Successful project management: 7 Tips for working with external consultants
By Christoph Ramme (More) • Last updated on October 17.04.2023, XNUMX • First published on 02.03.2017/XNUMX/XNUMX • So far 4389 readers, 3596 social media shares Likes & Reviews (5 / 5) • Read & write comments
CompaniesThose who want to hire external consultants are often faced with unexpected challenges. What are your requirements for consultants? How are you supposed to Set and define successes? 7 tips that will help.
There are many entrepreneurial challenges for the use of external consultants.
However, a survey by Online-Portal Consulting.de and the market research provider Norstat that only 53 percent of those surveyed Executives see a clear added value in working with the consultants.
However, this value was in the group of executives in whose companies external consultants worked in the past five years, at 67 percent clear higher. Experience in dealing with consultants obviously pays off.
So what are the success factors for projects that are carried out with the help of external consultants? In our experience, entrepreneurs and executives should pay particular attention to the following points:
Formulate clear goals and expectations: The first step on the path to the success of the project has nothing to do with the consultant! Often, I have experienced it in my consultancy role: If a client has clear ideas about what he wants to achieve with his project and what value contribution he expects from the consultants, one can work purposefully and achieve rapid progress. If, on the other hand, ideas are still unclear, internally controversial, or subject to frequent changes, much energy is lost. So: Invest in the beginning time to get clarity about your goals. If desired. an experienced consultant can of course also help.
Make sure the commitment: Be clear in advance of your project: even the best consultant will only be able to offer your company added value if you, as the decision maker, are fully behind the project. In addition to the necessary budget, this also includes the willingness to make relevant information accessible, to release involved internal employees pro rata for the project work - and, of course, to make the necessary decisions even if they are not the most popular. Define in advance of the project what significance it has for you, and act accordingly.
Define the necessary qualifications: It may sound catty, but: Rarely, the cheapest consultant is also the cheapest. This is all the more true the more important the project is for your company. At the beginning of the selection process should therefore be a requirement analysis: What value contribution do I hope from the consultant and what qualifications must he bring with it?
Define your requirements: When we ask our customers in advance of a project, what requirements they have for possible consultants, these are often criteria which can often be estimated from the CVs or project lists of the candidates, for example industry experience, seniority, honorary presentations and sometimes certain language skills. If, on the other hand, we ask the same client for feedback on the performance of the consultant, projects and methodological skills are often more important. Did the consultant really understand my problem? Did he convince me with the right analyzes and a clear logic of his recommendations? Has he managed to take the organization with him and make sustainable changes possible? Therefore, when defining your requirements, make sure you have thought of the less obvious but equally important requirements.
Hire the right advisor: In the selection, it is then about achieving the highest possible degree of agreement between the requirement profile and the preferred candidate. In many cases, decision makers are already well-known consultants or proven consulting firms from their own cooperation, which of course makes the examination easier. In other cases, you should base your recommendations on, for example, your business environment or consultant networks. In any case, it always pays off to always have an impression of your own, to check candidates for their suitability during interviews and to be given references.
How to manage the advice correctly: Once the right consultant or the right team of consultants has been found, the task is to optimally manage, support and lead the project and all those involved. For operational management, it is advisable to appoint an internal project manager who knows the organization well and, for example, helps to identify and involve the right internal stakeholders. In addition, he should be in regular contact with the advisor, find out about progress, coordinate the next steps and help clarify open points.
To support the project team, it can be helpful in many cases to put together an internal project team with the most important experts for the topic, who can be involved with part of their time as required.
How to run the project correctly: In order to manage the project, it is advisable to identify a steering group at an early stage from the most important decision-makers who meet regularly. In the corresponding meetings, the project team has the opportunity to obtain critical directional decisions for the further project progress on the basis of interim results and recommendations. In this way, you can ensure that the consultant always acts in your sense.
Top books on the subject
Read text as PDF
Discounts for your success (advertising)!
Acquire this text as a PDF (only for own use without passing it on according to Terms and conditions): Please send us one after purchase eMail with the desired title supportberufebilder.de, we will then send the PDF to you immediately. You can also purchase text series.
You have Ask round to Career, Recruiting, personal development or increasing reach? Our AI consultant will help you for 5 euros a month – free for book buyers. We offer special ones for other topics IT services
Up to 30 lessons with 4 learning tasks each + final lesson as a PDF download. Please send us one after purchase eMail with the desired title supportberufebilder.de. Alternatively, we would be happy to put your course together for you or offer you a personal, regular one eMail-Course - all further information!
