What a Business Needs to Provide to a Consultant for the Best Assessment

Hiring a business consultant is a powerful way to get fresh insights, solve problems, and guide your organization toward growth. However, to get the best assessment and results from the consultant, it’s crucial to provide them with the necessary information and resources. Consultants rely on data, internal perspectives, and transparent access to accurately diagnose issues and create effective solutions. Here’s what a business needs to provide to ensure that a consultant can offer the best possible assessment.

1. Clear Objectives and Expectations

Before the consultant begins their work, it’s essential to clearly outline your business’s objectives and expectations for the engagement. This includes defining what specific areas or challenges you want to focus on, whether it’s improving operations, reducing costs, increasing sales, or transforming your business strategy. Having well-defined goals helps the consultant tailor their assessment and recommendations to your needs.

Provide the consultant with an overview of your vision for the project, expected outcomes, and any key performance indicators (KPIs) you’d like them to focus on. The more detailed you are about your expectations, the more targeted and effective the consultant’s approach will be.

2. Access to Key Stakeholders

For a consultant to get a complete picture of your business, they need to interact with key stakeholders at various levels of the organization. This includes members of your leadership team, department heads, and even frontline employees, depending on the scope of the project.

Stakeholders offer critical insights into your company’s culture, day-to-day operations, and internal challenges. These interviews or discussions help the consultant understand the perspectives of those involved in the areas being assessed and uncover gaps or opportunities that may not be apparent from a high-level view. Make sure to facilitate these introductions and encourage open communication between your team and the consultant.

3. Financial Data and Business Metrics

One of the most important things you can provide to a business consultant is access to your company’s financial data and key business metrics. These data points are critical for analyzing the health of your business and identifying trends, inefficiencies, or missed opportunities. Financial data might include:

• Income statements
• Balance sheets
• Cash flow statements
• Budget and forecasts
• Profit margins
• Sales and revenue reports

In addition to financial data, you should provide other key business metrics related to operations, customer acquisition, and performance. For instance, if the consultant is focused on marketing or sales, data on customer lifetime value, conversion rates, lead generation, and customer retention will be essential. Without these data points, the consultant won’t be able to deliver an informed or accurate assessment.

4. Internal Processes and Workflow Documentation

For consultants to diagnose inefficiencies or suggest process improvements, they need to understand how your business operates on a daily basis. Provide them with documentation of your core processes and workflows, such as production methods, sales processes, marketing strategies, and supply chain management systems. This includes any standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists, or guidelines used by your teams.

If this documentation doesn’t exist, the consultant will need to spend time mapping out your workflows, which can delay the project. Offering detailed process documentation up front helps the consultant assess where bottlenecks, redundancies, or inefficiencies are occurring so they can recommend practical solutions for optimization.

5. Organizational Structure and Employee Roles

To provide a comprehensive assessment, the consultant needs to understand your company’s organizational structure, hierarchy, and employee roles. Share an up-to-date organizational chart and provide details on the responsibilities and functions of key team members.

Understanding who does what—and how well they’re equipped to handle their roles—helps the consultant assess whether your organizational structure supports your business goals. This information is particularly important when evaluating leadership effectiveness, team dynamics, and areas where additional training or reorganization may be needed.

6. Access to Technology and Systems

If the consultant’s role involves improving your technology stack or streamlining operations, it’s essential to provide access to the software systems and technology you use. Whether it’s your CRM, ERP, financial software, or project management tools, the consultant needs to understand how data flows through your organization and whether your systems are helping or hindering efficiency.

This might involve giving the consultant temporary access to relevant platforms, demonstrating how various systems are used, or providing a detailed walkthrough of your IT infrastructure. If technology integration or system optimization is part of the engagement, the consultant will need an in-depth look at how well these tools are aligned with your business goals.

7. Customer Insights and Feedback

Customer data and feedback are invaluable for consultants who are evaluating your business’s market position, sales strategy, or customer service operations. Providing access to customer data, feedback surveys, net promoter scores (NPS), reviews, and complaints can help the consultant assess how well you’re meeting customer needs and where improvements can be made.

If customer experience is a major focus of the engagement, the consultant may also want to interview or survey customers directly. This insight helps the consultant identify pain points in the customer journey, spot missed opportunities for engagement, and suggest strategies to enhance satisfaction and loyalty.

8. Historical Data and Previous Assessments

If you’ve previously worked with consultants or have internal reports related to past assessments, make these available to the new consultant. Historical data—such as past performance reports, audits, or strategic plans—gives the consultant context for understanding the evolution of your business and the effectiveness of prior initiatives.

Providing this historical data helps the consultant avoid duplicating efforts and allows them to build on previous insights rather than starting from scratch. It also helps them spot patterns or recurring challenges that need a different approach.

9. Access to Meetings and Internal Communications

Transparency is key to getting the best results from a business consultant. Allow the consultant to sit in on key meetings, whether they involve leadership, strategy sessions, or day-to-day operational discussions. Additionally, sharing relevant internal communications—such as emails, memos, or internal reports—can give the consultant insights into the decision-making process, company culture, and communication dynamics.

This access ensures that the consultant can accurately assess how decisions are made, how well teams collaborate, and whether the current communication structure supports or hinders efficiency.

10. Openness to Feedback and Change

Finally, while this isn’t a document or data point, openness to feedback and change is one of the most important things you can offer a business consultant. Be willing to hear their observations, even if the feedback is difficult or points to deep-rooted issues in your business. An effective consultant is there to help you improve, but that means being open to challenging assumptions and embracing new strategies.

Conclusion

For a business consultant to provide a thorough and valuable assessment, they need access to critical data, insights, and resources within your company. By providing financial data, process documentation, organizational charts, customer feedback, and more, you ensure that the consultant can deliver tailored recommendations that address your unique challenges. Transparency, openness, and a willingness to collaborate are key to getting the most from your consulting engagement and driving meaningful business improvements.