How much does it cost to hire an aviation consultant?
IN CONVERSATION
In this series consisting of three articles, I explore the world of aviation consultancy; who consultants are, what they can do for you, the value that they can add, and what to watch out for. In this first of three articles, I look at how much it costs to hire one.
If I'm honest, I've never really liked using the term consultant; perhaps it's due to negative experiences in my previous working life. Nevertheless, I've now spent eight years owning and running an aviation consultancy business and being just that, a consultant. Strange how life goes!
The truth is that the role has probably taught me more about the aviation industry than pretty much all of my previous roles combined.
WHAT ARE CONSULTANTS, AND WHAT CAN THEY DO FOR YOU?
So, let's start with the basics; what is a consultant? The dictionary definition tells us that a consultant is: 'a person who provides professional or expert advice in a particular field of science or business to either an organisation or individual'—basically, someone who exchanges time, expertise and experience for money. Fair deal?
It's no different, in many ways, to the rest of the working population. The real difference with a consultant is that they can meet a particular need, a gap, with expertise, insights or skill that may not be present within the organisation's workforce. That independent view can be of high value to an organisation.
Consultant or consulting is a broad, almost generic term describing a variety of expertise for hire, ranging from elementary and straightforward forms of consulting to other, more sophisticated models.
Consultants come in many forms, shapes and sizes from single individuals, small, medium or large companies, niche area specialists, to generalists. Some offer only consulting services, whereas others, like myself, offer consulting and a range of additional services that complement our particular niche.
Some think of and use consultants like the fire brigade, coming in only to put out fires. Once the fire is out, they are often no longer needed. The client has to judge whether that is the right approach. The fact is that consultants can provide input and expertise on a whole range of subjects, provide complementary services or simply be that independent, trusted advisor that you can always count on.
Whatever form they come in, they really should be bonafide experts within their field. They have a robust, transparent and indisputable industry background within their chosen field, best serving their client through a honed skillset and adopting a pragmatic and independent approach to their work.
Consultants are often asked to benchmark their work, so they must build up that high level of in-depth industry knowledge and network to draw upon when needed.
Anyone can become a consultant, literally anyone. It doesn't require any formal qualifications or licences. Get some money behind you, quit your job, get a website, get some clients, you're up and running!
But there's a vast difference between being a 'consultant' and being a successful consultant; it requires commitment and a lot of it. It's pretty easy to spot someone between jobs or not fully committed.
Perhaps, the first part of my career, just over 30 years in the aviation industry, gave me the basics to be a consultant. The eight years since starting my business has been the hardest of my working life. Learning how to be a consultant (learning my trade) as well as learning how to run a business are both big hills to climb in themselves, but it uniquely positioned me, over time, to be the consultant that I am.
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT WORKING WITH AVIATION CONSULTANTS
At the beginning of this article, I said that consultants sometimes seem to have a somewhat negative reputation, but why?
You sometimes hear about so-called experts charging a lot of money, telling us what we already know are just some of the repeatable descriptions that I've heard! Maybe there is an element of truth in it on some occasions; it's an easily used moniker for some less committed to adopt. I, too, had some bad experiences in my previous working life. But if it does go south, a significant part of the blame may lie closer to home than you think.
The obvious fact is, common to any services that you may buy; there are good and bad consultants. It is up to you, the client, to determine who is who. Choose well, and you can end up with well rounded, niche expertise, impartiality, delivering an extremely flexible and cost-effective addition to your business. Not doing your homework could see you wasting a lot of time, effort and money for a very little return.
For me, trust between the consultant and the client is critical. Working hard to become that trusted advisor, building a solid reputation takes time and continual hard work, but it's essential graft but, equally, trust and reputation can be lost in a second.
Consultants do not necessarily have to be one-trick ponies brought in solely to identify cost savings. Yes, they can do that, but they can easily be much more.
Consultants can advise you on every technical aspect of your business, bring insights from the industry and elsewhere, and help develop innovative and cost-effective methods of delivering the company activities and products.
In my case, I quickly realised that by adding a range of focussed and relevant complementary services to our portfolio, we could quickly help our clients solve some of their problems.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO HIRE AN AVIATION CONSULTANT?
In the world of consultancy, it's very rare to find any published charge rates. Why? There may be various reasons such as 'it's too complicated, 'it depends what you need', 'it's confidential'. Although some may say it's just excuses, there may be some validity in not publishing the rates.
In all honesty and on balance, publishing your rates is more likely to cause confusion. In most cases, it's not because it enables consultants to get away with charging as much as they can; the fact is that there are often too many variables, making it too complicated to publish meaningfully. Better, in my view, to understand the client's needs in detail and provide a bespoke proposal.
Nevertheless, here it is; this is what you can expect to pay for an aviation consultant;
Most charges are based on a daily rate, even if they quote a package of work. The daily rate could be between £200 ($260) and £2000 ($2600), possibly more. That's a broad range and may not be hugely helpful when trying to research whether you can afford a consultant, but rates can be dependent on a range of variables, the most common being;
Experience
What experience and insights, and niche expertise are on offer. Theoretically, buying services at the higher end of that daily rate scale should get you very experienced and seasoned individuals.
Nature of engagement
Known/unknown outcomes, the latter generally attracts a higher rateLength of engagement
The basic discount for volume rationale would usually apply here; fixed-term or open-ended would also be a factorType of engagement
In our case, we offer a range of complementary services in addition to pure consultancy, all very different assignments having their own cost drivers and market ratesResources
Most consultants have a network of associates with varying specialist skill sets that can be deployed; this may be a factor in some assignments.Intellectual property
Materials owned by the consultant can also be considered.
The standard daily rate can also often be accompanied by additional costs such as airfare, hotel, train, mileage, entry (visas etc.) where applicable. All of this should be agreed in advance to avoid surprises.
Sounds expensive? Maybe, maybe not; it depends upon the client's objective and your specific need. It can also often be thought of as part of the cost of doing business, a necessary, periodic investment. I even use consultants in my consulting firm!
Whether they be one-off, short duration interventions or longer-term, embedded assignments, the fact is that optimal use of this type of expertise can often provide a quicker, better and more cost-effective solution than in house equivalents.