5 Tips and 1 Little Secret About Hiring A Consultant

One of my favorite sources of corporate humor is Despair, Inc.   As expected, they have something to say about my chosen profession:

"Consulting...if you're not a part of the solution, there's good money to be made in prolonging the problem"

That's my favorite of their many stabs, though it's sad to think that the sentiment rings all too true with executives who have hired consultants. High hopes abound, only to be aggravated by high prices, formulaic approaches and overly intellectual discussion without action.  You can avoid all of that and have a successful experience with a consultant, if you are well prepared and willing to do some work yourself.

Here are a few (serious) tips to help you get and keep things on track when working with a consultant:

1) Complete this sentence: "Here's what I want: ...." It might be a specific deliverable, like a report or a business case.  It might be advice or an education on an important topic. Many times I'm asked to "put a proposal together".  I am happy to, of course. The thing I find surprising is how many times I am also asked to guess as to the desired outcome of the engagement. Take time to think about it.  The clearer you can be on this, the happier you will be with the result.

2)  Spend time, save money.   Of course you expect them to be self sufficient, and good consultants usually are.  But they need to understand your company, your culture, your strategy, how decisions get made....and yes, where the bathroom is.  You will save the consultant time (and thus, save yourself money) if you ask yourself " what does this person need to know to do this project?  What information do I have that will help them be successful? "  Prepare background information and set up sessions for your consultant to meet stakeholders early on.

3) Ignorance is not an excuse for disengagement.  Many times I hear  " We hired you because we don't know anything about this".  Part of your request of the consultant should be that they teach you about what they know.  You'll need to function on your own after they are gone.  Very few projects are so self-contained that a consultant can come in, do the job and leave with no residual impact.  Their work will need to be understood, absorbed, maintained and altered as time goes on.  Be sure that you engage enough to be able to speak to their work confidently without them around, and assume successful ownership of it going forward

4) They get to leave, you have to stay.  Remember, you have to live with the outcome of the project. The consultant ultimately gets to walk away. Of course, the consultant is responsible for the project's success, but you are too.  Are you making sure she has the information she needs?  Giving her prompt feedback on the work so that she can meet her time line? Giving the project the proper priority in the organization so that she can get the support she needs from stakeholders? It's well worth your effort to be sure you are getting what you want.

5) Ask a lot of questions, even if you might not like the answer. Here's the advantage to asking your consultant a lot of questions: you will wind up getting more than you paid for.  Consultants have a unique perspective on your organization because they are an outsider. While that might disadvantage them in terms of granular detail, it can bring clear benefits - they can help you find a solution to a problem you didn't know you had. While these insights might not officially be part of the engagement, they are food for thought you might not otherwise have access to.  Nothing says you have to agree or take their advice, but it's a good idea to listen.

Think about what the project is worth to you. Now, here's the little secret: There isn't a single consultant I've met, me included, who knows exactly what to charge for their work.  Some of us have an hourly or daily rate, some of us charge by the project, there are more than 31 flavors.  They'll quote you a priced based on their best estimate of the time it will take and the value they'll deliver.  If you have no idea what the project is worth to you, any price they quote will sound too high.  If you have a firm budget, don't be afraid to say so.  They'll understand and probably work to fit within your means.

I hope this has been helpful...but then again, I may be optimistic in thinking that this message is actually being read.  It reminds me of my favorite Despair, Inc. tee shirt.  It reads:

"More people have read this shirt than your blog."

Comments

[Peter Kretzman]

Awww.... As a fellow blogger, I know what you mean about wondering whether you're writing into the void, here. But you're not: at the very least, Google will lead people to your door forevermore if those people hit the right search terms to bring up this article!

Great points, Sally. As someone who has been on both sides of the consulting hiring desk, I can confirm that this is sound advice.

[Justin Foster]

This is great advice... I also love Despair Inc. We have two posters in our office: Motivation adn Indifference. I've been thinking about the "Consulting" one just for the humor factor but can't get myself to jump over the edge, yet. I agree consulting is a two-way street. A consultant needs to be managed (albeit good ones need only light mgmt), just like anyone, in order for a project to be successful. Clients that are clearer up front in terms of what their expectations are are much more likely to have a project turn out successfully. Clients that ask more questions are also much more likely to get more value for their money.