Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Preferred Results is a business improvement and turnaround company.
The short answer is: You would hire us because you expect a significant pay-off from doing so.
Much of Management time is spent on containing variation by identifying deviations and assigning corrective actions. Change on the other hand is about doing things differently. Its about creating variation and a capacity to think outside of the box. Transformational change also requires time; which Managers often lack and invariably requires collaboration and cooperation between Managers. It often requires changes to the Organisation Structure and to Roles and responsibilities and generates or is perceived to generate Winners and Losers.
Where Winners and Losers exist so too does conflict and resistance to change. Under such circumstances the natural tendency is to dilute or to postpone change. On the other hand, where a decision is made to force through large scale change, the resulting conflict and resistance often cause outcomes to be less than anticipated and results difficult to sustain.
We at Preferred Results Ltd. do not replace the roles of Managers. As experts in transformational change we support Management both tactically and technically from the identification of opportunities through to implementation and evaluation. We bring a depth of experience and expertise which can only come from years of managing transformational change programmes.
Over the course of many years, Preferred Results Ltd. has undertaken multiple projects on behalf of Blue Chip Accountancy and Advisory companies where they lacked the necessary resources to conduct those assignments themselves. On such occasions it was Preferred Results Ltd. which was the face of the Household Name Consultancy Company.
No matter how prestigious the name, it is the on-site consultant who will either succeed or fail with a client in delivering results. Irrespective of the name over the door, the critical question for the Client is whether the Consultant who will lead a project has a track record of successfully delivering projects. Preferred Results Consultants do and. without the price tag of a Blue Chip Consultancy. This assertion can be supported by referees as and when the occasion to do so arises.
If Companies were a collection of independent disciplines as opposed to an integrated set of disciplines, there would be no need for anything other than Specialist Consultancies. However, that is not the case, which is why both types of consultants flourish in todays world of commerce.
Conceptually speaking, the role of a General Consultant is similar to that of a Medical GP. While a Medical GP can fix many of the ailments which he/she encounters on a daily basis, there are times when a Specialist is required. The great strength of a Generalist is the ability to identify and put into context a diversity of issues; to prioritise corrective actions and where necessary, to highlight the need for a specialist. To the extent that this involves a skills set which a single discipline specialist lacks, one might reasonably describe a Generalist as a Multidisciplinary Specialist.
It is our experience that the most significant improvements very often come from opportunities which exist between areas, rather than from within specific areas.
No. We are not. Traditional Implementation Consultants tend to use a one-size-fits-all formula which is rooted in a reduction in Headcount, with little or no regard for the strategy of a business. Our approach, on the other hand, commences with an understanding of the Clients Business Strategy and involves a comprehensive approach to the assessment of the overall structure and operations the Clients business.
Preferred Results Ltd. does not have the authority to implement any changes within a business as that can only be done by the Client and his/her Managers. As a result, the changes which are implemented are prepared with, reviewed with, and agreed with, the Managers of the business. We take a partnership approach to change with the Client firmly in the driving seat.
Added to our Partnership Approach, is our 25 years of experience in designing and implementing transformational change programmes. While neither of these elements provide an iron-clad guarantee that results will be sustained, evidence from our past projects suggests that there is a high probability that they will be. This assertion can be supported by referees as and when appropriate.
At the time of entering into exploratory talks with a Client we start from a position of knowing little or nothing about that Clients business, and quite clearly can provide no guarantees of being able to be of service. However, we can usually establish during the course of a first meeting whether we are likely to be able to add value. And, in the vast majority of cases, within a period of one to two days we can have a very good idea as to where performance improvements are likely to come from, together with a ball-park figure for their level of significance.
We have worked for a Goods and Passenger Transport Company with over 1,200 vehicles and 7,000 employees. We have worked for a Petrol Distribution company with over 350 Petrol Stations and a Clothing Chain with over 60 Department stores; both with more than 2,500 employees. We have also undertaken several projects spread across multiple sites and in up to 4 countries. We have worked with SMEs and we have worked with Multinationals.
Size and fragmentation can always be managed through the structuring of the project. The important question is whether Value and be added and how much.
The most important ingredients for success are Client Commitment and Client Leadership. Where the CEO does not have the time to dedicate to a Transformational Change Project, it is probably best that the project not be undertaken at all. It may not require more than a couple of hours per week, but those two hours are likely to be critical.