From navigating transformation to driving measurable outcomes, today's enterprises often turn to business consultants for strategic support. But what exactly does a business consultant do—and how can they help organizations deliver on their goals?

This article explores the role of a business consultant, the services they offer and the tangible benefits they provide. Whether tackling operational inefficiencies, scaling for growth or entering new markets, understanding the role of a business consultant can help you make more informed and confident decisions.

What is a business consultant?

A business consultant is a professional advisor who works with organizations to solve problems, improve performance and unlock new opportunities. They bring specialized expertise, industry insight and a structured approach to diagnosing challenges and recommending actionable solutions.

Unlike internal teams, business consultants offer an external perspective that is objective and informed by experience across industries. Their role is to provide advice and partner with clients to define goals, shape strategy and support implementation.

This partnership takes many forms, as every client or organization has different needs. As a business consultant, understanding a client's unique needs and tailoring service agreements to deliver the most value is key to a successful partnership. It also means that each engagement looks different. Where some organizations may want a consultant focused on operational efficiency, others may be looking to drive strategic growth.

Responsibilities of a business consultant

As discussed above, business consultants should adapt their approach based on the client's needs, but many of their core responsibilities are the same.

Business consultant core responsibilities include:

  • Assessing current business processes and identifying improvement areas
  • Facilitating strategic planning and prioritization
  • Conducting market, financial and organizational analysis
  • Supporting change management and transformation efforts
  • Recommending technologies or tools to enhance performance
  • Guiding implementation and measuring results

The day-to-day of a business consultant

A business consultant may shift between discovery sessions with client stakeholders, data analysis and solution development on a typical day. Much of their time is spent understanding client challenges in detail—through interviews, research and workshops.

Hiring a business consultant service may look different depending on your individual needs; they may lead or support working sessions to map current processes, identify pain points and co-design future-state solutions. Behind the scenes, they translate insights into frameworks, roadmaps or business cases that help clients make informed decisions.

As projects progress, a business consultant will work closely with client teams to guide execution. You should raise an eyebrow if you find yourself working with a consultant or team that delivers a plan but is uninterested in ensuring strategies are practical and implemented effectively. A business consultant's role goes beyond analysis: they help drive momentum and foster stakeholder alignment.

Business consultant services

Business consultants are equipped to support a wide range of initiatives. They may help design and execute transformation programs, conduct performance diagnostics or implement new governance models.

They also bring deep industry knowledge that informs practical, relevant recommendations. Whether helping a bank modernize its customer journey or guiding a manufacturer through sustainability planning, consultants offer insights grounded in real-world challenges.

Business consultants are focused on delivering services tailored to an organization's goals and challenges.

Common cross-industry business consultant services include:

  • Strategic planning and transformation: helping clients set a long-term vision and define goals to improve agility and alignment across strategy, operating models, road mapping and performance.
  • Operational efficiency and process optimization: helping clients optimize business processes and resources to reduce costs while increasing efficiency.
  • Market entry or expansion strategy: helping clients prepare for, and execute their merger, acquisition and divestiture activities.
  • Digital strategy and technology enablement: helping clients bridge old and new technology, assess digital velocity, energize innovation and build a responsible path toward digital leadership.
  • Organizational design and workforce planning: helping clients embrace people-centric organizational change, transform processes and drive long-term employee retention.

How can a business consultant help your business?

A business consultant brings both method and mindset to solving complex challenges. This external perspective can clarify priorities, uncover hidden inefficiencies and fast-track transformation efforts. Consultants also serve as facilitators—bringing teams together around shared goals and helping manage the change management process.

A business consultant is more than a problem-solver. They often act as catalysts for change, bringing discipline to complex efforts and unlocking value that might otherwise remain out of reach.

In many cases, consultants can accelerate value by helping organizations avoid common pitfalls by building and executing proven strategies.

