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by darawk
2383 days ago
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You call them and ask them to consult with you about how to make your business or organization more efficient. If their recommendations concur with your already-held beliefs, you implement them. If they disagree with you, maybe you reconsider. That's what I would do, and it's what I assume these people are, for the most part, doing. |
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Sure, but the point is that you call them becase you believe you have not enough profits (or are losing money).
Now, there are generically speaking three ways to fix that issue:
1) increase the efficiency of the organization (really increasing it) which is something that sometimes is possible, sometimes isn't and anyway needs time and dedication by really expert people and produces - maybe - results in two/three years time or more, and often comes at an additional initial cost (investment in new technologies, machinery, etc.).
2) increase the income (i.e. produce and sell more) which again it is something that sometimes is possible, sometimes isn't and anyway needs time and dedication by really expert people and produces - maybe - results in two/three years time or more, and often comes at an additional initial cost (investment in new technologies, machinery, etc.).
3) a mild reorganization of the current processes AND reducing workforce by 20-30%, which takes little time and produces results immediately or almost immediately.
What they advice is usually #3, mainly because it is "easy" and "fast, and by the time you can see the possible overall long period adverse effects of the "cure" they have been already paid and are happily consulting some other firm.
Mind you it is not that many organization are perfectly efficient and actually very often workforce is larger than really needed, and as well a "spending review" can often solve part of the issue, so - when they propose the 20-30% cut on workforce, and remove each and every possible "fringe benefit", etc. they are not doing anything particularly "wrong", still they will be paid an (usually very high) amount of consulting fees to provide what amounts to some "obvious" measures and confirmation of your intuition/gut feelings.
I.e. all in all very often they are "an excuse" (the consulting firm has determined that ...) for whatever unpleasant you will be doing to your personnel.