Our consultancy services are around working with you collaboratively as the client, understanding and immersing ourselves in your business, getting to know what is important to you, your wants and needs and helping you to understand all of your options, whether in transforming your business or service or delivering a project or programme of works that drive necessary change. Whatever you face, we have the ethos that every problem has a solution, so discover all of the skills, services and ways that Petercw can help support and grow your business.
Consultants are professionals who provide advice and services in any area they specialise. Consulting services typically relate to professional fields and range from professions such as medical specialists to project management. The services of a consultant are generally sought where there is limited or no specific skill or expertise within a business or service or where an extraordinary event might be taking place. For example, when a company is looking to transform, implement regulatory change or undergo a merger, acquisition, or reduction.
True consultancy is around engaging specialist services in areas where your company has limited or no experience in particular circumstances or situations. Some of these situations, especially if they will likely reoccur, might present an opportunity to upskill your existing staff; though this has benefits in the long term, it also presents immediate risks, as, without the right experience, you run the risk that key areas might be missed or overlooked. Adopting a hybrid approach by engaging consultants and upskilling your staff means you can acquire the skill sets needed to complete the task at hand and develop and upskill your staff for any future circumstances or situations that might arise.
Though some consultants may work for long periods of time on specific projects or activities, generally, their engagement is linked to a task, activity or project, and the duration is based on how long and complex it might be.
Absolutely, if you know that your activity or project is going to take three or more years, and there will likely be more activities like this in the future. In that case, you should look to employ a full-time permanent member of staff. Though you will likely have to pay additional benefits, overall, it will probably cost you less over the long term.
Consultants are best utilised when
- You have a short to medium-term activity (3 years or less)
- You require specific skills that do not align with your business and your long-term mission or goals
- You want an experienced individual or team that understands your wants and needs and delivers to your expectations
- You want to develop the skills within your permanent resource pool
- The activity/project is complex and requires specific knowledge or experience, such as regulatory compliance
- You have a period of significant activity (multiple projects) that would likely not be sustained over the long term
When you hire a permanent employee, you will likely pay them a base salary and offer a number of direct and indirect benefits, such as a pension, life cover, bonus, etc. When your employee is ill or goes on holiday or vacation, then as long as it is within certain permitted parameters or their allowance, you will continue to pay them. If, after the statutory period, you could no longer afford that particular employee, you would likely have to offer a redundancy payment based on their length of service.
When engaging a consultant, you only pay them a fixed fee, likely a daily fee. Though it often might seem high, that is all you pay, and there are no further benefits such as pensions, as the consultant is required to pay their taxes, pension, insurance, etc. Also, the consultant only gets paid for the days that they work, and if they are ill or go on holiday, you would not compensate them in any way. Once the engagement has ended, and you no longer need their services (regardless of duration), you can advise them that the engagement is coming to an end. You would then no longer be required to make any further payments, only for the remaining days they work until they leave your organisation.
So when comparing permanent to that of a consultant, though you might be paying more on a daily basis, when you compare benefits, sick, holiday, maternity and paternity leave, as well as redundancy payments, typically consultants are not as expensive as most people initially think.
The most common type of arrangement will be for a given period (days, months or years). However, arrangements can also be made for subject matter expertise type of arrangement (hotline, support, etc.). Typically, the engagement parameters will be based on whether there is a requirement for the consultant to be onsite (of which expenses would need to be considered), meaning that the consultant would operate from your offices. Offsite, in which the consultant would work offsite and may come into your offices for occasional or virtual meetings, in which the consultant works offsite; however, they would interact via video conferencing.
The engagement method comes down to your needs and the type of activity the consultant is engaged in.
Regardless of size, most consultants offer some form of professional indemnity (PI) cover. The consultant typically holds professional indemnity insurance for up to a specific amount for the services they provide. Should the consultant make a mistake or an error that costs your business, then you will likely take the consultant to court to recover those losses. The PI cover is a policy that protects the consultant in such a scenario and provides reassurances to the client that should the worst-case scenario occur, they, too, have some recourse.
This type of protection is standard across consultancies, regardless of size or brand. The only difference might be the cover amount that the consultant is protected for. A typical PI cover amount for a specific consultant is anything from £100k to £1m.
It is rare, though, for customers to have been subjected to any losses. If the requirements are understood and the right consultant is employed, the outcome will likely be satisfactory.
Yes – we do accept retainers. Retainers are often paid for services that you know you will likely need in the long term. Typically, a company will pay a retainer as a way of negotiating a better rate and ensuring that specific consultants are available to them when they are needed.
The actual cost varies depending on a number of factors, which include:
- Likely duration – typically, the longer the period, the more flexibility there will be with regard to the daily rate
- Type of consultant –consultants have different skills and experiences. Specialist skill sets will likely cost more than general / readily available skill sets.
- Fixed or variable cost – you may opt for a fixed price arrangement, in which a fee for the entire engagement is agreed on upfront. In a fixed-cost arrangement, should the project or activity take longer than anticipated, then you would not be subject to any further costs. Variable cost arrangements are typically a daily rate and are paid for the length in which the consultant is engaged.
As a guide (averages), a typical project office type role could cost anything from £460+ per day, an analyst £650+ per day, a project/change manager £850+ per day and a programme manager £1050+ per day. These amounts will vary depending on the factors outlined above.
EXPENSES & VAT
There are also other considerations, such as expenses and VAT. If you engage with a consultant and your place of work is not close to their home base, additional costs would likely have to be agreed upon in relation to expenses. Regarding VAT, most day rates are subject to VAT, so if your business is not VAT-registered, you will have to factor those costs into your calculations.
Yes, it is possible to agree to a fixed fee or payment. Typically, in this scenario, the deliverable would have to be decided upon, and the parameters of what is and what is not included would need to be agreed upon between all those involved; however, it is possible to create an engagement based on a fixed fee. Fixed fee structures mean that no matter how complex, long, or any obstacles occur during the lifecycle, you would not pay more than what was agreed. The list is not exhaustive; however, scenarios in which additional payments or fees would be charged if:
- The scope of agreed works/deliverables changes from what was agreed
- Information regarding known issues or problems that would affect the delivery was withheld during the scoping activity.
- Delay in payment or release of funds for associated activities or tasks
We are open to global opportunities. As part of the discovery phase, we would need to establish the type of engagement model proposed (onsite, offsite or hybrid), all of the required languages, and any visa requirements or travel advice and restrictions. In addition, we would also need to consider expenses as part of the negotiations.
