10 WAYS TO CHOOSE A DUFF CONSULTANT

  1. Ask them to tell you how they will do the job.

    Surprising but true. You don't ask your accountant to tell you how she will prepare a balance sheet. You don't ask your plumber to tell you how he will fix the leak in your lavatory. Please don't insult me, by asking me if I know how to do my job. You don't choose a consultant on the basis of what they tell you they can do. You choose them on the basis of what they have actually delivered.
     
  2. Ask them to tell you how they will proceed, before they have interviewed you at length about your organisation and its aspirations.

    Despite what some consultants will try to sell you, there are no off-the-peg magic fixes - except on paper. Organisations are made up of people and relationships - not just systems. And different people need different approaches. Nobody worth their salt is going to force you down a particular methodology, before knowing something about you and your business. You are quite unique.
     
  3. Suggest it would be a nice idea if the front-runner consultants got together to do the job.

    Any consultant who asks me to work with them, simply on the basis of being on the same short-list, is not professional enough for me to work with. A consultant should not touch with a barge-pole anyone whose work they do not know inside out. Which brings us to…
     
  4. Assume the group of people doing the work have worked before as a team.

    A company that I'd never heard of, once put my name on a tender, because they knew I was respected by the client. They had never even met me. And when they did, they got short shrift. Remember, there are a few disreputable consultancies that advertise contract work which doesn't actually exist, in order to build up a database of CVs of people they have never met, which they then submit to clients as "team members". Effective teamwork doesn't just happen overnight in your company - so why should teams of consultants be any different…?
     

  5. Negotiate a daily or hourly rate.

    Work out what you can afford for the project. Take off a third for consultancy expenses and your admin. And then ask what can be delivered for the remainder. Remember that daily fees are being clocked up if consultants are held up because all your people are out at meetings or the reports they need aren't available, or your staff member who is crucial to the project is off sick.
     

  6. Expect that the distinguished expert whom the large consultancy company wheels into talk to you, will actually be doing the work for you.

    Remember that some big companies sent their juniors to Scotland to cut their teeth before they go on to "greater things". They do the work. The "grown-ups" bring in the business. Remember too, that even large companies may not have an expert in your field of operation. They will then sub-contract the work out to a sole-trading freelance, at a quarter of the rate they are charging you. (Yes, I've done it for them). And you could have had me, or a dozen equally good others, for a fraction of the price.
     
  7. Ask if they can work within the budget.

    Get real. Know their track record. If other clients have had nasty shocks with the consultant's bills - don't even consider employing them. Good consultants deliver on budget every time.
     
  8. Be impressed by gadgets, jargon and sharp suits.

    All you should be impressed by are references. Not just written ones - talk to other clients who have used the consultant. Ask them to be brutally frank. Ask what it was like to work with the person, ask about their diligence, discretion, judgement and their capacity to sort out the wood from the trees. Ask if they sussed out what was really going on. Ask if they delivered on time, on budget and if there were any surprises along the way. And ask how useful their output was.
     
  9. Assume they have an innate awareness of your ethical standards.

    Any reputable consultant will be explicit about their practice on issues of confidentiality, copyright and client liaison. They will want to be absolutely clear about whom they report to and with whom they should raise any serious matters which might arise in the course of the consultancy, and they will want regular meetings with you. Otherwise, politely show them out.
     
  10. Know instinctively what your organisation needs and choose a consultant who agrees with you.

    Effective consultants should make you feel slightly, or sometimes - very - uncomfortable, because they should be challenging your assumptions and ideas. You don't need someone who will tell you what you want to hear. You need someone who is utterly objective, has no agendas, no pre-conceived ideas or ready-made solutions and who takes their time to get a series of perspectives on your organisation. You also need someone who doesn't have half an eye on repeat business, but is willing to be fearlessly and ruthlessly honest with you. You know it makes sense.

Alyson Leslie