Partnering can be a powerful tool for firms, whether they seek to gain credibility by association or scale their business. However, like any other relationship, it is essential to have clearly defined roles and expectations.
Eisler describes how relationships based on partnership foster respect, love, and an explosion of creativity, while those based on dominance lead to misery and violence.
They Help Firms Get Started
One of the most essential things a consulting firm can do is help new hires get up to speed quickly. This is especially valuable when the firm cannot afford to hire full-time resources immediately.
However, this should be done with caution. A hiring process that is too aggressive can be viewed as a lack of respect for consultants’ time. For example, asking new hires to drive six hours round trip without reasonable due diligence is not an excellent way to attract talent.
To avoid this, firms should work with talent consulting partners that can provide resource scalability while ensuring the firm is manageable. For example, a talent consulting partner can augment a hiring team with experienced independent consultants to bridge skill gaps and increase productivity. Additionally, a partner can offer expert advice on recruiting the best and retaining top talent. This allows the firm to focus on growing its business while leveraging the power of partnership.
They Help Firms Scale
When a firm’s clients demand versatile, innovative services, the ability to scale resources quickly becomes essential. Consulting talent firms help by enabling consultants to take on multiple projects so they can deliver faster.
Partnering with a talent firm like Canopy Advisory Group can also help companies close skills gaps and expand the capabilities of their core systems. This can include building a virtual bench and assisting clients to shift their work to a more project-based model.
Creating successful partnerships requires healthy communication and the ability to adapt to the needs of each team. A process helps everyone stay focused on what matters and avoids unnecessary conflict.
It also provides a flexible approach to professional development, which allows full-time staff to explore new practice areas during times of resource constraint while their virtual bench supports them with recent engagements. This helps firms respond more to client demands and frees up their internal HR resources for other important initiatives.
They Help Firms Innovate
Compared to mature firms, younger ones are more likely to need to develop innovative products and gain market share in the new product markets they enter. They need more out-of-discipline thinking to generate creative ideas and innovative outcomes. This requires using diverse knowledge and technology resources provided by more excellent network embedding breadth.
Firms can achieve this by having a virtual talent bench to meet client needs quickly and keep operating expenses lean. This on-demand team fills outer-zone and whitespace coverage that may not exist in full-time range. It allows consultants to explore other practice areas while maintaining their core expertise if they so choose.
Consulting firms want self-driven people who can deliver commercial rationale and opportunities for growth. To do this, they look for self-starters with empathy, creativity, imagination, and vision.
They Help Firms Grow
Ultimately, talent consulting firms matter when it comes to growing a firm’s business. In a world where project-based work has become the norm and top talent is leaving traditional firms for independent careers, companies prioritizing resource allocation are better positioned for future success.
A virtual talent bench also offers flexibility and cost-effectiveness for projects that require specialized skills or expertise. For example, when an agriculture company needed to improve end-to-end supply chain planning capabilities, some paired them with high-powered, partner-level talent, a senior-level supply chain executive, and a subject-matter expert.
