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THE EXTERNAL CONSULTANT


Working in harmony


Barry Johnson and Mandy Geal challenge the stereotypical relationships between client and consultant


well in the relationship between consultants and the organisations they serve. There are also profound thanks from executives in organisations who have had success in their relationships with consultants. We will explore this plethora of views from both perspectives, as a client employing a consultant and as consultants delivering to a client.


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Let us be clear, consultants have a mixed reputation. In this modern era, consultants are an integral part of modern business and large organisations call on consultancies frequently. With the rapid change in the business climate, technology, the law, tighter budgets and leaner businesses, external support can be, and often is, required. That support regularly comes in the form of consultants. For project managers, the inclusion of consultants in their project team can be a mixed blessing. Consultants can bring skills and techniques that reduce risk, speed delivery, and provide innovative solutions to problems. It is our belief that consultants rely on their reputations and, therefore, strive to give good service. With different personal goals, different past experiences, different values, and working with different pressures there are bound to be frictions. It has been said that sometimes consultants are not easy to manage. Perhaps that is a discussion that should be had early in the relationship to clarify what they expect and what you expect. One of the most common complaints we


have heard is about money. It is surprising that members of organisations employing consultants often assume that the charge for hiring a


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eading academic analyses of consultants, listening to bias and bigotry from some senior managers can leave an impression that all is not


consultant equates to consultants’ pay; a muddled view ignoring the hidden costs of sales, marketing, product development, training, administration, insurance, etc. that consultants’ fees cover. We must say value for money is very difficult to judge but once fees are agreed, our belief is that agreements should be honoured. As consultants we prefer it when clients have a positive view of us; it is probably the same for you. But there are some myths about consultants that create a negative view and as such are worth addressing. For example – all consultants are the same. This must be self-evident nonsense. As project managers, we had many productive relationships with consultancy teams on projects we handled. But the path to a conclusion was not always smooth. The client-consultant relationship is central to the nature of consultancy work. The term client is, however, ambiguous. It covers the organisation, hiring manager, and project manager. In the situation where a third party has imposed an external consultancy, then it is ambiguous who exactly the client is and how that term is defined. We have noted this situation occurring in financial and legal firms and by the owning organisation of an apparently autonomous business. We believe that the company must have a


project manager for every project, but as the hiring manager may not be the project manager it is best to get clear exactly who will be the company interface and who will make the final decisions, as well as the scope, objectives and boundaries of the project. The consultants should also be made aware that to bypass the project manager would be regarded as extremely bad practice. For example, I had a situation where I was both the hiring manager and the project manager only to find the consultant was dealing with the senior manager of a different division. Oh, yes, some


September 2015 www.trainingjournal.com


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