By engaging a consultant, organizations gain access to:

  • Proven frameworks and structured approaches
  • Objective analysis that cuts through internal biases
  • Insights drawn from diverse client experiences

Proven frameworks and structured approaches

Business consultants deliver services across the spectrum, from strategy to implementation. To ensure expected results, consultants often rely on proven methodologies tested and refined through years of experience. Most consultants have a library of accelerators, templates and processes that fit clients' needs.

Objective analysis that cuts through internal biases

One of the main advantages that a business consultant can provide is an objective, unbiased perspective. If you recognize that you are too close to a situation, partnering with an individual or team that can assess situations, recommend approaches and ensure implementation success can help unlock your organization's full potential.

Insights drawn from diverse client experiences

Business consultants not only provide objective perspectives but also have the advantage of learning from other organizations, clients and partners. With cross-industry expertise, agile working models, and years of experience, consultants adjust to working with clients on diverse projects and know what works, not based on something they heard or read, but because of their experience delivering successful results.

Types of business consultants

Business consultants often specialize by function, industry or issue area, while other consulting organizations offer integrated teams that combine specialties to provide more holistic support.

Regardless of size or structure, an organization's consulting portfolio is often made of one, some or all of the following:

  • Strategy consultants: Focus on long-term planning, growth strategy and market positioning.
  • Operations consultants: Optimize workflows, supply chains and cost structures.
  • Technology consultants: Enable digital transformation and align IT with business strategy.
  • Human capital consultants: Support talent management, organizational design and workforce planning.

Hiring the right business consultant service

Like any partnership, choosing the right consulting partner starts with clarity on your objectives. Before signing a contract, it's important to define the goals of your initiative. Take some time to research the teams and individuals you are thinking of working with, and request references or case studies to make sure the organization has effectively delivered similar projects in the past.

During this research phase, determine a consulting partner that:

  • Demonstrates experience in your sector and issue area
  • Offers end-to-end support, from strategy to implementation
  • Emphasizes partnership and co-creation, not just advice

Even if a consultant can deliver on the above, it's important not to discredit company culture. Effective consultants become extensions of your team and share accountability for outcomes; as a result, if a consultant cannot align with your organization's values, working style or practices, you should weigh that heavily in your decision-making process.

Considerations when hiring a business consultant service

Beyond selecting the right consultant, preparing your organization for the engagement is essential. Determining organizational readiness will be different for every organization, but the success of any project depends on mutual commitment: Are you partnering with the right team? Is your organization ready for the change?

As you prepare your organization, consider the following:

  • Leadership: Successful projects often require executive sponsorship to drive adoption.
  • Employee engagement: Include employees affected by a project early on, making sure they understand the goals.
  • Resource allocation: The necessary tools, budget and talent are available to ensure success.
  • Motivation and capacity: Consider how your organization handles change and create a plan to encourage flexibility and innovation.

Working with a business consultant

Once you select the right partner, it's important to remember that effective consultant engagements are built on trust, transparency and communication. Align goals and expectations early, ensuring nothing is left to chance. Additionally, your partner should establish regular check-ins and decision points to keep everyone on schedule, with clear deadlines.

Honest feedback is one of the most important elements of building trust and transparency. Share feedback openly and iterate as needed. This collaborative approach enables adaptability and ensures that solutions stay relevant throughout the engagement.

Measuring the success of the consultant

We've talked a lot about goal setting when preparing your business and selecting a business consulting partner. When setting goals, you should consider qualitative outcomes—like greater alignment, increased agility or a stronger culture of innovation. Consulting impact is best measured through outcomes, not just activities. Goals should be set with clear, measurable outcomes and key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge success over time.

KPIs may include metrics such as:

  • Improved performance (e.g., cost savings, cycle time reduction)
  • Achievement of strategic goals (e.g., market expansion, digital adoption)
  • Organizational health (e.g., employee engagement, process maturity)

Do I need a business consultant?

There isn't a one-size-fits-all need for business consulting. Every organization is different. You may be facing a pivotal challenge, experiencing declining performance or lacking bandwidth/expertise. Whatever the reason, a consultant can provide the focus and experience needed to move forward with confidence.

