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.

Each company measures success differently. From profit, customer satisfaction, to employee well being, It depends on the company, their goals, values and employees that ultimately determine if it hiring a consultant is necessary.

For example, if a company values their annual profit highly and is interested in increasing it efficiently, they may be less likely to listen to their employees. By hiring an outside consultant, the company will be able to make unbiased decisions that would lead to a higher annual profit. In addition, an employee may not have the knowledge or experience to advise the entire company towards a decision. The employee alone may also have an alternative motive when advising their own company. For example, an employee may advice that their company should fire another individual because they are interested in their position. They would alter this suggestion by stating it as a method of increasing the company's efficiency. Although seemingly malicious intent, the bottom line is that employee opinions may be biased and uninformed. Their limited scope and personal interest in decisions that will affect the company as a whole may not be the best decision in some aspects.

However, this would not be the case if a company values the quality and satisfaction of their employees. For example, if a company was interested in increasing the productivity of their workers by looking for ways to improve their work environment, they would most certainly spend more time listening to their employees. Hiring an outside consultant would not be favorable because they do not have the same amount of exposure to this specific work environment as the employees do. Outside consultants are also costly and in some cases it may be more efficient to simply listen to their own employees.

These are a few specific examples in which a company's values may affect the way that they perceive efficiency. This would ultimately affect their decision to hire an outside consultant to advise them. A wise company would be able to judge when it is wise to listen to their employees and when it is necessary to seek outside consulting when employee knowledge is limited.