Week in the life of a 2SB consultant

Working with a consultancy style business can often appear daunting for companies who have previously relied upon their own internal operations to achieve their goals. However, specialist areas often require specialist people, and companies must reach out and put their trust in consultants or other contracted work. But what does a 2SB ISO consultant do? How do we work and where can we fit within your business?

By looking at a typical week for our ISO consultants, we can answer some of those questions, and let current and prospective clients peek behind the curtain to see what makes 2SB efficient and effective in management systems consultancy.

The week starts for our consultants not on a Monday, but six weeks or more before then. 2SB ISO consultants must manage their calendar to ensure they are well booked in advance, to know where they are going and what they are doing. If this is getting on the road to a client, doing ongoing support or implementing a new plan, the framework for the week exists well before it starts.

Visiting clients is a big part of what 2SB get up to, but it is not five days a week. Getting the balance right between a few days with clients and a couple of days at home gives the consultants time to write up, prepare and produce work. However, clearly one of the best parts of the job is going out to visit a client.

Before the visit, our consultants take the time to refresh themselves on the last visit and prepare anything they will need to bring with them. Our ISO consultants typically arrive on site between 9-9:30am and often like to start a visit by engaging as many people as possible, finding out how the business is going and chatting with a broad spectrum of employees about their current work.

Then the work on the ISO management system(s) begin with the consultants hosting a series of sessions with client personnel to progress elements of the management system. In between these meetings, the consultants will take their own time to make notes and summarise their discussions in their own words, working on the spot to process the new information they have received into the current plan. Whether the consultants are working on a management review, internal audit or rolling out an ISO implementation, the layout of the day follows this rough pattern.

From time to time, consultants will help represent the client at external audits. In these audits, the consultant’s job is to facilitate the relationship between the auditor and the client and ensure that the client’s processes are communicated and documentation is available. This is important because the auditor will wish to engage face to face with the company, but also have all the document evidence to back up the conversations they are having real-time.

When not with clients, a consultant spends time organising implementations, answering ad hock client questions, and working on continuing professional development (CPD).

Looking back on this typical week, 2SB’s Chris comments:

“The biggest challenge is building a system that meets each client’s unique culture but will also help them succeed in external audits. Once completed, it can be a gratifying experience to know that you have helped them achieve something important for their business.”