Stretching Your Dollar – Suggestions for Managing Consulting Engagements

Sandra Glaser Cheek

Stretching Every Dollar
Making the Most of Consulting Engagements

Even with budget and headcount constraints, many of our clients continue to view outsourcing as a smart and strategic way to do more, with fewer available resources. In these tight economic times, we offer some tips to get the most out of your consulting engagements.

• Set a firm budget before launching the project.
• Commit to longer than 90 days. Longer commitments generally result in savings.
• Be clear on the format and delivery method of project materials. Choose a method that reinforces or “socializes” the outcomes through the organization.
• Identify consultant-critical tasks that leverage the consultant’s specialized skill-set. Assign other general organizational tasks to an internal resource.
• Be flexible. Can the consultant work off-site, partial day, etc? Flexibility on the client’s part can result in a wider pool of available talent for your project.
• Play to each consultant’s strengths. Engage senior consultants to define strategies and models. Hire program specialists for tactical implementation. Plan ahead to ensure higher cost consultants aren’t executing administrative tasks.
• Include mentoring and/or training milestones to leverage the talent of senior consultants and improve the skills/knowledge of your team.
• Share the project’s findings with cross-functional groups in order to maximize the investment and gain “buy-in” from other groups.
• Include knowledge-sharing time into the project scope. This ensures that “Intellectual Property” remains a part of your company after the engagement has ended.
• Consider hiring a consultant on a post-project “retainer” basis. This allows you to maintain a low-cost safety net during transition time.