Getting it Right: Working Successfully with Consultants

Working with a consultant

Getting it right! Organizational work plan for a successful consultancy project for arts and non-profit

managers and boards

ArtsCubed: http://www.arts-cubed.com

Step One Before you hire a consultant!

Developing the organizational plan for a consultancy project.


Your organization is positioned to make good use of a consultant when:

Your project is responsive to your strategic plan and will help achieve long-term goals

Your organization is positioned to make good use of a consultant when:

You project addresses a real organizational need and your organization has buy-in for the work and is equipped to use the project results

Examine assumptions about organizational needsTest the buy-in by organizational members whose cooperation will be needed for success and address any concerns

before work is startedNext steps: what is the plan? e.g. No sense having a marketing plan if you don’t have staff or budget to implement!


Your organization is positioned to make good use of a consultant when

Your project is time-limited with clear beginning, end and expected outcomes.You cannot measure success without goals and benchmarks Your project’s budget could be exceeded without a firm schedule



You have a draft work plan for the consultancy project Whether you use a Gantt chart or

a simple calendar, managers and staff know when meetings with the consultant and joint work will happen, minimizing disruption of ongoing work



You have a plan for project over-sight, project communications and project support. Consultants, managers and staff understand chain of

communications, authority and priorities


Step Two:Hiring a consultant

Find the consultant that’s right for your organization and project


Finding the consultant right for your organization

Talk to colleagues, funders, professional organizations

Add recommendations to your list of people/firms to consider Even if you are leaning toward someone known to you consider and interview a range of recommendations



Look at the past experience of the consultant for indications that they know your sector and how to work with organizations of your size, especially when sectoral knowledge is very key to the project.

. Prepare questions needing specialized knowledge to answer such as funding programs specific to sectorAsk specifics about implementation of past projects to gauge ability to work independently or with a large team as needed.



Be sure the skills and expertise of your consultant is a match for the specific focus of the project

"social media marketing" and not just "marketing" if they are charged with a social media marketing plan corporate fundraising, not just “fund-development” if you are charging them with a corporate campaign



Be sure that the consultant is able to be as hands-on and present in the organization or as independent as needed.

Be frank with the consultant about what you need and don't need Ask about their ability to attend meetings and their own expectations about frequency and method of contact



Discuss the draft plan with the consultant as well as the opportunities, strengths and limitations of your organization.

Be receptive to suggestions that enhance your plan but wary of someone who wants to make huge changes to work planConsider whether suggested changes are new ways of looking at the problem or run upstream against your organizational culture


Define project communications

Assuring the success of your project by defining authority, communication channels and priorities



In successful consulting projects there is organizational oversight

Who directs the consultant's work? Who intervenes if a consultant's work is not being done, goes off-course or is being disruptive of operations?



Is there a staff member(s) assigned to assist the consultant?

Are those staff members aware of how they will be expected to assist?

How well is the work defined?Example: You will be required to occasionally assist X by research

and database entries. This is not to take precedence over your regular work and should take approximately 1-3 hours work per week."

Who intervenes if a consultant misdirects or abuses staff?



Do staff understand the scope of the project and how it integrates with their own work?

Communicate the project goals with staff who will be assisting

Buy-in is facilitated when staff understand and do not have unrealistic fears about the outcomes of consulting projects



Do staff know what information is permissible to share?

Privacy considerations need to be addressed in advanceSharing HR or client information and lists has legal as well

as organizational effectiveness implications


Avoiding Common Pitfalls

What are the most common reasons for consulting projects to fail?


Common consulting pitfalls

Fail No. 1: Irrelevant projects A marketing plan for an organization without the staff or

finances to support the plan. A "think outside of the box" innovational strategy that is not

doable or sustainable due to known factors



Fail No. 2: Choosing a consultant with the wrong skill set.

You picked someone with a knowledge of foundations and government funders to plan and pioneer an individuals and corporate donor campaign

You picked someone with strengths in social media marketing for an outreach to an audience that doesn’t use social media very much



Fail No. 3: Choosing a consultant with the wrong work style

You suffered with an absentee or “in your hair” consultant

Lack of clarity about work plan or organizational style led to a disconnect, disputes and ultimately caused project to fail.



Fail No. 4: Lack of over-sight, some symptoms . . .Consulting project takes on a life of its own due to lack of

oversight. Results unlikely to reflect original goals and project either

becomes irrelevant or disruptive. Results become hard to assess when it is unclear what the

consultant actually did. Staff resent a consultant taking on roles/work that is in their

job description and have no referee to mediate



Fail No. 5: Lack of clarity about staff rolesDue to busyness and poor delegation, staff are uncooperative, stalling the

project Frightened staff unduly priorize consulting project to the detriment of

higher priority work. Consultant, unclear of how to get needed help, goes to anyone who

answers the phone for help causing duplication and confusion. Consultant unclear of boundaries, contacts staff at home, via personal

email etc. Staff who have no mechanism to refuse to put in extra hours for

consultancy project ask for huge overtime payments or time in lieu due to work heaped on them by the consultant resulting in hidden costs.



Fail No. 6: Information Sharing Disasters! Wary staff refuse to share information needed for the consultancy. Staff fail to priorize information sharing because they don't know how it will

be used. Staff who misunderstand Consultant's scope share privileged informationConsultant offers the organization contact information that is not supposed

to be shared. Individuals added to our contact list complain about spam, damage our reputation.

Our contact list is shared against our wishes and our contacts complain. We see a decline in funding results from known sources the following year

and discover our list of funding contacts is being used by a competitor who has hired our former consultant


SUMMARY: Key Points

Strategic needs and long-term goals should drive the project, not short-term opportunities or needsSelect a consultant who matches the project, the organization and the work style of the teamProvide clear oversight to the consultant and be clear about responsibilities & communication lines for the staffGet the necessary buy-in from staff by sharing the project's goals and likely outcomesBe thoughtful about information sharing making sure protections and permissions are clearTrack the project regularly assuring reports are accurate


Getting it Right: Working Successfully with Consultants

Business

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