By Dan Light

EDITOR’S NOTE: Are you thinking of becoming a consultant? If you are an expert in something, and people are willing to pay you (and well) for that expertise, why not? Although this piece is written for the end customer, skim through it to get a better idea  of a few of the things that will be expected of you if you decide to play.

Everyone knows or has heard a horror story about consultants. Confidentially, there is probably truth to all of them. It’s unfortunate, but some of my brethren lack scruples and could use a bit more ethics, but I’m convinced that this is the exception rather than the rule.

Consultants play a valuable role in business growth. You wouldn’t add to head count for a short-term assignment would you? You’ll have them longer than you really need them, and the cost can be prohibitive with the benefits, FICA, other employer paid taxes, overhead, and liability. You may pay more for a consultant; after all they have their benefits, taxes, etc. to pay, but the upside is that you only pay for a finite period of time.

So if both of these situations are true, how do you get the benefit without the horror? How do you take the “con” out of consultant?

1. Define Your Requirements — Before even considering hiring a consultant, you need to define your requirements. What is it that you expect them to do? The more you know about what you want, the better. Changing or evolving requirements lead to a longer stay and greater cost.

2. Develop a Realistic Schedule — When do you expect the consultant to begin and end the project? What hours during the day?

3. Insist on Interim Reviews — If you wait until the day the project is due to see the product for the first time, you may be in for a tremendous shock. You need to establish a review schedule consistent with the length and criticality of the project. If your project is scheduled for a week, daily reviews may be appropriate. If the project will run a year, monthly progress reviews might very well suffice.

4. Set Goals and Milestones — If you’ve set a review schedule, you also need to establish what constitutes progress and how it’s going to be measured. How will you recognize success or failure?

5. Prepare a Statement of Work — After completing steps 1–4, put it in writing. A consulting agreement without a comprehensive, concise and unambiguous statement of work isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

6. Communicate — Now that you’ve defined the requirements, set the schedules, decided what success looks like and put it all on paper in the form of a statement of work, the entire package needs to be presented to the consultant. Make 100% certain, in a face-to-face meeting, that what you understand and what you’ve written is what the would be consultant understands. The way to eliminate surprises in the end is to eliminate them in the beginning. Neither party should be in a position to start a sentence with “I thought…”; everyone must know.

7. Follow Through — You’ve planned the work, now work the plan. Review the interim product for adherence to requirements and schedule.

Is this all you need? Not by a long shot. There’s all the legalities and contractuals that everyone signs up to, but following these steps will make your life more enjoyable in the end by taking the “con” out of the consultant.

Dan Light runs Dan Light Consulting, LLC and is considered one of the world’s leading management consultants and advisors to small and growing business. He specializes in business development, turnarounds and business coaching.

SOURCE: TeachMarket.com – The Extra-Bucks-For-Teachers Resource

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