alaska, Analytical Consulting Group helps clients merge culture with compliance. “I’ve been doing consulting in Alaska for the last twenty years,” Edman says. “I understand the way of life and culture in Alaska.”

KMD Services & Consulting helps clients with leadership development, organizational development, management coaching, mediation, and change management. However, the firm’s consulting falls into three general categories: organizational development, empowering companies and teams to take their next steps; leadership development, developing individuals and groups to become better leaders; and human resources consulting and services, helping organizations understand and realize the human potential available to great workplaces. “We are known for our facilitation and consulting in all these areas,” says President Kevin Dee. Theo Hunt of Theo M. Hunt Consulting also specializes in organizational development consulting. In this role, Hunt provides services at the organizational, team/group, and individual levels. “On the organizational level, that may look like strategic planning, developing a continuous improvement culture, or supporting organization-wide change,” she says. “On the group or team level, that may look like project management, team building, program development, or process improvement. On the individual level, that may look like executive and leadership coaching.”

With such diversity in their services, business consultants engage in myriad tasks to meet their client’s needs. So, what’s a day in the life of a consultant like? For Hunt, each day is filled with a mix of activities that fluctuate based on client needs. “I tend to go from a coaching appointment, to a group facilitation, to a program design, to planning an event, to researching a particular topic to make sure I have the evidence I need for coaching a client,” she says.

Essentially, Hunt dons different hats for different situations. Some days, for example, she might spend an hour and a half on a coaching session, followed by an afternoon of planning with a team to implement a new program. She says: “It’s never boring. I love it.”

Dee expresses similar sentiments about consulting, saying every day is “unique and exciting” in its own way. He adds: “Whether working on a long-term project or meeting with clients or coaching individuals, I have never had a boring day. If there is a gap in the schedule, then it’s time to go fishing.”

For Edman, business consulting can be unpredictable, to say the least. He begins each day with a plan and good intentions but often ends up with something completely different. He says: “You plan ahead, but your client’s lack of planning creates emergencies for you.”

Edman spends about 60 percent of his time working directly with clients, with the rest of his time devoted to his business and employees. Much of his time is spent trying to stay on top of emails. His company, which services about 5,000 employees for its payroll clients, fields numerous support and other emails. “I get about 250 to 350 emails a day,” Edman says. “We’ve done a very good job of trying to get our clients to use electronic media opposed to calling.”

The reasons for calling in an outside expert vary among businesses. Many of them are motivated by a specific situation. “A lot of times, there’s some sort of triggering event or new learning, such as seeing something they want to implement or realizing it’s time to correct an operational pain point in operations, and they don’t have the internal resources or capabilities to handle it,” Hunt says. “Or maybe they have the resources and capabilities but chose an external consultant because it would be more effective or easier.”

There’s no typical type of organization that employs a business consultant. Companies that hire consultants are for-profit, nonprofit, and government entities in various industries. But there are some similarities. Hunt says: “The companies normally have a burning need or pain point that keeps them up at night. Or they see an opportunity or have a desire to improve. Or maybe they want or need to do something new. Or they were awarded a new grant or received a donation. And they want an external consultant to help.”

Like Hunt, Dee consults with a variety of clients. He has assisted everyone from Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and nonprofits to indigenous groups, religious organizations, and small mom-and-pop companies. And sometimes individuals enlist his help for workplace coaching sessions.

Many companies that hire business consultants are looking to grow or manage change, or they require other types of assistance. Sometimes companies that are struggling or near drowning opt to bring in a consultant—or have one forced on them—to either resuscitate the company or help it die the least painful death possible. “Those engagements can be intense and difficult,” Dee says. “But turnarounds, when successful, are very satisfying personally and professionally.”

He adds: “We bring thirty years of experience, tools, and best processes to bear in support of our clients. It’s a heck of a return on investment to get such support when you need it.”

Although organizations often engage a consultant to address a problem or internal void, that’s not always the case. Many companies capitalize on outside expertise when their operations are going smoothly. At least, the “smart” ones do, Dee says. He goes on: “Sometimes companies and employees can’t see the forest for the trees and a consultant’s perspective and skills will help. Other times a consultant is a neutral player that companies use to understand how things are really going as employees, and managers will often tell a consultant things they do not feel willing to disclose to their team(s).”

