Big Firm or Small Consultancy? Which Should You Hire?

Should you hire a BIG company with a BIG, well-established name, or should you hire a small consulting company that may be less expensive? I’ve actually worked for both – big consulting companies and small consulting firms. In this article, I want to share my thoughts on the subject and help you answer that question for yourself.

The differences between these two options might surprise you. Keep reading to discover the hidden pros and cons of each – and which one could be the better fit for your business!

Why the Choice Matters

When you’re implementing any information system – whether it’s a CRM (Customer Relationship Management), an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), or any other complex platform that needs customization for your business – you’re going to need a team. This team will typically include developers, business analysts, and consultants who understand your industry and needs. 

By the way, if you’re not sure what CRM means, I’ve written a detailed guide that breaks it all down. Check it out to get a solid foundation before diving deeper into this topic. 

So. You need a team. Hiring these specialists in-house is rarely practical. They’re expensive, and you won’t need them permanently – just for your implementation and occasional maintenance. So, most businesses turn to consulting companies, and that’s where the big question comes in: should you go with a large, established firm, or a smaller boutique company?

The choice matters more than you might think. While both options can deliver results, how they get there – and what your experience will be like along the way – can differ dramatically. 

Working with Large Companies

Let’s talk about large consulting companies first. I spent two years working for one of the major global consulting firms (you can check my LinkedIn if you’re curious), and I got to see how these operations function from the inside.

Large consulting firms tend to standardize and bureaucratize everything.  This isn’t necessarily bad – it’s how they scale their operations, and that’s something I teach my clients to do.  They create clear, defined roles for everyone. A business analyst does business analysis. A developer codes according to specifications. Consultants consult within their specialties.

The advantages of this approach are pretty clear:

• You get consistent, predictable results.
• You’re guaranteed a minimum standard of expertise.
• Staff typically have credentials and certifications that validate their skills.
• There are established processes for everything.

For example, when a large firm hires a senior developer, they ensure this person has a set number of years of experience with specific technologies, certain certifications, and a track record of similar projects. They create a standardized “box” that each role fits into.

However, there’s a significant downside: large firms often ignore individual talent and creative problem-solving. They’re not set up to leverage the unique skills that people bring beyond their job description.

Here’s a real-world example: if you need both a developer and a designer for your customer portal, a large firm will assign two separate people. This might be more expensive, and the collaboration between them adds complexity. Meanwhile, there are talented developers who also have strong design skills who could do both – but large firms rarely optimize for this kind of efficiency.

Another major challenge with large companies is the bureaucratic apparatus. When you work with them, you’re rarely speaking directly to decision-makers. Often, you’re talking to someone who talks to someone who talks to the decision-maker. This creates multiple layers of communication, which can become problematic when project requirements shift, as they inevitably do in IT projects.

Despite what your contract says, software implementation is an evolving process. What you think you need at the beginning always changes as the project progresses. With a large firm, each change request triggers a bureaucratic process that can be time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating.

When Big Companies Might Be Cheaper

Now, you might be surprised to read this, but large consulting firms can sometimes be less expensive than smaller ones. This seems counterintuitive, but it makes sense when you understand how they operate.

Large companies can offer competitive benefits to employees that smaller firms simply can’t match due to scale. For instance, a company with a fleet of 500 corporate cars can secure leasing deals that would be impossible for a small firm. This allows them to offer appealing compensation packages without necessarily paying higher salaries.

They also benefit from standardization and scale. By treating developers as interchangeable parts (to some extent), they can optimize resource allocation, which sometimes translates into lower hourly rates.

But there’s a catch: in intellectual work like software development, quantity doesn’t always equal quality. Sometimes two exceptional consultants can achieve better results than a team of ten average ones – a reality of digital projects where creativity and engagement matter enormously.

Working with Small Companies

What about smaller consulting firms – those boutique agencies with typically fewer than 50 employees (honestly, even 50 is pushing the definition of “small” in this context).

