Quantcast
Channel: The Death of Reason » Consultants
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

How Not to Annoy Your Consultants

0
0

I just finished Scott Berkun’s project management book titled Making Things Happen. The book is highly recommended for PM’s and managers alike. One of the more unusual areas was chapter 10, How not to Annoy People. At the beginning Berkun covers the kinds of things that annoy people and I found that every item on the list applies to consultants.

It is impossible to run a successful Dynamics GP practice of any size without consultants. Good Dynamics GP consultants are always in demand, even more so as the economy starts to improve. They are also expensive. So why do companies still do things to annoy their consultants?  I’m going to assume it’s just ignorance and we’ll see if we can get better together.

  How do partners annoy consultants?

 Assume a consultant is an idiot

Consultants were hired to implement Dynamics GP. When consultants are treated as if they can’t do that, it annoys them. A 20 step procedure, daily evaluation, rulebook or any other process that implies that a consultant is not competent is annoying. Certainly the company needs standards but until the consultant proves their incompetence they should be treated as if they can do what they were hired to do.

 Don’t trust a consultant

When consultants are expected to check in, double check, triple  check and report on decisions that are well within their range of responsibilities, it’s annoying. When consultants have to confirm everything with someone else, they aren’t really consultants, they are robots. If a consultant has demonstrated a reason not to be trusted then management should provide a defined path back to trust or cut them loose.

 Waste a consultant’s time

A consultant’s time is precious, they know exactly what it’s worth. It appears on a bill every week. Most consultants I know only have two types of time, billable and family. Anything that wastes either of those is really annoying. When consultants have to over document because management is over protective, it’s annoying. When there are flip flops on important decisions its annoying. When poor management decisions lead to rework and wasted time, it’s annoying. When consultants have their time wasted in unnecessary meetings, it’s annoying.

 Manage Consultants without respect

When a project is grossly underestimated and the burden put on the consultant to fix it, it’s annoying. When consultants are given assignments that have no basis in reality it’s disrespectful…and annoying.  When a consultant is asked to pick up a book and learn enough Sharepoint to teach an advanced class on it tomorrow, it’s really annoying. A consultant should be supported by management not abandoned by them. Stupid processes fall in here somewhere too but that is a whole other post.

 Make consultants listen to or read stupid things

For Dynamics GP consultants this includes asking them to learn stupid things.  In my career I’ve been to classes for Siebel, Solomon, CRM and Sharepoint. None of them have advanced my career as a GP consultant. Consultants are asked to read, attend webinars, sit in on meetings, listen in on conference calls. Easily half are annoying. Work hard to identify the half and cut them out. Cut out too much. Good consultants will ask to get back in.

 Before anyone tries to read too much into this, I have worked for a number of different partners organizations. I don’t find I.B.I.S. to be very annoying. This not true of some other partners I have worked for. Andy and the folks at I.B.I.S. always  treated me with respect and been willing address annoyances when I bring them up.  Can your firm say the same thing about your consultants?

 <Start shameless plug>I couldn’t figure out how to work it into the body so visit DynamicAccounting.net for more Dynamics GP information and preorder my book, the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Cookbook as a present for your clients. <End shameless plug>


Filed under: Managing Consultants Tagged: Consultants

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images