All too often, companies hire outside consultants to suggest ways for the company to operate more efficiently. If companies were to spend more time listening to their own employees, such consultants would be unnecessary.Write a response in which you discu

I disagree with the statement that companies who listen more to their own employees would not need outside consultants. Although listening to one's own employees and hiring outside consultants are two different approaches to company betterment, they are not mutually exclusive, and one approach would not necessarily eliminate a need for the other.

Companies generally hire outside consultants to increase profit by boosting overall efficiency. These outside consultants take a 'big picture' stance when viewing what the company should change. The suggestions from outside consultants are important because they come from an objective and knowledgeable source, and companies often need the advice of others who are not involved in the day-to-day aspects of the company itself.

In addition to receiving suggestions from hired outside sources, companies should also be sure to listen to their employees. The human resources side of business is certainly important in its own way, and ensuring the satisfaction of employees helps to keep up productivity within the company. This intra-business, individual-focused approach to company efficiency is certainly one important aspect, but it is certainly not the only necessity to run a successful business.

One example of this multi-pronged approach in action involves the National Institutes of Health (NIH). At the NIH, outside contractors are hired to evaluate the quality of data analysis, assess both ethical and practical aspects of research proposals, and even provide a quadrennial review of the use of funds for research and the related outcomes. In addition to all these quality controls and efficiency checks that are necessary to keep the research on-track and of the highest possible quality, there are ample opportunities for employees themselves to make suggestions and express their own opinions on how to improve both the research itself and the work environment generally. This truly holistic approach allows employees to be heard in addition to utilizing the expertise of objective outsiders to improve the company as much as possible. Because employees are involved in very specific tasks or research areas, it would not make sense to only rely on individual suggestions. Especially in such a large, diversified work environment, it is important to have some suggestions from consultants who know how to remain detached and to assess the overall efficiency of such a large-scale environment.

In some cases, such as with small start-up businesses, it may be true that employee opinions are the only ones necessary to increase efficiency, especially if there is a smaller budget with which to work. Given the cost of hiring outside consultants, it is certainly true that some of these smaller businesses would not benefit enough from the advice to justify the hiring, and that in-house assessment of efficiency could provide high quality suggestions for improvement. In these cases, the original statement could hold true. However, it is often the case that a multi-pronged, multi-level approach involving both subjective inside and objective outside suggestions provide the best assortment of suggestions for how to increase a company's efficiency.