Using External Consultants

If only . . . we could get real value for money from external consultants.

As businesses change and develop, they often need to use the specialist help and advice of external professionals, if they are to capitalise fully on the opportunities available and avoid some of the pitfalls. At the same time, it is important for them to ensure that they get the right consultant for the work, that they retain control of the agenda, and that they obtain value for money.

This begs two questions:

• Does the work need to be done at all?
• If so, is it better done in-house or do you need specialist external advice and/or resources?

You may need outside help, of course, to answer the first question - you don't always know what you don't know! At the same time, this question suggests that investment should be focused on those significant issues that are essential to the delivery of your business objectives and strategies.

You need to maintain a clear 'line of site' between business performance and development activity. Too often evaluation processes begin with the interventions themselves and work backwards, in an attempt to justify the work in terms of business benefit.

If you decide that you do need to employ external help, independent advice on choosing and using consultants can be found on the web site of the Institute of Management Consultancy, who also provide a Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for their members and associates to follow. The following comments reflect our prejudices, based upon many years of working on the other side of the desk!