A week in the life of a Consultant – On-site with a client

Taking the leap into Consulting from a role in the industry can feel daunting. To some degree, this is true for everyone who walks this path. Here at BFY, we know this because most of our people have made this change themselves, going on to enjoy rewarding and progressive careers within our team.

So what does being a Consultant actually involve? We often highlight the amazing opportunities available at BFY, along with the exceptional results that we deliver for our clients, but you might be wondering what this looks like day-to-day. There’s nobody better to showcase this than our people.

Over the next two blogs, Kayleigh Gray gives an insight into the typical week as a Consultant at BFY, with the first instalment covering an on-site visit to a client.

My day working on-site with a client

07:30AM – It’s on-site day! I catch the train from my local station, looking out for my BFY team-mate who travels down on the same journey. After spotting them in their carriage, we catch-up on how our weeks are playing out over some breakfast and look ahead to the meetings and workshops that we have planned for today.

09:00AM – After arriving at our client’s site, we meet up with the rest of the BFY project team who’ve also made the trip down. We make a quick stop for coffee at the on-site canteen and get to work. Our first client workshop of the day is scheduled next, offering hugely valuable face-to-face time. Having these interactions means we can build a real relationship with the people we’re working with and take a hands-on approach to the challenges that they’re facing.

11:30AM – After a productive workshop session, I head over to my regular catch-up with one of the key stakeholders in our client’s team. Speaking on an individual level helps to unravel some of the underlying challenges that we didn’t cover in the first session of the day, while continuing to build the genuine relationships that are so important to the success of our project.

1:00PM – It’s lunchtime, so we head back down to the canteen. I like to enjoy my lunch in the company of the client’s team when possible – it can be great opportunity to connect socially with the people we’re working with.

2:00PM – We start the afternoon by kicking off our second workshop of the day. In this session, we turn our attention towards the second workstream in our project, involving the client’s operational team, to propose and integrate some practical solutions for their ongoing challenges. We also use the session to track the progress of initiatives that we implemented earlier in the project. It’s awesome to see the real impact of our work in the outcomes delivered by our client. Being together in person also provides a helpful platform to share feedback and refine our approach.

4:30PM – As we reach the end of the day, I attend my regular check-in and coaching session with our internal project lead. I absolutely love the continued focus on learning and development at BFY, with these weekly sessions allowing us to talk about the things that are going well, and where we can improve further. I find these sessions to be really encouraging, providing clarity on where my focuses should be for continued personal development.

6:00PM – It’s time for dinner! With the project team all working away from home together, we try to enjoy some social time in the evening, often heading to one of the local restaurants nearby to our hotel.

It’s great to have the opportunity to visit our clients in person, and we offer a range of flexible working arrangements too. Not everyone in the team is suited to travelling – they may have regular home commitments that would make this less favourable, which we’re able to accommodate in a variety of ways. Our client’s needs always come first, but with our projects being carried out in a team, we’re able to accommodate a balance between working on-site and remotely. We get to enjoy a real variety in the way that we interact with our clients, while feeling that our own personal commitments are heard and cared about.

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If you’re someone who’s thinking about stepping into Consulting, we hope this has provided some clarity around the nature of our work. At BFY, learning and development are integral to our culture, giving our people frequent opportunities to grow their skillset, and deliver exceptional results for our clients.

For more information on what it’s like to work for us, visit our Working at BFY page here, or take a look at the vacancies we have available. We’re always happy to have a conversation about the switch from industry to Consulting, and whether it’s the right fit for you. Email us at recruitment@bfygroup.co.uk if you’d like to discuss this further.

Look out for the next instalment in this series, where we’ll be showcasing a typical day working in our own office space, at BFY HQ.