Choosing a Consultant

Hiring an outside consultant is a common practice in many businesses. The need to do this is often due to the need for a particular skill or function that is not present or available in the organization but not one that the organization is prepared to add as a permanent employee. Another reason for hiring an outside consultant is the need to have an impartial voice weigh in on an important matter.

The selection of the consultant is as important as hiring an employee and should not be taken lightly. Accepting "brand names" as a qualification is short cut method used by many that too often lead to undesirable outcomes. This path is often used by senior executives as a "safe choice" alternative in supposedly hiring the best.

Keys to making a good consultant selection and successfully completing an engagement begin with project definition and should include:

• Have a good definition of the task or problem for the consultant to work on.
• Define what type of consultant activity - analysis, training, coaching, design, development - is needed to perform the assigned task.
• Identify who the consultant will work with and who will be responsible for their work product.
• Have a good definition of what the completed work product should look like.

Once the project definition is complete then it is time to consider the consultant to do the job:

• Do they have the requisite experience to do the job?
• Perform your due diligence and talk to previous customers and understand what experience they had with the consultant and if your project is smiler to what the consultant worked on.
• Were the contract terms honored?
• Was the project finished on time?
• Was the project completed within budget?
• Were the recommendations useful?
• Were they open and flexible to ideas and input from the project team?
• Did they work well with others?
• Did they discuss or reveal information from work performed at competing organizations?
• Involve a number of people from the project team that the consultant will be working with to make sure sufficient chemistry exists for a successful working relationship.
• Determine how much of a "learning curve" the consultant will incur during the project and whop pays for it.
• Have the consultant present how they work with customers, provide a record of work performed and work remaining, problem resolution, ability to contain cost within budget or advise if work parameters change and affect cost.
• Evaluate key performance factors: communication style, ability to work with others, work habits, ability to meet deadlines.
• If appropriate, have the consultant candidate submit a proposal on how they would structure and perform the engagement.
• Have the consultant candidate critique the project definition to reveal their ability to understand the work requested and to make recommendations on any changes in order to make the project more successful.
• Discuss the terms of payment and make sure that they are included in the contract.
• Will the consultant sign a confidentiality agreement to protect your proprietary information.
• Resolve who owns the work product.

A successful consultant engagement is important for all parties. Consultants provide expertise and experience to undertakes projects that you might be unable to do otherwise. They provide the capability you need when you need it. Plan your use of this resource carefully, do your due diligence, understand how they will impact your organization and how to put what they do to work in a timely and effective manner to maximize your return on investment.

Make a New Years Resolution: Plan & Execute

Too often I find companies that do not connect their planning function with how they execute. Don't get me wrong many of these companies know how to execute but much of it is tactical reactive execution which does not really advance the strategic direction of the business.

Many businesses go through a planning process but when asked the penetrating question "Is management compensation connected with performance to plan?" The answer ranges from"Not really!" to "We don't plan well!" Many owners have commented during the recent recession that planning has had to take a back seat to just surviving. I relate to that. It is not productive to apply precious time and energy to activities if they keep you from staying in business. However, is just surviving enough for your customers? Do they care how tough it is for you when it comes time to make strategic decisions on who they want to do business with next year. Don't be nosed out by another business offering an additional advantage to help your customer be competitive?

Planning can take on many forms. Some planning processes are very formal, elaborate and comprehensive. Others can be very spartan and crude. Both can be successful but they must possess a key ingredient - execution. You can create a plan to fulfill a vision to move your business in a strategic direction but without execution it is not worth the paper (or electrons) that it is printed on.

Where do companies fall short on the execution path? Measurement and accountability. It is imperative for any organization to have regular review cycles where measurement to plan occurs and when necessary adjustments made to modify the plan or address the short fall of key performers. This of course raises the issue of conflict management which many organizations struggle with when key performers (usually great and valued for their performance on daily tactical issues) resist the challenge of integrating the objectives of the plan into their daily activities.

Successful companies "master" the planning process to the extent that many of their planning objectives are accomplished each review cycle resulting in major shifts in what they deliver to existing or attracting new customers, This is not because they have better plans but that they have a leadership team that effectively executes to plan while meeting daily performance operating objectives as well. It is a maker commitment (led from the top of the organization), not just a halfhearted notion.

Make a New Years resolution to not only plan but to commit to the elements of execution necessary to move your business to a strategic position attractive to your customers that will retain them and be attractive to new customers.