Whether you're scaling operations, entering a new market or driving a digital initiative, a business consultant or service can help you:

  • Translate goals into action plans
  • Navigate uncertainty and mitigate risk
  • Deliver measurable results faster

The decision to bring in a consultant is ultimately about ambition. If you're aiming to raise performance, transform your approach or accelerate impact, a business consultant can help you get there.

How business consultants support industries

Consultants help organizations adapt, optimize operations and drive growth in rapidly changing industries. While almost every industry benefits from partnering with business consultants, some industries have consistently and effectively leveraged these partnerships to achieve their goals. Financial services, healthcare, utilities and government consultants bring the insights and experience needed to solve complex challenges and unlock measurable value.

Business consulting for financial services

Consultants help financial institutions stay competitive, drawing on years of industry experience, by enhancing customer experiences and streamlining operations. They provide strategic guidance on digital transformation, risk management and market positioning, among other strategy initiatives.

The most common business consulting projects for financial services companies include:

  • Core banking modernization
  • Regulatory compliance strategies
  • Customer journey mapping
  • M&A integration
  • Cost optimization

With the rapid pace of change, consultants also support the adoption of advanced analytics and AI to enhance decision-making, automate routine processes, uncover growth opportunities and improve risk management. By integrating data-driven insights into everyday operations, financial institutions can respond more quickly to market shifts and customer needs.

When should financial services companies consider using a business consultant?
Financial services organizations should engage consultants during major transitions, such as regulatory changes, digital overhauls or expansion into new markets. They add value when internal expertise is limited or an outside perspective is needed to accelerate transformation.

Business consulting for healthcare

Healthcare organizations rely on consultants to navigate regulatory complexity, digitize care delivery and improve patient outcomes. Business consulting supports data-driven care models and integrated health ecosystems.

The most common business consulting projects for healthcare include:

  • electronic health record optimization
  • value-based care implementation
  • cost containment
  • digital front-door strategies

Consulting teams offer value beyond clinical initiatives, working on projects that strengthen the entire healthcare ecosystem, from workforce planning and regulatory compliance to streamlining internal operations.

When should healthcare companies consider using a business consultant?
Healthcare organizations should engage with specialized healthcare consultants to provide critical support in aligning operations with evolving health standards and technology trends, including system migrations, regulatory shifts or when scaling new models of care. They provide critical support in aligning operations with evolving health standards and technology trends.

Business consulting for energy and utilities

Utilities are constantly facing pressure to modernize grids, decarbonize operations and deliver resilient services, initiatives that consultants can help navigate.

The most common business consulting projects for utilities companies include:

  • Smart grid initiatives
  • ESG reporting
  • asset management optimization
  • customer experience redesign

With expertise in regulatory navigation, digital transformation and sustainability strategy, consultants can also lead strategic planning around energy transition and regulatory reform.

When should utilities companies consider using a business consultant?
Utility consultants are valuable during regulatory change, technology investment planning or operational restructuring. They help prioritize initiatives and accelerate time to impact.

Business consulting for government

Government agencies turn to consultants for support in service modernization, policy implementation and citizen engagement. The most common business consulting projects for government include:

  • digital government transformation
  • operational efficiency assessments
  • workforce modernization
  • public health strategies

Consultants for the federal government can also assist in grants management and strategic sourcing, providing objective insight and helping align programs with public goals and budget constraints.

When should government organizations consider using a business consultant?
Consultants are most useful during large-scale program launches, funding realignments or cross-agency collaboration efforts. They support timely delivery and measurable impact in high-stakes public initiatives.

Let's keep the conversation going

Working with business consultant services can be a strategic lever for performance, transformation and innovation. At CGI, business consultants combine industry specialization with global capabilities. Our professionals work alongside clients to co-create innovative and executable solutions backed by our proven delivery model.

If you're exploring how business or management consulting support can advance your goals, we'd welcome a conversation. Let's shape what's next, together.