Written by Eric Frokjer
I’ve been working in the HR technology space for many years, and have been a consultant at HRchitect for more than six years now. These are some of the reasons why we love consulting (and you should too):
- Vast expertise
By definition, a consultant is someone who can provide expert advice. When you choose to work with a consultant, you know that person has a wealth of expertise and knowledge around whatever your project parameters are, whether it’s experience choosing the right system for your organization, or gathering requirements to make sure your project goes off without a hitch. A consultant will also have an understanding of typical implementation project lifecycles and deadlines and can guide you through your project with that knowledge so that your project will be a success.
As a consultant, I love that I can share my knowledge and teach others, which is very rewarding.
- Quick way to bring vast expertise into your organization
When I begin working with a new client, I’m able to immediately provide value to that client’s organization and move their project forward. It is extremely rewarding to be such a big help to the client team. Clients love this because it is much quicker to bring in an expert for a short-term project than it is to ask an already-busy team member to learn a new skill, hire for a brand new position, or spend hundreds of hours attempting to do a complex project on their own, knowing that they are moving at a slow pace because the project is largely a new endeavor for them.
- Access to many bright minds
A reputable consultant is part of a larger team of consultants, so if I haven’t done a specific part of a project before or haven’t implemented your specific system before, chances are that I work with someone who does. I have access to many brilliant colleagues who can get me the answer, or jump in and help in a timely manner. As a consultant, I love the opportunity to learn from, and share knowledge with my colleagues, and we continue to raise the bar for our clients with ongoing development and information exchange.
Clients love this because unlike working with small one-person consulting firms, your project is not at risk if I have a planned vacation day, or get sick while we’re working together. In addition, it is often helpful to have a different perspective on a challenging part of a project, and leveraging a fellow consultant’s expertise and past experience allows me to do just that for my clients.
- Remote collaboration (most of the time)
This is great for both of us! I get to wear my favorite bunny slippers at my home office and I can set my alarm and get up in the middle of the night to check on how something is processing for you. All the time that a person would normally spend getting dressed for work and getting to work is time that I can reallocate to working on your project.
Clients love this because I am able to complete project milestones and deliverables much faster, and they can depend on almost round the clock support. Plus, it saves a TON of money on airfare, lodging, and meals that clients can use elsewhere in their budget.
- Face to face meetings are more productive for the team
You may think that this contradicts my previous statement. It’s important to mention that with our consulting model, although we work remote most of the time, we’re able to travel and be on site with our clients during crucial points in the project, like project kickoff, testing, and go-live and at other points our clients request where it is clear that an onsite presence will make a key difference. This just means that the time we spend working together face to face is more focused, and we’re able to easily conquer some specific challenges that would have taken more time to complete with remote collaboration. Plus, it is more fun since it’s out of the norm to have a new face in your office, and we’ll usually have some sort of well-deserved celebration, like going out to lunch with the team, after we’ve conquered a particularly difficult challenge.
- New clients every few months = continued expansion of knowledge
We do have many clients that work with us for many years, but for the most part consulting opportunities are project based with a defined start and end time. This means I get to work with new clients every 3 – 6 months, depending on when my other projects finish. This is great for consultants on a personal level because we have the privilege of building a new working relationship with a new client team and we love meeting new people! On an expertise level, working with new clients also means that we continually expand our knowledge of best practices, expand our knowledge of configurations with different client requirements, and keep up with the ever-evolving nuances in specific industries, like hospitality, healthcare, or finance.
Clients love this because this means that the next time you call HRchitect for expertise on a project, you know that we can be of even MORE help than the last time you partnered with us for your HR technology needs. Ready to talk about your next project? Let us know. We have worked with many different sized clients, industries, and systems, which gives us an expansive knowledge of best practice to help your organization. Further, if you are in the market for a new or replacement system, HRchitect’s Secure Selection process will help to ensure you choose the right system for your organization’s needs. Or if you have an existing HCM system, we can help with implementation and/or optimization to ensure that your organization gets the most from your new technology and that your investment continues working best for your organization.
About Eric Frokjer
Eric has over 25 years of experience in the HRMS field. Some of his experience is in implementing Human Resources, Benefits, Payroll and Time & Attendance systems. He has been working with HRchitect since 2012.