Using Consultants
 

Willingness to change is a strength, even if it means plunging part of the company into total confusion for a while—Jack Welch

In every society some men are born to rule, and some to advise.—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Consultants used wisely can add tremendous value to your company’s success. But poorly used, they will waste your time and waste company resources.  We at Conalysis utilize a solution assessment approach to engaging clients – if we believe our solution won’t meet your needs we won’t sell it to you at any price.

The following are typical situations when an organization might need a consultant:

  • The organization has no expertise in the needed area.
  •  The time of need is considered short-term (less than a year, with a general start and stop time).
  •  The organization's previous attempts to meet its own needs were not successful.
  •  Organization members continue to disagree about how to meet the need and bring on a consultant to provide expertise or facilitation skills to come to consensus.
  •  Leaders want an objective perspective—someone without strong biases about the organization's past and current issues.
  •  A consultant can do work which no one else wants to do.
  •  An outside organization demands that a consultant be brought in; a funder wants to ensure the organization is well-suited to spend the funder's money.

Here are some tips on how you can make a consultancy as productive as possible:

  • Know what you want to do, and make sure your company is prepared for it.
  • Try to reach internal agreement (board and staff) about the consultancy.
  •  Don't become dependent on a consultant.
  • If possible, don't limit the consultant to recommending action; get the consultant involved in implementing recommendations.
  •  Fix causes, not symptoms.

Some tips on selecting a consultant:
-Don't pick someone based only on price.
-Make sure they have a good contract and statement of work including:

    • A list of "deliverables"
    •  A project completion date
    • Name of person in your agency who has the authority to agree to expenditures or approve work
    • Agreement on reimbursable expenses
    • Understanding of who will do the actual consulting
    • Corporate Agenda
    • Project Background
    • Project Benefits
    • Project Objectives
    • Project Boundaries
    • Not included in this project
    • Success Criteria
    • Constraints
    • Key Assumptions
    • Project Board/Steering Group Members