What is behind a rise in the need for qualified management consultants? For one, the pandemic has made many aspects of life more complicated. These changes to our personal lives have bled into our businesses, complicating the business environment even further. The Great Resignation is upon us, and companies need to solve increasingly complex problems. The use of technology is becoming an imperative, not an option. But skill shortages are leaving gaps in perspective and strategy.

According to the Economist, "Companies are trying to go from 0 to 60, and it shows." With the large numbers of employees quitting their jobs, new jobs aren't being created as fast as expected in the US, and job vacancies are soaring, suggesting that companies are finding it hard to fill positions. Although these are observations about the economy, it's hard for businesses to ascertain an accurate summary of the problems.

Skill shortages are found all over the board, with companies facing tough decisions in various areas. According to Clay Christensen of Harvard Business School, management consultants are essential "where clients [businesses] are less confident about how to solve the problem and are looking for a new and different approach or perspective, or the lessons of other industries."

According to research from the Business Talent Group (BTG), the projects most in demand for management consultants currently are:

Marketing and sales strategy
Growth strategy
Opportunity assessment
Businesses processes
Product launch planning
Supply chain
Financial services
Insurance

Qualified and experienced management consultants are trained to solve problems and improve business performance in all of these areas.

Small, independently-owned businesses are especially vulnerable and should rely on qualified management consultants to fill gaps in core competencies. Businesses need help navigating this new landscape—management consultants are in high demand as they help piece businesses back together after being disrupted by the pandemic. Experienced management consultants have developed deep skillsets in core business areas. They can see the overall business scope, compartmentalize complex issues, and work through the details to solve the problems and improve business performance.

What does a Management Consultant do, exactly?

The Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) lays out a comprehensive definition stating, "Management consulting is the providing to management of objective advice and assistance relating to the strategy, structure, management, and operations of an organization in pursuit of its long-term purposes and objectives. Such assistance may include the identification of options with recommendations; the provision of an additional resource or the implementation of solutions."

Additionally, IMC defines a Management Consultant as "an individual who provides independent advice and assistance about the process of management to clients with management responsibilities. The individual can be a generalist or a specialist and may approach an assignment with, for example, a purely financial point of view, as required by the client.

According to a Forbes article "Management consultants work with domestic and/or global clients (organizations, executives, leaders, and teams) to identify and solve complex business, organizational and operational problems and define and improve processes...The best management consultants are those who have a propensity for strategic thinking and a bent toward statistical analysis, critical thinking and process improvement." (https://www.forbes.com/sites/terinaallen/2020/02/26/this-is-what-it-takes-to-become-a-successful-management-consultant/?sh=472e69814ce1).

What is the CMC designation, and why is it important?

In an environment where anyone can slap "Consultant" by their name, how can a business owner or manager know they are getting the best management consultant for their money? My advice is to trust a Certified Management Consultant because each CMC is stringently screened to ensure only the most experienced and qualified consultants can call themselves a CMC. The Institute of Management Consultants USA has the highest standards in the world for competency and ethics.

A Certified Management Consultant (CMC) is defined by the IMC as "a management consultant who views management consulting as a profession and has been evaluated as meeting certain requirements pertaining to character, qualifications, experience, independence and competence as defined by the professional body issuing certification."

The CMC is the most coveted designation for management consultants; it is similar to an attorney passing the Bar examination, an accountant receiving a CPA, or an engineer obtaining their PE license. The reason earning the CMC is so special is because the certification is competency-based, and a CMC candidate must adhere to the most rigorous vetting process in the profession. The vetting includes having satisfaction surveys sent independently from clients, taking multiple in-depth written examinations covering consulting competencies and ethics, and sitting for an oral exam via panel interview by fellow CMCs (all three CMCs for my oral examination were also PhDs in Management).

Below are some requirements for a management consultant to earn their CMC®:

Experience: CMCs must be current consultants, not part-time – and must have spent three of the past five years delivering consulting services, e.g., high-level business consulting, strategic planning, change management, teaching a core competency of consulting, etc.
Education: CMCs must have at least a bachelor's (4-year) degree, but most experienced consultants have obtained an advanced or terminal degree in their areas of expertise.
References: Candidates must provide five satisfactory client evaluations from officers or executives of client organizations for whom they have provided consulting services, thus demonstrating excellence not only in their subject matter expertise but also in the critical consulting competencies, skills, and behaviors that a professional consultant must-have.
Engagements: Candidates must provide at least three comprehensive written summaries of previous consulting engagements. These will be used as part of the oral examination of the certification process.
Competence: The certification process is competency-based, not based solely on a written test. Candidates must submit to a qualifying written examination followed by an oral examination with senior CMC® examiners, all of which are designed to show the candidate's professional competence, currency, and experience as spelled out in IMC USA's Competency Framework – CMC® Scheme.
Ethics: Ethics is a huge part of the certification process and must pass both written and oral examinations on the IMC Code of Ethics, and must pass ethical aspects of consulting.

[Requirements taken from: https://www.imcusa.org/benefits-and-process.]

Accordingly, when you engage a consultant who has earned their CMC, you can be confident they have a history of excellent performance in delivering results to clients (whether with internal or external consulting). You can be confident your consultant has met world-class standards of competence, ethics, and client satisfaction; and has maintained this level of professionalism through education and periodic certification renewal. According to the Institute of Management Consulting USA, less than 1% of all consultants worldwide have achieved this level of excellence.

Management consultants can be external and internal, depending on the business's needs. Business owners facing tough decisions should find a CMC to help them improve performance and get back on track. And with high demand comes the need for more qualified consultants. Current consultants who want to improve and develop their practice should engage with other management consultants in the profession.