Big vs. Boutique: Finding the Best Project Consultants

FINDING THE BEST PROJECT CONSULTANTS

If you’re in the market to find project consultants on a temporary basis, the good news is you’ve got lots of options. You can work with any one of the well-known global consultancies, or you can consider a boutique consulting firm. We’ve worked for both types and know both their strengths and weaknesses.

As with any trusting relationship, the key to finding a good partner is finding the right fit for your needs. Below are a few things to consider when weighing your options.

  • How many consultants do you need on your team?
  • Do you need project resources or integrated solutions?
  • Are you comfortable with recent college grads?
  • Do you need the brand to boost leadership confidence?
  • Do you need a helping hand, an expert or both?
  • Do you need the ability to deploy your project locally or globally?
  • Can you afford to pay more than $250 per hour?
  • Are you willing to pay travel costs?

Below is a trade-off analysis of Big vs. Boutique consulting. Individual projects and situations may vary, but on the average the comparison below is relatively accurate based on our experience working in both industries.

Selection Criteria Big Consulting Boutique Consulting
Global Deployment Very strong. While most big consulting firms are grouped in regional silos, they typically handle global deployments the best Given that boutique firms are relatively local or regionally-based, they are less able to provide sufficient resources for global deployments.
Business Experience Depends. Partners and senior managers have a high degree of business experience to develop strategies and support planning; however, big firms are designed to leverage to lower cost, more junior consultants to improve profit margins. Boutique firms typically do not have the resources to train junior staff, and will tend to hire former managers and senior managers from Big Consulting firms.
Technical Expertise Big Consulting can typically buy technical expertise through acquisitions, partnerships or other investments in solutions. Boutique firms specialize in a technical area where they excel.
Cost per Billable Hour Managers & Partners
$275 – 450 / hour
Managers & Partners $175 – 250 / hour
Travel Costs Expect Big Consulting to staff projects from regional or national practice areas which will mean you will have to pay an additional $2,000 per person per week in travel expenses on average. Boutique firms typically staff projects from local offices.
Integrated Solutions Big Consulting can provide expertise across strategy, technology and industry based on large, global project experience. Boutique can typically provide expertise in strategy, technical and industry based on local project experience.
Brand Recognition Mature businesses. Major investments in marketing and advertising. Start-up or growing businesses. Limited investment in marketing and branding.

How Can Darby Help?

Darby Consulting is a boutique firm specializing in project consulting. We help project managers and executives improve their effectiveness with planning and delivering successful projects by accelerating the time required to start-up, plan and execute a project.

The way we differ from other consulting options is our project consultants have on average 10 years of project management experience along with a master’s degree or equivalent certification. We’ve provided project consulting services to several leading Fortune 100 companies including BP, Chevron, Baylor Healthcare System and Hewlett Packard. We’ve also developed over 50 project management tools and templates our clients continue to use every day to deliver projects on-time, on-budget and within original scope.

Our specializations:

  • Strategy + Planning
  • Scope Management
  • Stakeholder + Change Management
  • Cost Control
  • Schedule Management
  • Contracting + Procurement
  • Risk Management
  • Communications Management

Contact us today to learn more.

How can we support your IT projects?

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