Internal and External Consulting, Case Study Example

As far as the similarities between internal and external consulting are concerned, both internal and external consultants work on a variety of different projects and are expected to be creative in their approach to work. They both have the ultimate goal of making their clients happy (Mundis, 2011) and provide satisfactory solutions to their problems and needs. Similarly, both internal and external consultants also spend significant time on networking, building relationships both within and outside the organization. Both internal and external consultants also have to continuously invest in their learning and much of the learning also occurs at work where they often interact with a variety of individuals in different industries. Another similarity between internal and external consultants is that they both have good understand of organizational systems and human behavior. Similarly, they both also understand change processes well.

But the differences between internal and external consultants exceed the similarities. Internal consultants primarily serve internal clients while external consultants serve a variety of external clients which keep changing from project to project. Another difference between internal and external clients is that while external clients serve a variety of clients which may change from project to project, internal clients deal with only one company even though they may interact with different departments such as Human Resource, Finance, and Information Technology with the client company (Meislin, 2007). Thus, external consultants usually have temporary relationship with clients which may end at the completion of the project, internal consultants establish long-term relationship with clients which continue to exist even after a particular project has been finished.

External consultants have little less work security than internal consultants because external consultants have to continuously seek out new clients and projects which is not the pressure faced by internal consultants. Another difference between internal and external consultants is that external consultants are sought because they bring fresh and diverse perspectives due to their experience with a large number of clients. Internal consultants on the other hand are sought because of their deep knowledge and understanding of the organization they serve.

Internal consultants usually enjoy a high degree of trust by the client they serve, thus, it is easier for them to make new project proposals. On the other hands, external consultants are perceived as outsiders and project proposals by them, even when well-intended, may be viewed with suspicion. Another difference between internal and external consultants is that internal consultants rarely travel while external consultants spend considerable time on the road.

Whereas internal consultants may become specialist in one or more areas, external consultants have a greater variety of skills due to the working with greater range of clients and in different industries. But at the same time, internal consultants have better understanding of the organizational culture than external consultants. This may also be why internal consultants are usually more focused on building relationships within the organization while external consultants may be more likely to give blunt but honest feedback. Similarly, since internal client usually deal with the same client, they have greater stake in the projects than external clients who simply move to other clients and do not always stay until the completion of the project.

References

Meislin, M. (2007, August 7). Internal Consultant. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gPJLcSNJYs

Mundis, S. (2011, August 26). People at Business Consulting. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncBjvv4YCb8