1. Define the project

Before even looking for a consultant, define the project that you have in your organization that you need help with. Sometimes, you might need the help of a consultant to do that Thats not an irony, believe me. A lot of major projects are scoped and defined by experienced consultants, which will later result in an RFP to find other consultants to do the project. However you do it, it is essential that you have a clear idea on the outcomes of the consulting assignment. Even if you do not have an existing methodology or documentation system, use a simple document and define the objective of the project, who all will be impacted by the project, what are some of the reports/deliverables that you want from the consultant etc. Once you have a draft document ready, share that with your peers in your organization for their inputs. This will help you refine the project and make it more defined and concrete. This stage will determine what kind of consultant you need.

2. Identifying the right skill sets

Once you have the project well defined, think about the ideal person to do the project for you. What would be that person’s key strengths? Is the project highly technical in nature? Does it involve lot of human interaction? Has it to do with any financial data or analysis? You do not have to attempt to write the entire job description, just identify the top three skills that you desire to see in the consultant and without which this project cannot be completed. These skill sets will define the ‘expertise’ of your consultant.

3. Searching for a consultant

As they say in the IT world, try not to reinvent the wheel everytime. Chances are there are other peer organizations who have done a similar project to yours and chances are, they had a consultant help them with it too. That should be your first point of contact. If you are an active member of your industry associations, you would already have a list of contacts whom you can call and ask for referrals. If not, this is a good way to start a relationship that will help you in the long run anyway.

There are also several consulting associations with specialized sectors in them. One such group in Canada is the Canadian Association of Management Consultants, for example. They have a listing of consultants with their specialization listed in their website. Remember, this is not a private company, but just an association that does this service for its members. You will have to contact the consultant directly after you locate them in this web directory.

4. Interviewing a consultant

This is where you are trying to find whether the consultant you contacted is a good fit for your project. During your initial screening, you would have already looked for the consultant having performed similar engagements elsewhere. In this interview, your primary objective is to make sure your consultant will be a good fit for your organization and has a good understanding of your requirements and problems. Make sure to ask the consultant about the other projects s/he is involved in. Try to understand their time management pattern. Most consultants manage more than one project at a time. If your project is time sensitive and requires full attention, make sure you communicate that to your consultant and they are ok with it.

The four absolute things to look for in a consultant are -

• Time Management
• Analysis and Problem identification
• Documentation
• Communication – Written and Verbal

A lot of other skills can be classified as part of one of the above four key skill sets.

And in order for you to get an understanding of the above qualities in a consultant, you can start tracking their communication style from the initiation stage itself. How responsive is s/he? Are they listening to your requirements or repeating their requests or questions? Who are some of their existing clients? These all give you an idea about the consultant and will help you to decide if s/he is the right person for your project.

If all this sounds too complicated or cumbersome, of course there are consultants who can help you with that too

Next Issue ………………How to write a Request for Proposal or RFP?

1. Timely execution

One of the foremost skills a consultant brings to the table is time management and the ability to deliver results in the agreed time window. Depending on the size and scope of the engagement, consultants often have an agreement with their client on start and finish dates for assignments. Since the consultant is focused on completing the project, they will make sure the objectives of the project are met within the time frame. In many in-house projects, failure of the project is due to the fact that priorities of the personnel involved change mid-stream and their focus shifts elsewhere.

2. Subject Matter Expertise

Consultants are subject matter experts on the areas that they consult in. Off loading a project to an experienced consultant, will let you focus on the operations of your business and get timely recommendations from the consultant on other initiatives. For example, if you are considering market expansion to a new geographic location, while you may know a lot about your product/services, you may need help in understanding your target location, your competition in the new location, business culture of the new location etc. Here, a consultant could advise you on all these matters while you focus on packaging your product or service for the new market.

3. A fresh perspective

It is true that often we do not see the things that are right in front of us. A fresh perspective on existing situations often brings new solutions and ideas. From broader industry experience, consultants usually see things that business owners fail to see. They also bring with them experiences from other projects that will help solve the problem at hand.

4. Tap into their knowledge base

A good professional consultant will keep his/her knowledge base updated frequently. They will know the recent industry trends, technological advancements, market conditions etc. Most consultants also belong to a network of consulting professionals and are thus able to keep abreast of trends in other industries as well. In many cases, consultants have been able to refer their clients to other subject matter experts in areas that they do not consult in. In short, the consultant acts as a resource for finding other resources that the organization needs.

5. No long term obligation

Often the situation for bringing in a consultant will be a short term solution or initial help. Once the consultant completes the engagement, the client will be able to continue forward from that point on. The organization does not have the obligation to increase its staffing to meet a particular project or deadline.

These are just some of the values of bringing in a consultant for your project.

 Next issue …..What to look for in a consultant?

Indosphere Consulting is the result of my many years in the consulting industry and in particular, the last few years where I spent a lot of time working with several economic development agencies in Atlantic Canada who are actively pursuing India as their target market.  The mandate for Indosphere is to act as a bridge between businesses in Atlantic Canada and India.  

Atlantic Canada is a unique place to be in Canada. Here is a region that wants to act like a one single province most of the times but yet has four different perspectives on many national and regional economic issues. The four provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador are collectively called ‘Atlantic Canada’ and for several reasons, our friends in Ottawa and in the West would prefer to group it as one Atlantic Canada rather than deal with four smaller provinces. Well, my intent is not to discuss the consolidation of provinces but to just give an introduction to the region called Atlantic Canada, so let us stop here and move on.

India needs no introduction at this day and age. However, in this context, it needs a little bit of introduction in terms of business culture and current economic situation. As we are all well aware, India has a booming economy  and as a booming economy it has several needs, for products, services and personnel. On the same coin, it also has a abundant supply of qualified and trained resources, which are often at a premium in Atlantic Canada. I also believe there is a kind of naivety in Atlantic Canada that fits well into the Indian business culture. The ideals of trust, integrity and honesty that is built into many Atlantic Canadian businesses is well suited for doing business with India.  Perhaps the greatest mismatch between the two sides is in the pace of business. Businesses in India are in a fast paced environment now and cannot and will not wait for anybody. As such they require fast decisions and quicker business deals, whereas Atlantic Canada likes to weigh in all options before making a choice.

That is where having a little extra help in the form an experienced consultant on your side will help you in achieving the results you want. I have been in the consulting industry for roughly 10 years out of a 15 year career so far. I have an indepth knowledge of the economic situations both here in Canada as well as in India and I plan to make use of my established networks in both sides to create value for my clients. Often opportunities are missed because there was no one to follow up and facilitate decision making sessions with Senior Management. Well, you do not have miss any more opportunities !

Feel free to browse my professional work history in LinkedIn and connect with me for further information. Also check out my blog on Indo Canada Trade Ventures for some recent articles and stories on India Canada trade.

I hope you will leave me a comment or two.

Have a great day !

Venkatesh Thyagarajan.