Northwest ASSIST

How to obtain maximum value from consultants

Northwest ASSIST

How to obtain maximum value from consultants

3rd April 2008

Nadine Fry

Julian Todd

Agenda

Introductions All

Aims Nadine Fry

ASSIST/Tribal Relationship Nadine Fry

Consultant or Contractor Nadine Fry

Exercise All

COFFEE

The Consultancy Assignment Pathway

Julian Todd

A Quick re-cap All

Commission Deliver Consolidate

Introductions

A show of hands from:

Informatics Staff

Others ?

Who has recruited and managed consultants before?

How many have worked directly with consultants?

Who may employ and work with consultants in the future?

Tribal and ASSIST

Relationship from the outset between Secta (now Tribal) and ASSIST

ASSIST agreed to our formal partnership last year

Shared objectives e.g. brand recognition, sharing information and supporting regional workshops

Potential events: Developing the intelligent customer/informed client Consultation on new national NHS policies HIS Benchmarking club “Catalogue" of lessons learned Building blocks for a new information strategy

Aims

To demonstrate through example and exercises:

How to get the best fit consultancy to support you in your business – The Commission Stage

How to get the best out of the consultants during the consultancy assignment – The Deliver Stage

How to manage the handover process to achieve the most benefits – The Consolidate Stage

Consultancy Assignments – Main Stages

Commission Deliver Consolidate

Consultant or Contractor?

Consultant Project resource Not managed by the client In depth knowledge of the

project Independent in terms of

supervision, timekeeping and place of work

Creates value for an organisation

Contractor Operational resources Fills a permanent vacancy or

meets a temporary increase in workload

Managed directly by client staff

Exercise

What makes a good consultancy assignment ? i.e. what has worked well and why

What makes a poor consultancy assignment ? i.e. what causes poor results and why

Let’s compare our findings…

What works well?

Clear, open communications Open to new ideas Participating and supporting Mutual respect for skills and experience Strong sponsorship Working in partnership Commitment to get a good result

What causes poor results?

Poor definition of requirements Changing requirements Lack of ownership/leadership/ responsibility Lack of trust and respect Expected to do ‘sensitive’ work without full briefing Financial difficulties A lack of energy A lack of understanding

Consultancy Assignments – Main Stages

Commission Deliver Consolidate

Stage 1: Commissioning Consultancy (1/3)

What sort of relationship do you want and expect? What type of support do you need?

Specialist expertise New thinking Filling a resource gap Independent view A facilitator A challenge to the status quo

Have you clearly defined the requirement? Do you want and expect knowledge transfer? Are the objectives clear?

Commission

Stage 1: Commissioning Consultancy (2/3)

How will you pick a winner? Experience Reputation Price Value for money

Are you ready to support the assignment? Governance Sponsorship Support resources Stakeholder engagement

Commission

Stage 1: Commissioning Consultancy (3/3)

Are you “really” open to new ideas? What are you prepared to reveal before and after the

contract award? History Context Constraints Culture

Are you clear on the procurement process and is it fast enough and flexible enough? Catalist Competitive tender

Commission

Stage 2: Delivering the assignment (1/2)

Discovering the real scope of the requirement

Clear roles and responsibilities

Admin and project support, working arrangements and access to information

Acceptance and quality control of outputs

Deliver

Stage 2: Delivering the assignment (2/2)

Stakeholder engagement and communications

Dealing with senior stakeholder ‘power struggles’

Making decisions in a timely way How to deal with dissent How to balance competing views

Keeping a focus on the ‘success’ of the

assignment Deliver

Stage 3: Consolidating the assignment

Hand over to ensure ownership Who What How

So what has changed? Is it accepted? Is it sustainable?

Is there a bigger plan? Learning from the experience – both parties

Consolidate

A Quick Re-Cap - Our Aims for the Day

Commission How to get the best fit

consultancy to support you in your business

Deliver How to get the best out

of the consultants during the consultancy assignment

Consolidate How to manage the

handover process to achieve the most benefits

Clear definition of what needs to be done and by when

Clarity over the type of support required

Clear roles and responsibilities

Staying focused on the ‘success’ criteria

Clear definition of what is to be handed over to who and how

Commission Deliver Consolidate

Your feedback would be appreciated…

Contact Details

Nadine.fry@tribalgroup.co.uk

Julian.todd@tribalgroup.co.uk

CHECKLISTDefining your requirements for a Consultancy Assignment

What do you want to be delivered (hard/soft outputs and outcomes)

What are your timescales What are the constraints Who will deliver what and who

will be involved and for what amount of time

What is in scope and out of scope

What reporting mechanisms need to be met

Who are the ‘customers’

What known risks and issues exist

How is ‘success’ defined How do you and the

consultancy benefit from success

Do you want and expect knowledge transfer

Are your objectives absolutely clear