Many tangible and intangible factors go into the decision making process when hiring a consultant. Having a systematic approach to finding a consultant and knowing the questions to ask can help save you time up-front and headaches later.
The following includes 10 questions I would ask and often wish clients would ask when securing outside consulting support.
Who is the right consultant for you?
- Size Matters: Is size important to you? :A large firm can provide national/global reach, back-up resources and often thought leadership and a library of solutions but at a price. A mid-size firm excels in expertise in a few areas but may not have the national/global reach you need. A small firm can be specialized or business consulting generalists, the price point is typically smaller and the client service, commitment to your project and flexibility in resourcing could really make quick work of your most challenging initiative.
- Client Service: What kind of client are you? Be introspective and realistic, do you need a lot of hand holding, are you unsure as to what you need to do and how to get it accomplished, are there constraints on resources involved? Identifying these issues and potential challenges will allow you to be open and honest with the consultant and provide them with a fair assessment of the scenario. Most consultants worth their salt will either thrive in those conditions or back away politely.
- Project Management: Ask about a consultant's project management qualifications. What is their theory, method and perspective on project management and does it fit with your organizations culture? Are there stringent project managers who mange tasks, risks and resources to the letter? Do they have a more flexible approach that involves more casual updates and debriefs? Or, and this is a warning sign, Do they not have a defined project management approach with reusable templates, tools and processes? No tools, method, process or approach is a sign to walk away.
- Adaptability: Can the consultant adapt to changing situations and needs? What happens if budgets change, priorities shift or resources are no longer available. How will that consultant deal with the situation, what is their experience in this area and what is their policy for billing a project that is on-hold. Depending on the size of the organization, this varies greatly.
- Customized Solutions: Does the consultant simply re purpose the same solution for different clients over and over again? Or is each client solution a unique solution? For some of the larger firms this is more common, they implement the same solution over and over again and sometimes disregard the individualized needs of the organization. A small or mid-size firm often specializes in customized solutions that are developed to fit your individual need.
- Years of Experience: This is an interesting question that needs to be individually interpreted based on your identified need. Ask: Years of experience? Experience in your specific need? Experience related to the proposed solution?Keep in mind that 20 years of experience may be really 4 projects - 5 years in length or it might be 20 years of experience in every aspect of business that could augment the final solution.
- Technical Knowledge: Even when the specific need does not require a technical solution, a good general understanding of technical capabilities can augment your final solution. In the case of a very technical solutions be sure to ask: What is their assessment, planning and recommendation methodology? How do they determine the best technical solutions? Do they expertise in a broad range of technologies or are they primarily focused in one set of operation systems, programming languages or techniques? Obviously if you are a Microsoft based organization, it helps to go with someone who is proficient in those applications, for web-based technologies the same, a PHP developer is different than an HTML or ASP developer.
- Industries Served: Don't be put off by someone who may not have experience in your exact industry, the cross-functional knowledge they bring from other industries could help to revolutionize your business. There are obvious exceptions to this rule but ask the following and make an informed and logical decision: Have you worked in this industry before? In what capacity? What industries have you worked and what similarities do you see? What best practices have you identified that cross industries and initiatives?
- Fee Structure: The question of fee structure should be discussed, reviewed and determined. Many different structures exist and depending on the size of the firm some may not work for you based on fee structure alone. How does the consultant scope the project, using metrics, typical project fees or an hourly estimate? Does the consultant utilize fixed fee, deliverables based or hourly fee structures? Each have their own merits and disadvantages. What happens if the project is put on hold? How are scope changes handled? What if resourcing changes?
- Culture and Personality: Probably the most crucial aspect but hardest to quantify. How does the consultant perform under stress? In times of delayed activity? In times of changing priorities? Inform the consultant as to the culture, standard operating procedures and typical stress level of the organization. Being up front and honest from the beginning will help you to prepare the consultant for the reality of your business issue as well as eliminate any resources that might be wary, unwilling or not prepared for the existing business situation.
While all the above are important, a special emphasis should be made on the last item. No matter how qualified a consulting firm is, if you cannot work closely with them, communicate your needs and feel like you are understood, you will not feel comfortable relying upon their advice...and you will not receive the maximum benefits for your consulting dollar.
For more information or how to get started, read "So where do you start? - Finding a Consultant"
