We have perhaps all seen items thrown, in jest, at the consulting community where a consulting service or engagement provides some level of assistance – or at least initially perceived assistance only to leave a client trapped in a situation they don’t want to be in or had not anticipated they would be in.

Worse still, to not deliver any true value to the client by simply providing them with a report that tells them nothing they didn’t already know and no concept of delivery or execution – all simply provided through sapping knowledge from the client themselves.

The key here is recognition. We must recognise exactly where the value points are for our clients which can certainly mean helping them identify those.  Consulting Services are developed and refined through effective Relationship Management.  We shouldn’t be viewing consultancy as a ‘product’ to be sold as a ‘one size fits all’, value to the client needs to be understood which can only truly be effective through establishment of a strong relationship.

From an Integrity standpoint, we should be ensuring that the requirements of our prospective clients are truly understood, including asking the question as to whether Consulting is actually the correct route for the client.  So how do we overcome all of this?

We shouldn’t be afraid to challenge.    Often, what we may think we want is significantly different from what we actually need – there could even be disconnect of understanding within the client’s own walls – value is generated by effectively challenging clients’ thoughts and assumptions, ensuring that all planned action has robust rationale supporting it and that an effective outcome can be expected rather than ‘hoped for’.

Are we focused on delivery? – If not, we should be.  At the end of the day, value is difficult to demonstrate without a tangible outcome for a client – is the client able to justify cost vs benefit from the engagement? – how can they do that without timeliness and excellence of delivery?  We should be able to be adaptable – it is entirely possible that understanding of client needs can change within the lifetime of an engagement, requiring a consulting change in approach.

Timeframes – Often, timeframe is driven by budget, but that shouldn’t prevent use of imagination and thoughts associated with maximising use of available resources within the timeframe available.

Expertise – Bringing knowledge to the table that the client may not necessarily have or have easy access to, can represent tremendous value to a client both in terms of efficiency of engagement as well as ensuring the scope of engagement is targeted and truly effective.

At Quorsus, partnership with our clients is designed to ensure that we are not simply seen as ‘another consultant’, our core values incorporate Integrity – simply doing the right thing for our clients, Accountability – owning the deliverable and having the drive and tenacity to ensure the right result is delivered to the client,   Quality – doing that right thing to an exceptional standard and then taking the partnership with the client to a place of trust in mutual benefit and  Outcomes focused –  understanding how the client will utilise the outcome of the consulting service that has been provided, ensuring opportunities for further benefit are not missed – ALL of this allows us to bring a business outcome that is beyond consulting.