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Client!
Manage That Consultant
Consulting
to Management Magazinet, September, 2003
Fiona Czerniawska spent the Fall of 2002 discussing
the merits of consultancy with more than 100 blue-chip users of
consultancy around the world who, between them, represented all
sectors of the economy. Partly, she wanted to know where they thought
consultants added the most (and the least) value, but mostly she
was interested in the lessons they'd learned about using consultants.
In fact, there's no shortage of clients willing
to praise the contribution that consultants make. "Without
any doubt," said one executive responsible for consulting projects
with several tens of millions over the next five years., "most
of the projects with which I've been involved would not have been
delivered without consultants. Consultants bring us up-to-date skills,
a focus on outcome, and speed of delivery. Moreover, they carry
no in-house baggage with them." Yet, weighted against this
is an equal amount of acrimony directed at consulting firms that
appear to enrich themselves at the expense of their clients while
delivering little in the way of tangible benefits.
One unequivocal conclusion, however, emerges. If
the last five years have taught clients anything, it's that they
need to manage their management consultants. "Managing consultants
takes more time than most clients expect, or are prepared to admit,"
one executive pointed out. "Perhaps counter-intuitively, if
consultants see that their client is focused and determined to deliver
a successful project, they'll be more motivated to raise their game
and deliver real value. Left to their own devices, consultants will
seek to broaden the scope of the project and maximize their revenue,
rather than client valule."
"My best advice?" said one client. "Choose
your consultants carefully and use them wisely. Your reputation
will become established and consultants will know your work ethic
beforehand."
Clients make ten key recommendations:
| 1. |
Always
maintain up-to-date knowledge of the are in which your seeking
consulting help. |
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According to one client, "the
lower a client's knowledge level, the more time they waste with
consultants and the more dependent they are on the conclusions.
Just because you use consultants, doesn't mean you can afford
to be less knowledgeable than them. It's only by being their
equal that you can use them effectively. Inferior knowledge
makes for inferior consulting." You have to ensure that
some of your own people are trained in the same disciplines
you're using consultants for," agreed a second. |
| 2. |
Be actively
involved in the specification of the consulting project. |
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The knowledge required to manage
consultants should not be acquired in isolation. "The effective
management of consultants has to be based on a real understanding
of what the consultants are trying to do, and how they are trying
to do it," argued one client. "Such understanding
can only be gained through involvement." "Clients
have to take a more proactive attitude when it comes to defining
a solution and be more assertive when they think the proposed
solution may be flawed," agreed a second. "Take a
more proactive attitude toward the definition of a solution
and be more assertive when a solution design may be flawed,"
advised a third. |
| 3. |
Set a
clear scope for the project. |
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"I believe in the 70/30 rule," commented
one client. "70% preparation and 30% execution. If you
do enough up-front planning of what you want and how you intend
to get it, the rest of a project is just following the road
map you've established." "We try to leave nothing
to chance," another concurred. "We attempt to include
in the consulting agreement a sufficient scope of work. The
scope of work will typically include deliverables and assigning
to the project manager specific milestones to work toward,
evaluate, and accept or reject. Managing consultants requires
some levels of trust and a personal relationship structured
within a legal framework."
These are points made by many clients. According
to one typical view, "We've learned that we have to define
our problems, needs, expectations, and the potential risks.
Scoping the project should include a definition of what needs
to be done, exclusions and assumptions, the specification
of individual tasks, and acceptance criteria for the whole
solution. It's also important to break down the work into
controllable phases and to have a clear exit strategy. "Keep
the goal of the project clear and simple," advised one
client. "Choose a deadline, agree on the financial aspects,
and only set the next step once the previous step is finished."
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| 4. |
Specify
clearly who is responsible for what. |
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"You need to know exactly
what you expect consultants to achieve, and to agree to this
in a brief that spells out exactly who will do what," is
how one client put it. "You need to know how much time
each member of the team will commit, and to agree on the extent
and means by which the consulting team will interact with your
staff. If the scope is clear, then agreeing on this will be
simple. But if the project is likely to involve changes within
your company, these issues need to be thought through prior
to employing consultants. |
| 5. |
Choose
the right people, not the right firm. |
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Experienced clients look for experienced
consultants: They look at the individual's track record, not
the firm's. "People have become fed up with 25-year-olds
delivering packaged presentations on the basis of no industry
knowledge whatsoever," said one client. As a result, more
and more clients appear to be turning to niche consultancies
and sole practitioners. "The great thing about most small
consulting organizations is that they have no ego," said
one client. "We have an ex-Big Four consultant working
with us at the moment, who is immensely talented. His process
skills have been honed by his background, but he's carrying
none of the baggage you'd associate with a bigger firm; he's
completely task-focused. With more people like him becoming
available on a freelance basis all the time, the smart buyers
of the future will go straight to the market." Many clients
now consider other qualities alongside know-how: "You have
to look at their integrity and professionalism," said one.
