Arguments against "Unwise to let analysts with little experience give recommendations to C-suite managers"?

Question

Recently, I had a conversation with my colleague that said hiring external consultants is not worth the price because the analysts are normally fresh grads with little experience that give recommendations to CEO, CFO, etc.

In this case, I would assume that these analysts are "guided" by senior consultants/partners who are industry-specific experts. So the analysts do the data gatherings, data analysis, and put the findings into the slides, based on the guidance. They might regroup with their partner along the way to readjust things.

Does it reflect the way they work?

And anything else to counter the statement?

Best,

Answer 1

This is a common misunderstanding of how consulting works. And you are absolutely right that even though it appears the recommendations were presented by someone junior, there is a huge pool of experts behind the analysts to support the analysis. There are also layers of pressure testing, reviews, and revisions to ensure the results are bulletproof. Also to remember, when clients see the analysis, they consider it as the consulting firm's suggestion, not one person's idea. The strength of consultants is more on problem-solving, than "know-it-all".

I completely understand your feeling about wanting to convince this person, but I wouldn't sweat about trying to convince him/her :) Coming from a technical background, I often have this type of conversation with my college friends who are tech leaders unfamiliar with the consulting industry. Sometimes they make fun of it when seeing news about XYZ company paying millions of dollars for something obvious. I laugh with them, because the news sometimes does depict it funnily. But I stopped trying to convince them, because they don't know how it works, and they don't have to. If you believe this career or type of work is valuable, then it IS valuable.

But, if you still really really really want to convince this person (and I get that feeling too) , ChatGPT can help list 5-10 more bullet points as well :)

Cheers,

Han

Answer 2

Hi, I took the SOVA test a couple of months ago and got invited for the 1st round of interviews. I did not do amazing... (read entire answer)

Hi, I took the SOVA test a couple of months ago and got invited for the 1st round of interviews. I did not do amazing with time, spent 30 to 40 minutes above the recommended tim... (read entire answer)