Consulting efforts and their outcomes are seldom evaluated with evidence-based evaluation meetings and processes. Instead, those engaged in consulting processes often subjectively assess outcomes without utilising a systematic, measured process before, during, and after the consulting engagement. This section shows key elemenets to review and evaluate the assignment, with the best outcome for the client being integral to the process.
Evaluation Review
In Phase 8 you are ready to review the assignment, develop further business, keep yourself in employment and ensure that you can:
- Measure and improve customer perception and satisfaction levels
- Manage the benefits harvest process
- Audit the Consultancy function:
- Implement, Consolidate, Expand, Communicate, Administer and Plan
In other sections we discussed ICECAP (see your notes as well) now we will concentrate on the first two points only.
The Procedures
The evaluation review represents the final phase of the formal assignment, and is examined objectively for example:
- Reconcile Requirements with Reality: How well has the solution met the specified requirements?
- Compare Activity Levels with Forecasts: Are volumes and staffing levels comparable with forecasts? Assess the
consequences of any variances? - Assess the Human Elements: How do the staff perform and how do they feel about the solution implemented?
- Effectiveness and Efficiency: Have the plans been carried out? Identify reasons for major discrepancies and take appropriate action.
- Actual and Planned Role: Compare and contrast with the Assignment Requirement, Teems of Reference and Mission Statement.
- Overall Project: Review progress of the assignment project against the applicable plan.
- Review Report: Prepare a review report that you, your client and other key stakeholders should approve and use as a basis for corrective or improvement action.
Benefits Management
Benefits Management is a key activity in Assignment and Service Management. It is a structured approach to the identification and realisation of programme benefits that will help you to:
- Identify the expected business benefits and ensure that they are understood and accepted by all concerned.
- Plan how the benefits will be achieved and measured.
- Allocate accountability for their successful realisation,
- Monitor progress towards their delivery.
- Transform the existing services
You will have identified the expected benefits via your Critical Success Factors Analysis, SWOT and other techniques.
The benefits expected are refined and agreed all the way through the assignment. They are reflected in the PID, business Cases, Benefits profiles, SLA, Invitation to Tender and Contract and other documents. The benefits profiles will tell you how and when benefits are to be planned and realised.
The profile plan must be linked into your Support and Delivery strategy. This will help you to generate the business improvements identified:
- Higher quality. Faster delivery. Lower costs
- Increased revenue and profits
- Improved productivity
- Transformed customer service
- image enhancements,
- Marketing advantages
- Reduced stockholdings,
- e-business to e-business
Benefits Management should also help you to:
- Control service,
- Provide improved management information,
- Transform the Business Operations Support,
- Identify beneficial system enhancements and amendments.
- Make it easier to absorb, adapt and respond to change with less difficulty.
- Control assets.
- Recover faster from failure conditions as skilled support is available to resolve incidents in the shortest possible time-scale.
- Make more effective use of skilled staff to handle many conditions. Thereby obtaining resolution or circumvention details.
Assignment Review Meetings
An Assignment Review meeting has three key components:
Firstly to look backwards to review the deliverables the client has received from your organisation. In this session, you must gain their acceptance of the benefits you have enabled their business to achieve through your expertise.
Secondly to look forwards to review their business strategy and to identify the potential areas where your organisation
a) can play a greater part in enabling the benefits from this business strategy to be realised
b) may play a diminished role in the future
Finally, once identified, to agree the actions, timing and responsibilities of each party progress these areas of ppportunity eliminate areas of risk.
Review meetings should take place at least annually.
Prior to a Review meeting, an internal meeting must take place to ensure all of the staff involved in understanding the issues and can play their full part.
Furthermore, this is an ideal opportunity to review the Assignment plan with other relevant managers. This internal meeting is as important as the Meeting Assignment Review Meeting (ARM) itself. If your team are not prepared for the
meeting this may upset all of the hard work of the previous year.
After the ARM you should revisit your plan and make sure that all of the agreed actions are documented. You then identify potential new business areas This requires an understanding of the Reason or Business Driver’ so that you can evaluate whether there are potentially other solutions you can offer.
An appreciation of MANDACT in looking at suitable next actions and your chance of the opportunity leading to further business opportunities and actions.
Assignment Review Meetings Agenda (sample)
You could use an agenda similar to the one below:
- Introductions: make sure everyone knows each other’s position in client and supplier organisation.
- Review of Last Year: detail the major deliverables and the benefits the client enjoyed as a result.
- Your business goals: detail your understanding of the client’s business goals get your client to amplify these (ideally get them to present to you!)
- How we can help: identify areas where we can assist in the achievement of these goals. Use case studies from other organisations to show your expertise. Confirm your on-going involvement in existing deliverables.
- Agreed actions: confirm how to progress all of the above items.