How to approach Listening Test Part Three • In this part of the Listening Test you listen to a long conversation or interview an

M Today my guest is Carolyn Whitcombe, whose business consultancy is now celebrating its tenth anniversary Welcome to the studio, Carolyn.
F Thank you.
M What exactly does your consultancy do, Carolyn?
F We provide various business-to-business services, but whereas some consultancies focus on a particular niche, we prefer to have a broader palette. A lot of our clients tend to be small and medium enterprises. It could be someone wanting to know the best sources of finance for their particular business, or a company wanting solutions to a problem; in which case they might ask for recommendations, or commission us to do the work for them.
M Has the company evolved in its ten years of existence?
F Oh yes. When we started, companies generally asked us to analyse a particular situation, and write a report. For instance, on what IT system they ought to install to meet their particular needs. These days we’re far more likely to select the system, install it and train their staff. We’ve gone from an intellectual, analytical business doing small pieces of work to big, complex teams solving big, complex problems.
M Presumably the same people don’t always work together
F No, it depends on the particular jobs we’re dealing with at the time. All our consultants come in as and when we need them. That gives me great flexibility in forming teams, so I can make sure that all the expertise required for a particular job is covered. And of course, it helps if there are no interpersonal issues stopping people from co-operating productively.
M The solutions that your teams come up with, do they generally have a long life cycle?
F Everything’s changing so fast nowadays, that if you make three- or five-year plans they’re really not much use. Any business without momentum fails, and that generally applies to our solutions too. It’s OK to say there’s something that’ll work for you now, but you can’t assume it’ll work for another company, or even for the same company in a few years’ time.
M Could you give us some examples of your work?
F Well there’s a supermarket chain which had problems with stock management because sales of lots of items vary enormously, depending on the weather We set up a system for them to use 14-day weather forecasts, covering all regions of the country, and compare them with weather patterns and sales figures for the same period the previous year, which helps the retailer to judge how consumers will react in different regions. A software system then sorts out orders, deliveries, storage space, shelf space, and so on.
M So consumers aren’t faced with empty shelves.
F Exactly, And we’re currently working with a utility company in the north of England. It already sells gas and electricity, and wants to build on its existing customer base by adding insurance and other financial services. Of course the company. knows all its customers’ names and addresses, so it can easily contact them. Our role is to advise both on software they need and on the design of e-mails and other communications which the company will send to its customers.
M Do you have only domestic clients?
F Mainly, though we’re currently expanding abroad. We considered transferring staff from this country to foreign outposts, but realised we’d have difficulty finding out about local markets, not to mention laws and regulations. So instead we’re looking for organisations similar to us in certain other countries, and aiming to share our resources. We can send consultants to them if they’re needed for a particular job, and vice versa. It’ll increase our pool of experts.
M And finally, what made you decide to start up a consultancy in the first place?
F I was employed by a business consultancy myself, and enjoyed the variety. One week you were designing a staff satisfaction survey, and the next streamlining financial systems. But my employers missed a lot of opportunities, because they weren’t as flexible as they could be. That was where I felt I scored, and the only way I could make use of that was to start my own business. I was scared of losing the security of full-time employment, but it certainly paid off in the long run.
M Carolyn Whitcombe, thank you very much.
F Thank you.