If our store does not offer you your desired topic: We will be happy to put together a book according to your wishes and deliver it in a format of yours Choice. Please sign us after purchase supportberufebilder.de
Christoph Rammé is the founder and managing director of the consultancy network Consocium. Consocium is a network of freelance top management consultants that provides consulting experts to SMEs, corporations and consulting firms. Before founding Consocium, Christoph Rammé worked for seven years as a strategy consultant and senior project manager at Booz and Company (now Strategyund). There he mainly advised clients from the transport and logistics sector as well as from the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. Before that, he studied business administration with a focus on finance and operations at the Leipzig Graduate School of Management (HHL) and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). and the University of Hamburg. Privately, he loves to travel and discover foreign countries and has been playing chess with a passion since he was four, and to this day he proudly looks back on a victory against former world champion Viswanathan Anand. More information at www.consocium.com All texts by Christoph Rammé.
XWe use cookies to give you the best possible experience by remembering your preferences. By clicking on "Accept" you agree to the use of ALL cookies. You can adjust your consent in the detailed settings. PrivacyDeclineCookie DetailsAccept
Cookies
Privacy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. You also have the option to decline some cookies. However, this can affect your surfing behavior. You can find detailed information on our Privacy page.
Cookie
Type
Duration
Description
__stripe_mid
1 year
This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any pattern information on a server.
__stripe_sid
30 minutes
This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any pattern information on a server.
_ga
2 years
The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat
1 minutes
This cookie is installed by Google Universal Analytics to restrain the request rate and thus limit the collection of data on high traffic sites.
_gid
1 day
Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
_sl_session
10 years
No description available.
CONSENT
2 years
YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
cookielawinfo checkbox analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo checkbox functional
1 year
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-Necessary
1 year
Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-fastrs
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo checkbox performance
1 year
Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to store the user consent for cookies in the category "Performance".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertising
1 year
No description available.
language
Session
This cookie is used to store the language preference of the user.
m
2 years
No description available.
NID
6 months
NID cookie, set by Google, is used for advertising purposes; to limit the number of times the user sees an ad, to mute unwanted ads, and to measure the effectiveness of ads.
resolution
Session
This is a functionality cookie used to collect the horizontal value of the visitor screen resolution. It helps in optimizing the website view to the user.
sickle
Session
No description available.
VG word cookie
Session
Meeting
The VG-Worth counts user numbers for payment to the authors.
viewed_cookie_policy
1 year
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin to store whether or not the user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
5 months 27 days
A Cookie Set by YouTube to Measure Bandwidth That Determine Whether The User Gets The New Or Old Player Interface.
wccpprocookie
perfectly
No description
wordpress_test_cookie
Session
This cookie is used to check if the cookies are enabled on the users' browser.
Necessary cookies are essential for the proper functioning of the website. This category only includes cookies that guarantee the basic functionality and security features of the website. These cookies do not save any personal data.
WordPress itself sets cookies. These are session cookies, which are only temporary and expire when you leave the blog, but also cookies when you comment. Such cookies are necessary for the functioning of the site, but also uncritical in terms of data protection law, as this data is not passed on to third parties.
Our business model is based on range measurement and display. It is therefore essential to use Google Analytics to collect basic user data. We use Google Analytics anonymously and without collecting IP addresses.
The VG Wort cookie also helps determine the likelihood of our texts being copied and ensures the remuneration of legal claims by authors and publishers. IP addresses are only processed in anonymous form.
Functional cookies are those that specifically track the behavior of users on the website. Before using these cookies, it is imperative to obtain the user's consent.
Functional cookies thus help improve your user experience by collecting anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the website and the most popular pages. If you keep this cookie activated, we can improve our website!
Advertising cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant advertising and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to deliver tailored advertising.
Cookie
Duration
Description
NID
6 months
NID cookie, set by Google, is used for advertising purposes; to limit the number of times the user sees an ad, to mute unwanted ads, and to measure the effectiveness of ads.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
5 months 27 days
A Cookie Set by YouTube to Measure Bandwidth That Determine Whether The User Gets The New Or Old Player Interface.
YSC
Session
YSC Cookie is set by youtube and is used to track the views of embedded Videos on YouTube Pages.
yt remote connected devices
never
YouTube Sets This Cookie To Store The Video Preferences of The User Using Embedded YouTube Video.
yt remote device id
never
YouTube Sets This Cookie To Store The Video Preferences of The User Using Embedded YouTube Video.
yt.innertube :: nextId
never
This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has watched.
yt.innertube :: requests
never
This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has watched.
Analysis cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information about the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_ga
2 years
The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gid
1 day
Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT
2 years
YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Post a Comment