Business consultants are also sought after to assist and empower organizations that want to evolve, whether through strategic planning, leadership development, or restructuring. “Healthy companies realize they have to adapt, evolve, and get better all the time,” Dee says. “We bring the tools and processes to empower organizations to do just that.”

Healthy companies are definitely more likely to engage a business consultant than employ a subject matter expert to work in house, Edman says. However, unhealthy companies are more likely to hire a high-earning specialist and try to make it work. That’s especially true in Alaska, largely because businesses are trying to stimulate their local economy or town. However, it may not be feasible to find the right employee locally. “When you’re dealing with a community of 200, you’re probably not going to find someone with the skill set that you’re getting a consultant for,” Edman says. “Oftentimes, that’s when we get called in.”

When working with clients, consultants typically try to make personalized recommendations rather than give advice. Every client has their individual and unique needs and stage of development, Dee says. “Our goal is to empower them to not need us,” he says. “We do that through recommending things to consider, and they, in turn, make it their own.”

This process involves aspects that are highly tailored to meet clients’ needs. “Our value proposition to clients is that we will learn who you are, come to an understanding of what you want and need, and then promise to deliver what we agree to in a way that everyone wins,” Dee says. “We strive for high engagement and exceeding expected outcomes. We have been in business for thirty-five years without ever advertising, which I believe says a lot for our reputation to meet the needs of each client.”

When helping clients, Hunt typically starts with where they are, involving people who know the most about the issue, being transparent, making it safe to have conversations, getting facts and research, and co-designing a solution. Part of the power of organizational development is to design a solution with the input of the people who will be implementing and operationalizing the solution. “This approach makes it easier to benefit from the solution,” she says.

Normally with business consulting, there are different players with different perspectives about the situation at hand. But the challenge for the consultant is to get all the voices that are part of the solution to be aligned with the solution. Often, more information is revealed during this discovery process. “That’s part of the puzzle,” Hunt says. “You really have to listen to what their needs are and understand the language they communicate in and co-design a solution with all that in mind.”

While each client has unique needs, there’s one recommendation Edman always stresses—compliance. He informs clients that the compliant way of doing something may not be the easiest or most logical way, but it is important. It’s always better to be compliant because laws are in place to protect employees and employers. Plus, non-compliance can result in penalties and interest that compound daily. “There’s no way you’ll ever truly be successful if you cut corners,” Edman says. “Unless you have deep pockets, it’s going to be a very expensive ordeal.”

In all cases, Edman says the client needs to be the ultimate decision maker. And although his company falls in the “gray zone” between outsourcing and consulting, most clients opt to follow his recommendations. “When clients come to us, we have a 98 percent adoption rate,” he says. “Very rarely does a client come to us for advice and go in another direction.”

As general guidance, Hunt advises businesses to invest in and involve their people. People want to do their best, and they want to be a part of the solution. “It’s lovely when you can feed their energies and desires and use all your resources as an organization,” she says.

Hunt also encourages making change and solutions visible in your environment, whether it’s making a mind map together as a team, a process map so everyone can see who the players are and what they do, or a key strategic planning board.

One of Edman’s key tips for companies is: Don’t resist using a consultant. Consultants spend an incredible amount of time educating themselves, and ignoring their expertise is rarely in the best interest of a company. “Don’t resist hiring somebody, even if it’s just to help you review your internal policies,” he says.

He adds: “Also, make sure the person really is a subject-matter expert… Do reference checks. Don’t just trust that somebody is a consultant and knows what they are talking about. Make sure you know what you’re getting.”

Dee says businesses need to be smart enough to know what they don’t know and what they want. And when it comes to hiring a consultant, they should determine what they want versus what they need. “Understand what set of skills and experience would be a good fit for your company,” he says. “Most consultants will meet with you at no cost to see if what you want is in their wheelhouse of skills and abilities. You can ask for an hourly or a fixed amount once a scope of work is landed.”