Sunday 6th Jun, 2010
Increasingly high-profile concerns over the difficulty of valuing the benefits of consulting services is putting pressure on the industry to provide tangible proof of its impact. At the same time, procurement people, whose focus on daily rates has blurred the distinction between consultants and contractors, are waking up to the need to build consulting projects around outcomes, not inputs.
Tuesday 5th Jan, 2010
Like me, you’re no doubt reeling from the revelation that Beatrix Potter’s “The Tale of Mrs Tittlemouse” is actually a diatribe against consultants. According to the FT, she eventually narrows the door so that Mr Jackson, a toad, cannot get in, a strategy Greg Dyke, former Director General of the BBC, says is the ideal way to deal with consultants.
Friday 31st Jul, 2009
During my corporate career I have had the relatively unique experience of operating as a Buyer, User, Approver and Supplier of consultancy services – so I have acquired quite a good insight into the buying decision process. Over the years I have seen many different scenarios play out and there are a number of factors which impact the decision to award or not award business to a particular firm. Here are 10 of the more common ways a consultancy firm can come unstuck when bidding into a large organisation;
Friday 24th Jul, 2009
I often hear my procurement friends and colleagues bemoan the fact that ‘consultancy projects suddenly appear out of nowhere and require them to perform superhuman acts to finalise/formalise the associated contract before the work begins the next morning’. Whilst I appreciate that many organisations have a tendency to engage their procurement function late in the day, this does not mean that the ‘need’ to engage a consultant has been made on the spur of the moment.
Friday 5th Jun, 2009
Paul Vincent lead the transformation of BT's consultancy procurement and has since left to start his own venture, Insight Sourcing Solutions. In this blog he looks back on his experiences at BT. During my career I have had the relatively unique experience of operating as a Buyer, User and Approver of professional business services, and this was invaluable to me when I was asked to lead the transformation of BT’s approach to managing and engaging consultants.
Thursday 21st May, 2009
Dear Peter
A consulting firm has been helping us design our new organisation structure. I now find that one of their consultants is positioning herself for the job in the new structure that I thought was earmarked for me! She doesn’t know that I know what she is doing; I feel like I’m being cheated on. But I don’t know whether to start a scene with her or play it cool.
Peter says:
Friday 8th May, 2009
Continuing his look at what goes wrong with professional services assignments, Peter Smith answers another common problem:
Dear Peter
I am a middle level manager, and whenever I engage a professional services adviser, I quickly get the feeling they're not really interested in me. All they want to do is talk to my boss - or even her boss - and try to sell more work to my company. It is really frustrating!
Peter says:
Friday 24th Apr, 2009
Continuing his look at what goes wrong with professional services assignments, Peter Smith answers another common problem:
Dear Peter
We thought the consultants would be in for a few weeks but it is now almost 9 months. This assignment seems to never end! It's the same with lawyers; we have what we think is a minor issue, but it always seems to go on for months. I just don't seem to be able to end these relationships!
Peter says
Wednesday 15th Apr, 2009
A recent report by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) into effective procurement for major projects had at its heart a ‘talk first, act later’ proposition. In short it encouraged procurement to engage with suppliers early on in the life of a project for the purposes of ‘developing a stronger understanding of the art of the possible and preparing better to manage uncertainty’. Sound advice, no doubt, but just how early is early?
Tuesday 31st Mar, 2009
Despite the best intentions of highly skilled and paid consultants, purchasing staff, budget holders and users, the number of professional services assignments that end up with unsatisfactory outcomes or dissatisfied participants, is too high.
It is hard to establish the true level of satisfaction; clients are cautious about admitting to problems for reasons of credibility or confidentiality, and providers and unlikely to volunteer the information.
Pages |