By Kim Waiyaboon
The nation’s capital is the political center of one the world’s most vibrant countries and its largest economy. The federal government’s wealth and the resulting business activity attract a plethora of consultants. Consulting firms in DC offer reactive, analytical solutions to the problems of both the public and private sectors. Many DC consulting firms work with global organizations and other nations.
Business and government agency leaders face endless challenges, but even significantly different groups can run into the same issues. Organizations hire ‘Beltway’ consultants, named for the Interstate 495 highway that encircles the region, for their specific expertise. A business hit with a problem it never faced before can find a consulting firm that has dealt with it many times.
The expertise of consulting firms in DC is world-renowned. Whether an organization (public or private, large or small) needs help in human resources, strategic planning, compliance, information technology, or financial planning (to name only a few of the DC firms’ specialties), it can find a consultant to develop solutions with a fresh, and sometimes global, perspective.
Let’s take a closer look at what consulting firms in DC offer and how an organization can find the ideal one to suit its needs.
What do consultants do in DC?
Business consultants are analytical thinkers who advise organizations on ways to achieve their goals. Firms in Washington DC act as storehouses of acumen and expertise. They supply skills and experience that organizations lack to help them analyze problems, develop solutions and implement them.
Because of the high concentration of wealth in the area and the varied needs of government agencies, DC consultants serve a broad range of clients. The specific areas they work in and services they provide include:
Strategy. Help to plan and execute expansion into a new market, reorganization of a business model, acquisition of a new business venture, or a merger with another business.
Marketing. Develop brand awareness and heighten exposure, perhaps using digital marketing techniques. For example, a consultant might help a nonprofit implement a marketing plan to increase qualified leads.
Management. Optimize the way in which senior personnel manage their teams, departments, and projects. Experts in a management consulting firm are often former senior executives who now help organizations become more efficient.
Operations. Streamline day-to-day processes and optimize production.
HR services. Recruit, manage payroll, and improve the performance of administrative human resources tasks.
Finance. Manage debts and assets; give advice on investment decisions. A financial services consultant can show an organization how to align its profit margins, spending, and overhead with its short- and long-term goals. A company also might need help developing investment strategies or managing taxes and insurance.
Translation. Help with translating, editing, and interpreting, as well as expanding beyond the U.S.
IT. Provide project management for software, web development, and hardware initiatives. A consultant will lead a business as it moves to a cloud system, migrates data, or replaces old systems. An expert might also provide big data consulting or analyze a company’s IT security.
Sales. Show a business how to increase conversion rates, reduce churn rates, and boost customer loyalty.
Many employees of businesses and government agencies leave to become consultants, working for themselves or with a business consulting company. That’s how they can bring proven, industry-specific skills as well as general skills like problem solving, communication, collaboration, creative thinking, practical planning, organization, and time management. Consulting firms in DC are adept at supplementing an organization’s staff, providing an objective view of the mission and its tasks, identifying problems, and developing industry-specific solutions.
A closer look
Some firms focus on just one industry, such as IT, marketing or healthcare. Others offer expertise on a broader variety of issues, like regulatory compliance, staffing, and corporate relations. To gain another perspective on the field, we can look at a few consulting firms in the region.
Booz Allen Hamilton is one of the 10 biggest IT federal contractors. It’s headquartered in McClean, Va., just outside DC, and its 29,000 employees work in 80 offices around the world. Its consultants work with government, defense, healthcare, and transportation and commercial concerns, offering expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, analytics, and digital projects.
ICF International Inc., based in Fairfax, Va., serves clients such as the FCC, the SEC, Georgia Power and the Belize Tourism Board. It employs about 8,000 people and has about 90 offices around the world. It advertises services such as strategic planning, research, program management, business process management, data analytics, technology, cybersecurity and marketing strategy.
McKinsey & Company, with offices near numerous federal agency headquarters, has more than 30,000 colleagues in 130 cities and more than 90 years of management consulting. The firm has a dedicated center of excellence that focuses on research, analysis, and collaboration in government productivity and performance. It’s websites states that the firm is an apolitical, independent organization that does not take public-policy positions, and does not endorse any political party or policy action.
Consulting firms in DC
As we have seen, consultants come in a variety of flavors. Some firms are large and offer depth that large projects require. They may subcontract portions of projects to smaller strategic partners where smaller teams are better. They might work as specialists in a particular industry or a small niche within an industry. Sometimes they specialize in applying general business principles or processes and can work for many types of businesses or groups. Rather than hire a long-term employee, a business will hire a consultant to handle a specific situation. In general, the DC consulting firms provide expertise in four different areas:
Technical management: Offering solutions to technical and digital issues.
Business management: Applying best practices to optimize workflows, projects, and personnel.
Corporate management: Helping an organization with efficiency and productivity, providing corporate training as needed.
Government operations: Dealing with the intricacies of working with the federal government. This category encompasses many large areas, including each branch of the military, each of the various federal agencies, and politics.
Consulting firms offer an organization a kind of “think tank asset” that can strengthen their performance.
How do you find a consultant in Washington DC?
Naturally, the first step an organization must take is to clarify what kind of help it needs and to set a goal for the consulting work. The group’s leaders also should consider whether their team could solve the problem. It might be more efficient to give someone a bonus to do extra work rather than hire a consultant.
An internet search of “consulting firms in DC” will turn up plenty of results. Too many, in fact. Organizations need to be very specific in their search. A company should favor a consultant that has experience in its field and with groups of a similar size and that provides the exact services they need.
Here are a few other things to consider:
What is the budget for the project?
A business that is clear about its goals for a consultant will be able to talk about them with potential picks. Thus, when the business interviews a consultant, it can get an accurate idea of the costs involved. The business must also ask about fee structures, who will pay for travel and supplies. They also must be clear about what, exactly, is the deliverable and what are the deadlines for starting and completing work.
What do their references say?
Hiring a consultant is like hiring an employee for a key position. Companies should always ask for references and check them. What do former clients say about the consulting firm? It should be standard practice by now to check social media and online reviews as well.
What do their credentials say?
In addition to having the right experience, consultants also should have any licenses required for the work they will be doing. A business that must have security clearances for certain types of government work should make sure the consultant has any required clearances. Also, it’s wise to look for credentials that indicate training and continuing education in crucial areas, such as IT, business management and finance.
Is there a cultural fit?
The consultant or consultants will work with an organization’s personnel closely for an extended time. Business leaders should feel comfortable with the consultant they are bringing in. They want a fresh perspective, but not a destructive one. The business will be dealing with the outcome long after the consultant is gone.
A helping hand
One Beltway consulting firm, SDV International, has been providing technological, management, and government market advisory solutions for more than 13 years. Based in Alexandria, Va., SDV International’s staff has worked with nearly 20 federal agencies and in nearly 100 countries. As you begin to search for consulting firms in DC, talk to SDV International about the help your organization needs.