As I’ve already explained, there’s a common myth that smaller firms are automatically cheaper because they have lower overhead. In my experience, that’s not necessarily true. Small companies often have to pay more to attract top talent. The best professionals in the industry either want to work for themselves, join prestigious large firms for career advancement, or seek premium compensation at smaller companies.

But what smaller companies lack in economies of scale, they more than make up for in engagement and ownership – and this is where the magic happens.

When I moved from a big consulting firm to a smaller one, the difference in team dynamics was night and day. In smaller companies, people aren’t just filling a role. They’re personally invested in outcomes. They join these firms precisely because they want more autonomy, more decision-making power, and more direct impact on projects.

This sense of ownership creates a powerful advantage. Imagine you’re discussing a challenge with your consultant at a small firm. Instead of saying, “I’ll have to check with management and get back to you next week,” they might say, “Let me think about this… actually, I’ve got an idea….”

The communication chain is dramatically shorter. Want to speak to someone who can make decisions? They’re probably just a phone call away, maybe even sitting at the desk next to your consultant. This direct access means faster responses, more agile problem-solving, and ultimately, better results for your specific needs.

I remember working on a CRM implementation where the client’s requirements suddenly shifted mid-project. At a large firm, this would have triggered weeks of change orders, approvals, and revised contracts. At our smaller firm, we pivoted in days, not weeks – we had a quick meeting with leadership, realigned our approach, and kept moving forward without missing a beat.

There’s also a transparency that comes with smaller companies. Everyone knows everyone. Your performance as a consultant is visible to the entire team, including leadership. This creates a natural accountability that’s hard to replicate in larger organizations where your work might get lost in the shuffle of hundreds of projects. Oh, and did I mention that consultants and developers nowadays do a lot of side gigs, as big companies lack control and the environment allows for that. Guess the impact on your project… 

The Importance of Engagement and Creativity 

This brings me to what I believe is the decisive factor in digital projects: engagement and creativity.

Digital transformation isn’t a manufacturing process where standardization always wins. It’s an intellectual endeavor that requires innovative thinking, custom solutions, and genuine enthusiasm for solving business problems.

I’ve seen firsthand how a highly engaged, creative team of three or four people can outperform a larger, more structured team of ten or more. Why? Because digital projects live and die by the details – the thoughtful user experience considerations, the clever workarounds for business process challenges, the innovative approaches to data integration.

In smaller firms, consultants often have the freedom to experiment, to push boundaries, and to suggest unconventional solutions that might not fit neatly into the standardized playbook of a larger organization. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen a creative developer come up with an elegant solution that wouldn’t have emerged from a more rigid, compartmentalized team structure.

There’s also something powerful about working with people who genuinely love what they do. In smaller firms, people typically choose their environment specifically because they’re passionate about their craft and want the freedom to exercise it fully. That passion translates directly into the quality of your implementation.

Conclusion  

So, which should you choose – a big consulting company or a small one? Like most things in business, the answer is: it depends.

If you value predictability, standardized processes, and the comfort of working with an established brand with vast resources, a larger firm might be your best bet. They excel at implementing well-defined, conventional solutions with minimal surprises along the way.

If you value creativity, flexibility, personal engagement, and the ability to pivot quickly when circumstances change, a smaller firm often delivers better results – especially for digital projects where innovation matters more than scale.

In my journey through both worlds, I’ve found that the most successful implementations aren’t determined by the size of the consulting firm, but by the quality of the people working on your project and their level of investment in your success.

My advice? When evaluating potential partners, look beyond the company’s size and brand recognition. Ask specific questions about who will be on your team, how decisions get made, and how changes are handled. These factors will impact your experience far more than whether the company has 20 employees or 20,000.

Remember, you’re not just implementing technology – you’re transforming how your business operates. Choose people, not companies. Choose people who understand that distinction and are equipped to guide you through the journey, regardless of their size.

If you ask me, 9 out of 10 times I’m going with a small firm.

And if you need help with CRM systems – or if you want to build stronger relationships with your clients through the adoption of digital tools and modern business practices – we’re here to help! Reach out to us to talk about your needs and discover how an authentic small company like ours can make a big impact on your success.