Consulting vs Advisory.
A common confusion to many is the difference between the consulting, advisory, and staffing. "To consult" and "to advise" appear to be interchangeable phrases but this is not necessarily the case in the business world. Staffing, uses a lot of the same language, and often pursue the same types of candidates, but all 3 are nuanced in their formal definition and deserve further clarification.
Consulting
Consulting is normally a "1:1" relationship. Companies will usually hire consultants to work on various strategic initiatives and programs that flow from the C-suite. They are seen as knowledge workers, who are meant to see a project/program/portfolio of work end-to-end, from the design phase through the deployment and maintenance. They are only focused on one project at a time, though in a best case scenario, the consulting team finds further project opportunities within the client's environment.
Advisory
Advisory is a "1 to Many" relationship. The most common form of this would be a financial adviser, who would be one individual who advises multiple clients at any given time. At the enterprise level, some consulting firms will place their staff on multiple engagements at one time, given they possess a unique set of skills or the project only requires part-time engagement. Additionally, clients will retain a consultant or their firm, much like a lawyer, to provide ad-hoc advise on an rolling basis.
Staffing
Staffing is similar to consulting roles but is seen more as a contract employee. A company may have an unexpected resource need, and don't have the necessary lead to time to appropriately vet a full-time candidate. The antidote to this problem are staffing firms that can back-fill these openings, while the firm pursues a longer term solution. This can also be used as a trial run for the potential employee, known as a Contract-to-Hire, allowing both parties to make a decision after a significant period of time.
Bottom Line
Cerebtitious maintains consulting and advisory relationships with a variety of clients. The consistency of a consulting role can vary depending on project need, so being able to foster lasting relationships with our clients helps ensure there is always work to be done.
Consulting
Consulting is normally a "1:1" relationship. Companies will usually hire consultants to work on various strategic initiatives and programs that flow from the C-suite. They are seen as knowledge workers, who are meant to see a project/program/portfolio of work end-to-end, from the design phase through the deployment and maintenance. They are only focused on one project at a time, though in a best case scenario, the consulting team finds further project opportunities within the client's environment.
Advisory
Advisory is a "1 to Many" relationship. The most common form of this would be a financial adviser, who would be one individual who advises multiple clients at any given time. At the enterprise level, some consulting firms will place their staff on multiple engagements at one time, given they possess a unique set of skills or the project only requires part-time engagement. Additionally, clients will retain a consultant or their firm, much like a lawyer, to provide ad-hoc advise on an rolling basis.
Staffing
Staffing is similar to consulting roles but is seen more as a contract employee. A company may have an unexpected resource need, and don't have the necessary lead to time to appropriately vet a full-time candidate. The antidote to this problem are staffing firms that can back-fill these openings, while the firm pursues a longer term solution. This can also be used as a trial run for the potential employee, known as a Contract-to-Hire, allowing both parties to make a decision after a significant period of time.
Bottom Line
Cerebtitious maintains consulting and advisory relationships with a variety of clients. The consistency of a consulting role can vary depending on project need, so being able to foster lasting relationships with our clients helps ensure there is always work to be done.