What Should You Expect from an IT Consultant?

At some point your organisation may decide to use external consultants to help you deliver.  The critical factor in any engagement is to ensure it is delivering measurable value. 

In this second blog of four, I talk about what I think you should be getting from a “good” consultant. 

Here’s what I think a good consultant should do:  

• Outcomes. Start with business outcomes or goals, not tools and methods. I’ve made this mistake and I’ve learnt it’s important to focus on what the real organisational value is (it is unlikely to ever be simply installing software). Focusing on the real problem stops minimum viable products from being the end goal  

• Independence. Be independent, with no product selling agenda. You’re after independent advice. Be careful when employing consultants who offer advice on only one or two platforms, or that sell any platform at all. 

• Add to your team. They should bring in specialised expertise you don’t need full-time. If you need it full time, hire – unless there is a compelling reason not to. 

• Clarity. They should translate complex technology into clear business language for decision making. This represents the ‘curse of knowledge’ problem where specialists don’t always understand the gap between what they know and what their audience understands. It helps, a lot, if they are focused on the right goal.  

• Achievability. Provide a clear timeline with achievable, understandable steps that lead to the business goal. My preference is for a visual guide that shows short, medium and longer-term steps to reach the goal. These may change (and often do) but clarity is king. 

• Honesty. They should work well with your team but not be afraid to call out problems. 

A consultant should help you make better decisions, reduce risk, speed up, improve performance and pass on skills to your team. All of this without overly taxing you or your team.