Engaging External Consultants: Is your company being penny wise and pound foolish?

Anne 🐝 Thornley-Brown, MBA

8 years ago · 1 min. reading time · ~10 ·

It's a new trend that's costing companies big bucks ..... and they are ending up with entry level consultants, facilitators, and trainers.

There are a number of really excellent firms that specialize in team building, facilitation, training, or instructional design. With the Internet and social media sites, it's pretty easy to source top talent. Yet, many organizations are opting for a strategy that guarantees they won't get value for their investment. Here is how it works.

Initiatives are outsourced to a large consulting firm or 3rd party procurement agency.
Specs are provided and the company pays top dollar for an exclusive contract.
The large consulting firm often outsources to another 3rd party.
Eventually, ads pop up on websites that I won't name for $25 - $50 an hour consultants, facilitators, trainers, or instructional designers.

So the organization has paid consulting rates of $500 an hour to end up with entry-level or inexperienced professionals. Due to the fact that the specifications have been relayed through 2 or 3 organizations, the initiative ends up missing the mark.

The other scenario is for organizations to charge clients top dollar for training or team building and then engage a facilitator for $50 an hour. Here is an example: