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Rise of Internal Corporate Consulting Groups
Added to these approaches are corporations that set up
their own internal consulting groups, hiring internal
management consultants either from within the
corporation or from external firms employees. Many
corporations have internal groups of as many as 25 to 30
full-time consultants.
Internal consulting groups are often formed around a
number of practice areas, commonly including:
organizational development, process management,
information technology, design services, training, and
development.
Advantages
There are several potential benefits of internal
consultants to those who employ them:
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If properly managed and empowered, internal
consulting groups evaluate engagement on projects in
light of the corporation's strategic and tactical
objectives.
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Often, the internal consultant requires less ramp up
time on a project due to familiarity with the
corporation, and is able to guide a project through
to implementation — a step that would often be too
costly if an external consultant were used.
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Internal relationship provides opportunities to keep
certain corporate information private.
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It is likely that the time and materials cost of
internal consultants is significantly less than
external consultants operating in the same capacity.
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Internal consulting positions can be used to recruit
and develop potential senior managers of the
organization.
Note: Corporations need to be conscious of and
consistent with how internal consultant costs are
accounted for on both a project and organizational level
to evaluate cost effectiveness.
1.Lead external consulting project teams, or
2.Act as organizational subject matter experts
‘embedded’ with external consulting teams under the
direction of organizational management.
A
group of internal consultants can closely monitor and
work with external consulting firms. This would ensure
better delivery, quality, and overall operating
relationships.
External firms providing consulting services have a
dichotomy in priority. The health of the external firm
is in aggregate more important than that of their client
(though of course the health of their client can have a
direct impact on their own health).
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