“Life is trying things to see if they work.”
This quote by Kay Bradbury can apply not only to life but also to your work. If we take the example of a business, you’ll understand that it doesn’t matter if it’s a startup or an unicorn; experimentation is always a part of it.
Without trying out different things, you’ll never understand what is going to work for you. If it’s a startup, you’ll have to keep experimenting to see what will bring in the first bucks through the door, and if it’s a unicorn, experimenting with different strategies will help the business get its next million.
But who will carry out these experiments, or who will design them? This is where a company needs an operations management consultant. That person’s job is pretty self-explanatory from the job role, but there’s a lot more to it.
So, if you plan to consider operations management as a career, stick with me until the end.
What is an operations management consultant?
Simply put, an operations management consultant is part of a company’s AI consulting team. They monitor and analyze the company’s day-to-day work and devise strategies to improve it.
But if you zoom out and take a birds-eye view of the company, you’ll understand that it encompasses many things. Now, let’s get into the details.
Responsibilities of an operations management consultant
The first task of an operations and management consultant is to observe and analyze the current operational strategies. That starts with:
Process mapping
The consultant will first create a visual map of the department they are in charge of (such as supply management or customer handling) and study it to understand where the company’s resources are not being used effectively.
They also examine everyone involved in the processes and their roles to understand the entire workflow. This gives the operations management consultants clarity on what’s going wrong. They will then decide if a communication gap or an over-hiring issue is creating the trouble.
By now, you should have figured out how complex and vital this first step is. Only a properly trained operations management consultant can efficiently complete it.
So, you must have detailed knowledge about the field. 10X Consultant is offering a course on ‘Consulting in the Age of Gen AI,’ which is aimed at making consulting concepts easy for you.
- Professionals prefer the course to upskill themselves. It covers the basics of consulting and helps them learn to handle real-life crises. The course is hosted by Shen Pandi, who has over 10 years of corporate consulting experience.
- Freshers, on the other hand, praise it for its structured curriculum, easy-to-understand format, and in-depth insights into each topic. They are also able to complete the course at their own pace, allowing them to take it up along with their college.
- The course also provides a certification, which adds to its credibility. So you will be able to use it as proof of your expertise in the field.
Once the consultant is done with process mapping, he moves on to the next steps. That is:
Identifying problem areas
The data they collected during the first step is now used to check for patterns and trends in business operations. It means that the AI consultant will check if there’s a particular resource that’s creating a bottleneck situation.
To identify this, they implement methods like 5 Whys or Fishbone diagrams as they simplify the process with visual representation. But these methods only help to identify causes of problems like quality issues or why the customer complaint rates have suddenly increased.
So, to understand if the company is making a loss in the manufacturing process, consultants use the Lean and Six Sigma methods.
The output of all these techniques is very important as it helps the operations and management consultant to design their next step, which is:
Designing or improving strategies
Every consultant’s goal is to not disrupt the whole workflow of a company and that is why they first try to improvise the existing strategies by making small changes like trying a new communication method to pacify angry customers instead of changing the whole communication channel.
They also try out the lean techniques to remove the extra steps and resources that do not add a unique value to the workflow. And, then they consider introducing automation so that manual labor of the company is put to better use, like in processes where human input is absolutely necessary.
Operations management consultants also rearrange resources (if possible) to check if the company is using the right kind of resources at the right place. It means they sometimes also transfer employees from one department to another if their talent is better aligned with the latter.
Once all this is done, they move on to the next step:
Monitoring changes
This step is just as crucial as the ones I have mentioned above, as the outcomes here will show if the changes implemented worked at all. To make this step less complicated, operations management consultants use a process called the PDCA cycle.
Then, they note down the ROIs from each step and even the little changes that made the workflow better. This step is very helpful as the consultants will plan future strategies of the company based on the outcome they note here.
Skills needed for an operations management consultant
Remember that as an operations and management consultant, you will be responsible for a huge part of the operations of a company. Therefore, you will need to be highly skilled to be qualified for the job.
To help you, I have curated a list of skills that you need to acquire before you start your journey as an operations management consultant.
Communication skills
As you will be holding a management position, you will have to interact with both employees and leaders of a company. Therefore, your communication and consulting skills should be refined. As both skills are interdependent, you’ll need to work on them simultaneously.
One of the best ways to improve your communication is by adding more words to your vocabulary. Norman Lewis’s ‘Word Power Made Easy’ did the trick for me, and you can also give it a try. If you are not a native English speaker, watching English documentaries with subtitles can also be helpful.
| Did you know? Having good communication skills will increase the chances of a good career for you by 85% |
Operational risk
Playing safe when you are managing a business will make you miss out on phenomenal opportunities. So, you should take risks and be creative with your solutions. I know it’s nerve-wracking to think that your idea may make things worse, but it’s better to experiment than to make no progress.
To build your confidence, I would say it would be best if you take small tests and see how they perform. Even a little bit of positive result would bring in a big difference in your self-believe. So, just give it a try.
Commercial awareness
Now, it goes without saying that as an operations management consultant, you should be aware of your competitors and the market. But to give your company an edge you should also have an idea of the bigger picture.
By that, I mean you should keep yourself updated about economic policy changes, budgets, etc, to understand how all that might affect your business. To be able to keep tabs on all this, you should make it a habit of looking at business news and stock market movements.
Analytic reasoning
As an operations management consultant, you should be able to detect patterns and trends by looking at data, and you will need to make strategic decisions based on them. That is why one of the core skills you’ll need to develop is analytical reasoning.
But the good news is that you won’t have to spend a penny on it. You can look up case studies and practice your skills using those. You may also take the help of AI tools like ChatGPT to test your skills.
Organizational skills
I have mentioned earlier that you will be holding a managerial position, so you’ll be in charge of managing several tasks and resources. For that, you’ll need to develop skills like time management and adaptability, as they’ll help you run things smoothly.
Time management will help you manage tasks without getting overwhelmed about deadlines and adaptability will help you to quickly mingle with different groups. Along with these, you should also develop leadership skills so that you are able to make firm decisions.
Operations management consultant as a career
A lot of graduates are now leaning toward the consulting career, not only because there’s a large scope for growth but also because it pays well. The average operations management consultant salary ranges from USD 1,25,840 per year to USD 1,83,946. For experienced professionals, it may go higher.
Choosing this career will also give you flexibility for a job change. As the core job skills remain the same, you will easily be able to switch to a different role in the consulting field.
So, the perks of being an operations management consultant are a lot, and if you can stack up your skills then you won’t probably ever feel the pressure. Take one step at a time, and remember 10X Consultant can make this journey easier for you.
So, all the best!
FAQs
- Is a management consultant a high-paying job?
The shortest answer is yes. Apart from getting a good sum at the end of every month, the career also offers you immense opportunities to grow your skills. Solving different kinds of problems for various businesses equips you with skills that no textbook can provide.
- Which consultant has the highest salary?
At the top are operational management consultants and marketing consultants, followed by sales consultants, software consultants, technology consultants, HR consultants, and others.
- Which Big 3 consulting pays the most?
Alvarez & Marsal pays the most – almost $185,000 or more annually followed by McKinsey, which pays more or less $147,000 per year. At three is Accenture, which pays over almost $140,000.
- Do consultants make good CEO?
Absolutely! Consultants who start their own businesses already know the ins and outs of the industry, so they make really knowledgeable CEOs. Moreover, as they already have the experience of being an employee, they also make cool bosses!
- Can a CA go into consulting?
Yes, and the best part is they won’t even need an MBA degree to become a management consultant.
