The constant changes in the global economic structure or, even, within the same market, technological innovations, changes in legislation or new trends that are settling mean that, at times, companies see their competitive position in their sector jeopardized . The consulting services of specialized companies ensure that these changes have the least negative impact possible by acquiring measures that allow them to anticipate fluctuations in the environment and allow them to take advantage of these situations.
Types of consulting services
Sooner or later, in any facet of life, there always comes a time when someone’s help is needed to solve any problem or doubt. The same thing happens in the business world, there are many aspects that come together to achieve a successful business and we are not always aware of all of them. This role is assumed by business consultancies, companies that are dedicated to ensuring the interests of outside businesses so that they become a healthy and robust company.
Consulting services are the solution to the needs of companies to be constant in their level of development to always be at the forefront and to be competitive in their market segment. It is about obtaining good results for customers, suppliers and the very top of the company.
The same company may present needs in different fields, that is why there are different types of consulting:
➜ Strategic consulting: their skills are related to the strategic plans of the company to achieve good operating results and make it a more productive business .
➜ Financial consulting: they deal with the economic part of the company. His recommendations are oriented towards achieving the economic viability and healthy accounts of the company.
➜ Marketing and advertising consulting : business consultants focus on attracting and retaining a company’s customers by studying their buying patterns or behavior.
➜ Specialized consulting: there are certain activities that require expert consultants. We are talking, for example, of human resources consultancies, management systems consultancies or gastronomy consultancies .
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Consulting services seek to provide guidance and support to companies that have to carry out certain activities and do not know how to do it, such as the certification of the quality management system of ISO 9001 standards, for example.
Benefits of hiring consulting companies
✦ Personalized attention: any of the contracted consulting services has a prior analysis based on the specific needs of each case to be treated. In the same way, problems are identified and they can be dealt with in a more effective way by being individualized attention.
✦ Provide knowledge: consulting services are provided by experienced business consultants who share their knowledge with the client so that he can be aware of the reasons why certain measures are applied and what is sought with them. This translates into providing learning to the client, which gives them a degree of autonomy.
✦ High degree of commitment: as consulting services have personalized attention, the business consultant and the client spend a large part of their time working side by side. This implies that there is an important commitment when it comes to taking the company on the right track.
✦ Creation of deep links: derived from the previous point, we see that solid links are created between the business consultant and his client. In this way, there is more confidence and transparency is promoted by being able to deal with special issues or problems that influence the economic activity of the company.
✦ Great support from the business consultant: the person in charge of the contracted consulting services acquires a commitment to the project, always being accessible and involved with the client to help them solve specific problems.
The most common specialized consulting services
In specialized consulting companies, the star consulting services are those related to the implementation of management systems. Many of the public tenders that are carried out to opt for different projects establish as a mandatory requirement to have the appropriate certifications in the different regulations. That is why consulting services dealing with this type of certification are so sought after. The areas of implementation of these systems are very varied, so it is necessary to have the appropriate knowledge for each branch:
➤ Quality: the implementation of quality management systems is one of the consulting services most requested by companies. The certification ISO 9001 is the show that deals the company has implemented a management system that takes full account of the customer satisfaction and ensures the efficiency of processes.
Acquiring quality standards in the productive heart of a company improves its profitability, the image it projects to clients, suppliers and administrations and minimizes the risks that may arise in the daily operation of the company.
➤ Environment: certification in the ISO 14001 standard confirms that the company in question has a management system in place that is respectful of the environment during its production process. This consulting service is one of the most relevant in recent years, and not only because of the optimization of the production process, especially because of popular awareness of caring for the natural environment. This is why companies that have the environmental management system certificate enjoy a much better image and reputation than competitors that do not have it.
Consulting services that focus on caring for the environment can be combined with those dealing with quality management systems in the previous section. There are many common aspects that can be certified in one act.
➤ Risk prevention: in work environments, issues such as health and safety are very important for the development of productive activity with all guarantees. Business consultants are in charge of the implementation of an occupational health and safety management system (SGSST), with which the OHSAS 18001 certification is achieved and create this favorable situation for the company. It is a way that companies have to manage risks and ensure that the possibility of incidents among their workforce is minimized.
➤ Road safety : many companies carry out a large part of their productive activity on the road. For this type of company, it is very beneficial, among all the consulting services, that which deals with processing and implementing the road safety management system, which is the UNE ISO 39001: 2013 standard. What is sought is to establish the guidelines for responsible and efficient road driving according to the type of company in question. This will also reduce the number of accidents and victims on the road.
Regarding road safety, we also find another consulting service that contemplates the UNE 13816 standard and that affects companies dedicated to passenger transport. The activity is aimed at achieving total customer satisfaction and, for this, quality commitments must be met in different fields such as comfort, information or environmental impact, among others. It is about improving the service provided, but also the image that users have of the company.
➤ Food: companies that handle food in their productive activity request consulting services related to this. The implementation of the APCC standard, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, can be applied to the entire food chain and will ensure the high quality of food in the health field. On the other hand, in addition to increasing consumer and intermediate supplier confidence, this consulting service also manages to reduce costs.
➤ Excellence Model: to achieve the implementation of the European Excellence Model, business consultants focus on evaluating the way in which the company’s general management system works. The objective is to be able to meet the challenges that the market sets in terms of quality and customer satisfaction, as well as to be a competitive company in the sector.
➤ Audits: this is one of the consulting services that covers the most questions. Audits can be applied in various regulatory areas in order to assess the company’s situation regarding compliance with them. For the certification of the ISO 9001 Standard, internal audits are necessary every certain period of time to identify possible failures in the quality management system.
There are also audits on certain products or on the customer service of certain businesses, known as the Mystery Shopper evaluation.
➤ Protection of Data Law: the consulting services in this area are aimed at complying with the guidelines that the Data Protection Agency stipulates to ensure the correct handling of the personal data of every individual who is related to the company. Business consultants ensure that the data of each person is subjected to the marked process throughout the period that the individual’s relationship with the company lasts. Despite not being a very complicated process, it has many open fronts to comply with, so it is normal for companies to turn to specialized consulting companies MT65 SOLUTIONS LTD.
