| Fiona Czerniawska, author of the study, found that the engagement of management at a client organisation is crucial. |
| New report identifies key ingredients for a successful consulting project |
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| | A new report from the
Management Consultancies
Association and
Management Today has
found that 86% of
clients are wholly or
partially satisfied with
the value provided by
management consultants.
The findings reveal that
it is the extent of
engagement among the
managers from client
organisations, who work
side-by-side with
consultants, that
determines the success
of consulting projects.
Typically, a person who
takes the decision to
use consultants is about
four times as likely to
be positive as someone
seconded in from other
areas of the business to
work on the consulting
project.
The new report,
Ensuring Sustainable
Value from Consultants,
sponsored by
PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP, is based on a
survey of more than 180
UK managers. The report
found that organisations
use consultants for four
reasons. Access to
people with specialist
skills accounts for
almost half of all
consulting projects;
gaining an outside | |
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| | they resent the
consultants’ presence.
“These may be the
people who can sign the
cheques, but it is the
people that the
consultants work with
day-to-day, who have to
be engaged, not pushed
aside, if a project is
to be a long-term
success."
The report identified
six key requirements for
a successful consulting
project:
1. Clear sense of
purpose – It is
essential that a clear
business case is
developed before calling
in a consultant as the
report found that 72% of
satisfied respondents to
the survey had developed
a clear business case
for the project in
advance.
2. Communication
– This is where the
report found the largest
gap between satisfied
and dissatisfied
clients. Whilst the more
consultants listened,
the more satisfied the
client was likely to be,
listening is a two-way
process and clients must
be willing to listen to
consultants too.
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3. Stakeholder
buy-in – This needs to
be achieved at many
levels and an ability to
engage with junior and
middle-ranking staff in
the client organisation
is vital. This is the
responsibility of both
parties, but consultants
need to ensure that they
communicate on a
day-to-day basis with
end users and those
seconded on to the
project.
4. Working in
partnership – Greater
value is derived when
consultant and client
work in partnership.
More than three quarters
(81%) of satisfied
clients believed their
work with consultants
represented genuine
partnership working,
compared to just 2% of
dissatisfied ones.
5. Expect
flexibility – Clients
who worked with
consultants who rolled
up their sleeves and
worked flexibly were
more satisfied (85%)
than those who received
a prescribed programme
from consultants.
6. Inspire | |
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| | individuals – The
greater the involvement
of an individual, the
more he or she directly
benefited. The survey
found that 70% of those
individuals who were
satisfied with the work
of their consultants
also gained personally
from the experience,
compared with just 6% of
those who were
dissatisfied.
Jeff Thompson,
partner and head of
performance improvement
consulting,
PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP, concluded:
“Consultants must focus
on the benefits to
individuals and not just
to the organisation as a
whole. And the
individuals who derive
benefit must not only be
the top-level management
who buy the consultancy
but also the end users
of the project. If users
can see personal
benefits, they are much
more likely to be
willing to take on the
challenges any
implementation
presents.”
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| | perspective accounts
for a further third.
Other projects are
motivated by the use of
consultants to push
through or provide a
plan for managing
change or to help
take difficult
decisions.
Fiona Czerniawska,
author of the report,
commented: “Not
surprisingly, decision
makers tend to view
consulting projects in a
positive light because
that validates their
decision to use
consultants; it may also
be that they are in a
better position to see
the overall benefits.
Perhaps end-users and
people seconded into
projects from elsewhere
in a client organisation
feel put-upon; maybe | |
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