The work is there but it does not justify a full-time headcount, and using day-rate contractors gives you no consistency or continuity.
Service:
Embedded Consultant
The expertise you need, without the headcount.
Embedded Consultant provides long-term, flexible quality and sustainability expertise on a retainer basis. Not a day-rate contractor. A consultant operating under the Q! brand, with the full backing of the Q! network, integrated into how you work and priced on the value we deliver and outcomes we create.
Need quality expertise on tap, without the headcount?
Sound familiar?
You need ongoing quality or sustainability expertise but cannot justify a permanent hire?
We provide flexible, embedded expertise on a retainer that scales to what you need. More input when the business demands it, less when it doesn’t.
You are between quality or sustainability managers and need cover quickly?
Your quality or sustainability manager has left or is on extended leave and you need someone who can pick up the role immediately and keep things running.
We can have an embedded consultant in place quickly to maintain continuity while you recruit or decide on the longer-term arrangement. We can even help you recruit, interview and onboard our own replacement.
You need specialist quality or sustainability expertise for a specific period?
You have a certification project, an accreditation push, a sustainability assessment or a major audit cycle that requires more resource than you currently have.
The right expertise, working as part of your team, on a retainer or project basis, for as long as the work requires.
Your quality or sustainability function is not operating at the level it should?
The function exists but it is not driving improvement, engaging the business or adding the commercial value it should.
We embed an experienced consultant who can assess the situation, reset the function and drive it at the level the business needs.
You have parted company with a consultant and need continuity?
Your previous consultancy relationship has come to an end (for whatever reason) and you need someone who can pick up where things left off, assess what has been done and keep the work moving without losing momentum.
We step in quickly, take stock of where things stand without judgement and pick up the work in a way that protects what has already been achieved and moves things forward.
Problem solved!
Experienced quality and sustainability expertise working as part of your team, without the cost, commitment and risk of a permanent hire.
Mini FAQs
We agree a scope of engagement and a retainer level that reflects the expertise and output you need. The retainer is priced on value and outcomes rather than days or hours, which means you get consistent support without watching the clock. Most retainers are structured in tiers so you can adjust the level of engagement as your needs change, subject to reasonable notice. Specific projects or discovery work can be scoped and priced separately on top.
A Q! Embedded Consultant operates under the Q! brand and quality standards, with access to the full Q! network for specialist input. They are accountable to Q! as well as to you, which means you get the consistency and quality assurance of working with an established consultancy, not just an individual. A day-rate contractor charges for time. We are accountable for outcomes.
We ask for a minimum initial period to allow the consultant to get properly embedded and useful. After that, engagements run on a rolling retainer basis with reasonable notice on both sides. We are not interested in creating dependency. If the engagement has done its job, we will tell you.
In most cases we can have a consultant in place within two to four weeks. For urgent cover, for example a quality or sustainability manager departure, an imminent audit or a time-sensitive project, we will do everything we can to move faster. Early conversations always help.
That is exactly what the retainer model is designed for. If the business goes through a period of intense activity we can increase the level of support. If things quieten down, we can scale back. We agree the parameters at the outset and review them regularly so the engagement always reflects what the business needs.
Relevant case studies
We’re proud of the service we provide and the feedback we get from our clients. but don’t just take our word for it.
