Once upon a time, every worker in an organization had a specialty. The person in charge of personnel didn\u2019t do marketing; the accounting team didn\u2019t do project management; and the CEO didn\u2019t lead team-building initiatives at employee off-site meetings.<\/p>\n
Then the pendulum swung, and suddenly, everyone was expected to perform \u2018other duties as assigned\u2019 without batting an eye. Copywriters were expected to become\u00a0social media gurus and recruiters felt more like psychologists, vetting personality traits and administering a variety of mental acuity assessments. Video producers and editors are now expected to perform both roles, earning them the combined title of \u2018preditors.\u2019 In fact, earlier this week I staffed a television news interview for a client with a local TV station and the reporter (who is also the anchor) acted as his own cameraman, expertly positioning lights, cameras, and interview subjects.<\/p>\n
My colleagues and I have frequently joked that reading through some companies\u2019 job descriptions is a bit like watching a comedy of errors. Responsibilities run such a wide gamut that we often reflect that the hiring managers are looking for a unicorn \u2013 a single person with proficiency in such diverse skills simply doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n
An emphasis on generalizing roles and assignments works well in some situations. However, there are times when this approach simply doesn\u2019t help achieve organizational objectives. This is a significant reason for the rise in the gig economy, defined as a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.<\/p>\n
While consultants have been around for years, the way companies view and use them has changed dramatically. Anyone who has seen the film Office Space recalls that the introduction of consultants was the death knell for a number of employees at the fictional Initech. But now, organizations are increasingly shying away from the traditional full-time employee and turning to experts who specialize in a performing a handful of specific, critical tasks \u2013 not in recommending cost-cutting measures or departmental restructuring.<\/p>\n
Consultants are now available to fulfill just about any function for which a company has a need. Communications strategists, media relations experts, bookkeepers, financial experts, attorneys, life coaches, IT specialists, nonprofit practitioners, healthcare experts \u2013 you name it, there\u2019s probably a consultant for it. And they don\u2019t come with expensive overhead like dental and retirement plans.<\/p>\n
So how do you choose the right consultant in this gig economy? An article from Entrepreneur Magazine suggests choosing someone with unimpeachable character, solid experience, creative problem-solving skills, outstanding communication skills and excellent interpersonal skills. That may sound like a tall order, but believe me \u2013 it\u2019s a lot easier than finding a unicorn.<\/p>\n
Leigh Picchetti is a strategic communications consultant who helps brands and individuals manage reputations, position product & services and achieve goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Once upon a time, every worker in an organization had a specialty. The person in charge of personnel didn\u2019t do marketing; the accounting team didn\u2019t do project management; and the CEO didn\u2019t lead team-building initiatives at employee off-site meetings. Then the pendulum swung, and suddenly, everyone was expected to perform \u2018other duties as assigned\u2019 without […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2232,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-business-strategy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n