The traditional consulting business model is based on two principle ideas: (1) hiring people (top talent if possible) and (2) charging clients a fee per hour or day for gaining access to this talent, its expertise and/or manpower. Edgar Shein’s (1987) model of process consultation focuses on the basic assumption that problems will be solved more effectively and stay solved longer if the organization learns to solve the problems itself. Process consultation (PC) is based on the foundation that consultation focuses on a helping relationship.
There are many different models and methods you can use to help your Consultancy assignment. Sometimes your approach will be influenced by current “best practices”. For example if you are involved in a:
- Procurement advisory assignment then we suggest you become familiar with approaches
- Six sigma or Lean delivery framework
- Microsoft Solutions Framework, DSDM or other approaches
- Delivery and support Assignment then learn ITIL and TOGAF
- Project Management then get accredited as a Programme and Prince2 Practitioner
In this section, we assume you have a suitable “best practice” all you need to do is choose the “consulting model”.
Purchase of Information or Expertise
In this model we assume that the client has made up his mind on what the problem is, what kind of help is needed, and to whom to go for this help. The client does not have the capability to carry out the work with internal resources or has decided that it is economically or politically more expedient to have it done by outsiders.
Examples are the:
- hiring of systems analysts to design computer systems;
- use of market analysts to report on the competition:
- use of external agencies to conduct staff opinion questionnaires.
The essence of this model is that the client is handing over the problem to the consultant. The client may relax and concentrate on other matters because the
consultant “owns” the problem and is the expert.
If the solution is ineffective, the consultant can be easily blamed. For this model to work effectively, the following conditions must be met:
- The client has correctly diagnosed the problem – the consultant may be instructed to introduce a team briefing system to improve communication. The real problem may be that the poor communication is the result of poor management attitudes to staff.
- The client has correctly identified the consultant’s capabilities. Apart from a professional code of ethics, there is nothing in this model which says you must do anything other than your best services.
- The problem and desired solution have been effectively communicated. The client-consultant interaction is often faulty in this area because the client and consultant do not check whether what the consultant “heard” accurately mirrors what the client was trying to tell them.
- The client has identified and accepted the potential consequences of carrying out the work.
Consultants who operate primarily with this model may find that clients become angry and disillusioned if the information or service they are given does not fit their prior expectations. Yet clients may rarely acknowledge responsibility for ensuring any of these assumptions are met.
This model is appropriate only when clients:
- have diagnosed their needs correctly.
- have correctly identified consultant capabilities,
- have done a good job of communicating their needs to the consultant, have thought through the consequences of the help they have sought.
The Doctor – Patient Model
This model gives you additional power to make a diagnosis and recommend what kind of information and expertise will solve the problem.
It is your choice as the consultant whether to accept the mandate to be the “doctor”. You must make sure that you understand clearly the consequences of choosing this model. You are supposed to find out what is wrong with any part of the organisation and prescribe a therapeutic program, this may involve changing key people. Often the manager who hires the consultant is not the one who is directly experiencing the problems. A department may be perceived to be in trouble, and the division or corporate level manager may “order” a consultant to investigate that department to find out what is wrong.
The client delegates to the consultant responsibility for locating a remedy and diagnosing the disease. The client becomes very dependent on the consultant until the consultant is ready to offer a prescription. As in the previous model, you take the problem onto your own shoulders and let the client relax, secure in the knowledge that your are looking after everything!
For the diagnostic process to be seen as helpful and for this model to work, requires the following:
- Diagnosis and intervention are both in place. The process of calling in a quack to diagnosis is already an intervention with unknown consequences.
- You are able to encourage and answer questions. You avoid them.
- The client has correctly interpreted the organisation’s symptoms and located in the sick area. The client may define certain financial indicators, productivity levels or staff turnover as symptoms, whereas, in reality, such symptoms may reflect only temporary conditions.
It is easy to get caught up in a vicious circle of incorrect diagnosis because the client is anxious to get help and the consultant is anxious to sell the services. You need to make sure that:
- The person or group defined as “sick” will reveal the pertinent information necessary to make a valid diagnosis.
- The client will understand the diagnosis provided by you as the consultant and will implement whatever prescription is offered. This also demands that there are no hidden aspects, such as the organisation culture, which will make the implementation of the solution impossible.
- The client can manage after the consultant leaves. This model does not encourage the client to learn problem-solving skills. The problem may recur because of this.
The Doctor Patient model is appropriate only when the client:
- is experiencing clear symptoms,
- knows where the sick area is,
- is willing to intervene in the organisation’s systems by bringing in a consultant,
- is willing to become dependent on the consultant for both diagnosis and implementation.
The Trusted Advisor
In the two previous models, the client is able to take a passive role and will be no further forward in solving his own problems in the future. In process consultation, you work with the relationship and help the client solve his own problems. You become a facilitator.
You, as the consultant may, or may not be an expert in solving the client’s problems. This expertise is less relevant than the skills of facilitating the client to resolve his problems.
To make this model effective, you must ensure that:
- The client owns the problem and continues to own it throughout the consultation process. You help the client to deal with the problem, but you never takes the problem onto your own shoulders.
- The client shares in the process of diagnosing the problem and is actively involved in generating a remedy.
- Even if you feel you know exactly what is wrong and what to do about it, keep your ideas to yourself until they are needed. This is because there may be hidden cultural, political or personal factors to consider;
the client may not be ready to listen to “instant” solutions; the client will have missed a learning opportunity. - The client is willing and capable of learning how to diagnose and solve his own organisation problems.
This process consultation model is appropriate where:
- The client is aware of a problem but needs help in identifying that problem and how to resolve it.
- The client must be willing to be involved in this process,
- The client wants to share information and expertise that will lead to an effective solution
- The client wishes to maintain responsibility throughout the whole process.
The implications for consultants is that, while they will be expected to have specialist expertise, they must also be able to build effective working relationships with their clients.
Based on the work of Edgar H. Schein in “Process Consultation Volll”
Focus
Within these three roles the consultant may focus on:
- The Entrepreneurial Role: in which you manage the assignment strategy. resources and risks
- The Consulting Role: in which you are focusing on understanding and advising on the customer’s business
- The Selling Role: in which you seek to develop, progress and close.
These focus roles are especially important when working in a team, as you may need to switch roles or “hats”. Equally, a Consultant sent out to conduct a survey meeting for a major Systems Development Project (without the salesman present) will also wear different ‘hats’.
Therefore all a consultant needs to do is to develop skills in these areas. Where two or more people visit a client together then each can agree to wear the ‘hat they are best suited to. This will help in establishing clear roles for each person prior to the call.