Make the Best Use of Your IT ConsultantAs well as a specialized expertise, the IT consultant brings a complementary perspective to your organization. While completing your project, the consultant will notice facts about your organization which may be even more valuable to you than the consultant's project deliverables. A strictly technical consultant probably won't realize the value of these facts to you (in fact, may not even realize that any of them would be news to you), though an IT consultant with management consulting experience will understand the value of the insights which spring from the facts. You should extract this valuable information from your consultant!Who knew? Often, your organization already "knew" the solution to a problem that your consultant "solved". "Who knew?" No, we're not joking; you seriously need to get the answer to "Who knew?". Some consultants won't even mention that "you (i.e., your organization) knew", so ask. You then need to chase down why it took a consultant to illuminate the solution from within your organization. The consultant might even know the answer to that question, too. How. On the other hand, if the consultant provided the solution independently of your organization, make sure your consultant tells you generally, and one or more of your employees specifically, how the consultant arrived at that solution. Shortlist. You may not have time to read all the analyses (if any) and emails from your consultant. (Even if you do, they probably won't contain what the consultant considered "obvious" or "trivial".) So, ask for a short verbal rundown of the top factors for, and impediments to, the success of the project - whether "obvious" or not. Listen, and note any surprises. When you've gotten the list, ask about the surprises. Busted. Ask your consultant to tell you about any broken processes, dysfunctions, or fallow resources in your organization. Question. "Is there anything important that you ought to tell me that you haven't already told me?" Tip: What your consultant tells you about your organization may tell you a lot about your consultant, too. |
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