"I buy the individuals, not the firm." |
| 6. |
Respect
your consultants, and ask them to respect you. |
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"No one will have all the
answers, particularly where large-scale projects are concerned,"
was one comment. "Make consultants aware that - to a large
extent - they're facing equals with respect to knowledge and
experience. Be open about what you expect from them." But
greater sensitivity on the part of the consultants to the contribution
of clients needs to be matched by genuine openness by clients
themselves. The key is equality: "A consultant needs terms
of reference and to be bedded in with the rest of the team like
a permanent employee," is how one client put it. |
| 7. |
Ensure
that skills are transferred from client to consultant. |
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The image of a consultant who
takes a client's watch and tells them the time still haunts
the industry: "Consultants can strip away more value than
they bring," was how one client summed it up. Skills transfer
is consequently high on the agenda: "This is one of the
most important benefits of using consultants," remarked
one individual. "It gives us greater capability in the
future." Clients have to recognize that they need to be
certain that the skills of consultants complement, rather than
replace, those in their own organization. As one client pointed
out: "Waste come in when an organization uses consultants
either without checking what skills are available in-house,
or on a long-term basis as a member of the team. |
| 8. |
Demand
that consultants make a difference. |
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Many clients complain that consultants leave
no "footprint" behind, that the consultant organization
continues just as it did before the consultants intervened.
"There needs to be a greater recognition by consultants
that they have a responsibility for the ultimate outcome,"
said one executive, "rather than just for advice that
may lead to an outcome."
But having an impact isn't just a matter of
taking a broader view of any issue or bringing a new skill.
"I would like to see more inspiring - more guiding -
consultants, not just consultants who do the work," was
a comment made by several clients. At the same time, asking
consultants to take on this role requires a significant change
in the way clients treat them. According to one client: "Consultants
should be encouraged to be creative and to try to make a real
difference. They must be able to make a real difference. They
must be able to operate in a failure-tolerant environment,
and if they're going to make mistakes, they need to be coached
intensively." Noe dies it mean that clients can abdicate
responsibility. "Make sure you always decide yourself,"
advises another. "In the end, consultants can be blamed,
but they can't be held responsible."
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| 9. |
Know
your deliverables. |
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In a perfect world, every deliverable in a
consulting project would be clearly specified, measurable,
and enforceable. "You have to check the services against
the contract to ensure you are getting what your asked for
at the agreed upon price," was one typical comment. "Make
sure you have a deadline that cannot be changed," was
another. But many clients also recognized that it's not always
easy to be so clear-cut. As one client put it: "One of
the problems with consulting projects is that it can be hard
to attribute a value directly to the consultants' input. With
so many variables to take into account, who's going to say
'you did this' or 'you didn't do that'?"
But the two overriding criteria for judging
success are, first, that the criteria set are comprehensible
to as many organizational stakeholders as possible and, second,
that it's the medium-term, practical impact of a project that
matters, not its short-term "wow" factor. "Consultants
should come to the point with deliverables the organization
can use, " remarked one client. "They should speak
the language of the company." "Value is measured
by the success or ability to implement the suggestions and
recommendations made by the consultant," said another.
"Good performances that add value to the organization
usually result in additional work or positive recommendations
of the consultant."
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| 10. |
Share
risks and rewards. |
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A corollary of mutual respect
is that both sides should benefit when a project goes well,
and suffer when it goes badly. Maximizing the benefits that
consultants can bring is never going to be a one-sided process:
It's absolutely true that there are many areas where consultants
can be criticized, but it's equally true that the way clients
sometimes behave makes the situation worse. Intelligent clients
know this. They know that they can't expect miracle cures from
a consulting firm and that business issues are always complex
and often intractable. They know that consultants can't guarantee
a solution and that, if they do, the solution is probably not
worth having. They know they have to work together - to collaborate
- with consultants, in a relationship in which each side trusts
the other, shows respect for the contribution the other can
make, and focuses on value for money (not costs or fees). |
This is an edited extract of Fiona Czerniawska's Maximizing the
Value of Consultants: Key Lessons from Clients (Arkimeda, 2003).
Fiona is the founder and managing director of Arkimdea, which specializes
in providing research and advice on strategic issues to professional
service firms. She also lectures on e-business at the London Business
School, and on management conslttancy at Kingston Business School
in London and the School of Advanced Management Studies in Haarlem,
Holland. She is the author of The Intelligent Client: Managing Your
Management Consultant.
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