Workplace-Based Firm Consulting
Broad, multi-topic business training delivered in general off-site classrooms is often ill-suited to the scale and operational complexity of growing enterprises. Larger firms require specialized, on-site managerial consulting that addresses specific organizational bottlenecks directly within the workplace.
Picture this
Workplace-based firm consulting is like sending an expert mechanic into a factory to tune the assembly line machines while they operate, rather than sending factory workers to a general lecture about engine theory. Direct on-site intervention ensures that operational changes are immediately integrated into daily factory routines.
What the evidence says
In contrast to modest results from general microentrepreneur classroom training, workplace-based consulting and customized business training for larger firms consistently improved managerial best practices and increased total business profits.
- Who
- Human managers and workers in larger, structured firms evaluated across a synthesis of 5 field experiments.
- How
- Synthesis of 5 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) testing customized, workplace-delivered management consulting and training.
What to do
Deploy customized, on-site business consulting and operational troubleshooting for structured firms rather than enrolling mid-sized firm managers in generic off-site classroom courses.
From the source
"While a separate review of five evaluations found that consulting and business training for larger firms improved best practices and increased business profits, curricula that combine broad business principles like recordkeeping, accounting, financial management, and marketing may be less appropriate for the size, scale, or maturity of microenterprises."
Teaching business skills to support microentrepreneurs.pdf