Every company has undoubtedly had the experience of utilising consultants for many purposes including equipment installation, technology implementation, process improvement and fulfilment of statutory requirements.
Using consultants can result in cost savings and realisation of objectives when internal resources are inadequate. Consultants also often provide objectivity and highly specialised skills. To ensure that consultants are well chosen and well utilised requires careful management from the inception - when the need for external help is determined, to selection, integration with the organisation and end results.
Define Scope and Expertise
The decision to hire a consultant requires an assessment of internal expertise, financial resources and the time commitment of staff. If the need for external help is determined then the scope of work should be identified and documented. Many consulting relationships do not work out because of the lack of definition in the scope of projects. The answers to the questions "what do you want the consultant to do?" and "what specific experience, knowledge and expertise are required?" must be communicated internally and externally. Internally - so that there are no gaps between management expectation and the true scope of the consultancy. Externally - so that the consultants are clear on the purpose of the engagement.
Get background information and spend time at the beginning
It is important that companies have as much information as possible on the track record of potential consultants. Proper interviews and reference checks cannot be overemphasised, and where a firm is involved, background information is needed not only on the consulting firm but also the individuals who will be working on the project. In addition, where consultants are not pre-selected, identifying potential respondents to requests for proposals, and commencing background checks even before responses are received, can result in more thorough checks and can inform the interview process even more.
Interviews, demonstrations and presentations are valuable opportunities not only to gain information from consultants but to help set the tone for the engagement. Once the selection has been made it is important that the contract clearly documents the deliverables.
Manage and Monitor
For any consultancy a line of reporting must be clearly defined. Where there is a project, a project manager must be identified, whether it is the consultant who manages the project or whether the project is being managed internally. Some mechanism must be in place to monitor the progress that is clearly linked to the contracted/agreed deliverables. Checkpoints should be built in and interim progress reports provided as these are critical to manage and ensure that projects stay on task.
Communication is key
In any consulting relationship interaction is the key. Consultants will need to learn specific aspects of the business. A period of orientation may be necessary particularly if the consultant is unfamiliar with the industry or is new to the country.
Consultants will also oftentimes be required to transfer knowledge to internal staff. Where knowledge transfer and continuity are important it may be useful to adopt the key user/mentor process where internal resources are matched with consulting resources. A consultant's ability to teach internal staff must be assessed in gathering background information and with many international firms serving the Caribbean and Latin American region from a single regional office, details such as their English language proficiency should not be overlooked.
Further, just as the consultant must be made aware of the company's expectations, it is important that all internal staff are clear on their roles so that they don't feel that a consultant is stepping on their turf, and that they don't shirk their responsibility. To minimise communication issues, standards should be set for conflict resolution and project documentation such as meeting briefs, status reports etc.
Consultants provide expertise and experience to undertake projects or solve problems that the client may for some reason be unable to do, and the advantage should be that the consultant provides the precise capability when it is needed. Definition of needs and expertise, and establishing the way the consultancy will work, are certainly the ways to utilise this advantage.
(This writer has worked extensively with consultants, experts and advisors)