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Author: Professor Johnson Funso Odesola
Posted to the web: 7/4/2008 8:16:53 AM

If the objective is clear, preparation detailed and communication positive, the outcome can be a perfect fit for your organisation. Alex Hardy sets out some points to consider how public bodies can ensure that they turn their investment in consultants into real outcomes?

1.     Agree a clear framework . Consultancy projects can range from writing reports, to changing working practices or selecting new technology providers says John Brinkworth a managing consultant from Serco’s consultancy business. “Be clear about what you want,” he says. An assignment plan, he suggests, should include the proposed deliverables, outcomes and end date, as well as how the project will be reviewed and how skill be transferred.
2.     Communicate your objectives. “For a consultant working in the private sector there are usually fairly clear business drivers for a project,” Brinkworth says. “Public sector clients must make sure the consultant understands the policy and strategy aspects of the work.” The targets set for consultancy projects should be aligned with the client’s wider targets, adds Neil Robertson, the director of the economy group at Government Office North East.
3.     Help them to understand you. Consultants achieve most when they understand the environment they are working in, says Rohan Malik, the chief operating officer for government advisory services at Ernst & Young. He suggests kicking off projects with a mobilisation day, “a two- way event where the client and consultant team can get together for orientation”.
4.     Be realistic. Design the project around your organisation’s working methods, Brinkworth suggests. “Often consultants need to get reports approved or reviewed by directors or the board, who may not be easy to access. Your timetable and budget need to factor this in.”
5.     Divide the work. Malik warns against “putting all the eggs in one basket”. The project has to happen at the right speed, he says, so that it can be delivered along- side “business as usual. Phase the project to suit your resources, capability and risk.”
6.     Involve the right people. Clearly agree who will be involved and when. “It is advisable to have director level oversight for high- profile projects, or senior manager level overview for less critical,” Brinkworth says. Robertson urges clients to involve consultants more regularly. “People tend to be sniffy with consultants, not invite them to key meetings and keep them out of quite practical discussions – we should trust them more sometimes.”
7.     Make change sustainable. “There should be a clear idea of how the client will be left in a better position when a project ends,” Malik says. He suggests that a second contract, covering how skills will be transferred from consultant to client.
8.     Developing your staff. The skills involved in managing consultants should be incorporated into staff development, Robertson says. “Typically, junior staffs are asked to do the day-to-day programme management of consultants, which allows them significant influence over big sums of money. They may not be given enough training and it’s rarely written into their development objectives.”
9.     Review progress. Malik suggests reviewed of a project’s focus, quality and risk. “Regularly ask – are we solving the right problem in the right way?” Brinkworth adds that clients should see early drafts of reports. “Clients can check the feasibility of recommendations or suggest a more relevant way of presenting findings.”
10.     Get emotional. “Government transformation is not just about changing policy, process or technology but about changing people,” says Malik. “So the project needs to consider not just the rational aspects of delivery but the political by-in and the emotional impact with keys stakeholders.” Change projects can easily fail, he says, if the affected people are not on board. “Don’t just manage stakeholders using hard facts. Talk about the impact.”                       

      

               Johnson Odesola (PhD) is a Regional Coordinator in the Redeemed Christian Church of God and a Professor of Divinity with European Theological Seminary UK and Trinity International Institute of Advance Studies USA. He is presently a missionary in Southern Africa based in Zambia