Ways of Working: Five Ways Consultants Can Make More Impact

Consulting is a very intense, fast-paced profession. This blog discusses Loughridge Transformations‘ thinking and philosophy regarding consulting Ways of Working. 

Our consultants have previously worked in a top-five FTSE100 multi-national environment. They were regular employees in various senior roles, including leading an internal consultancy. In addition, they have many years of experience working side-by-side with external consultants on multiple projects. So, we have seen both the upsides and downsides!

If your organisation has previously engaged consultants, you might be able to recognise some learnings we are trying to share here. For example, you may have used external consultants to lead or participate in large-scale Finance Transformation programmes. You may have worked together on implementing a new ERP system, migrating activity to Shared Services or assessing the existing control framework with remediation actions – to name just a few.

Leveraging the Expertise

Before we discuss what makes successful and truly value-adding consulting, let us firmly state our beliefs based on experience. Generally speaking, people working in the consulting industry are incredibly bright people who have graduated from world-class universities with the best grades. So, why does it sometimes go wrong and, equally importantly, where does it go wrong? We are not questioning general consultant expertise within their respective subjects. Instead, this is about leveraging and tailoring that expertise to the organisational needs. 

The sad truth is that many large and small organisations have mixed feelings after working with consultants. Furthermore, from our experience and speaking with CEOs or CFOs in various industries, such mixed feelings often boil down to the consultants’ working methods and rarely their Subject Matter Expertise.

So, Which Ways of Working Work Well?

Ways of Working 1: Understanding the Business Case

There is often more to a business case than you might think. We like to understand the drivers for change and how this will affect the organisation, employees, customers, and other stakeholders impacted by the change. A change in one part of the organisation might have far-reaching consequences in another part that the project team still needs to appreciate or understand fully. Especially in larger organisations, there are often multiple, simultaneously ongoing projects.

Ways of Working 2: Taking a Holistic View

You will likely face competing priorities and resources. We recommend that you take a holistic view of the project to understand its scale and nature. It is also wise to consider the touchpoints with other projects or parts of the organisation. You may not be able to take such a holistic view on day one. It will evolve, and one of the critical attributes you need is the right mindset.

When you, as a consultant, take on a specific client engagement, your focus will usually be on your Subject Matter Expertise. However, we suggest adding additional strategic oversight by displaying a broad mindset. There is value in continually seeking and looking for touchpoints and unintended consequences.

Ways of Working 3: Assessing Preparedness for Change

In addition, it adds immeasurable value if you can assess the organisation’s preparedness for the impending change and whether end-users are ready to “receive” the change.

Ways of Working 4: Adapting your Style

Now, to one of our key messages. One proven and effective way to utilise your broad mindset is by connecting with and speaking to the client. We caution against making hasty assumptions based on a few things you have observed or heard in the corridors. Staying connected and talking with the organisation is an ongoing exercise. Your holistic view will evolve and mature over time.

Communication and presentation are among the most important aspects of consulting. You will be judged—rightly or wrongly—by how you communicate. Often, before your first week at the client site is over, many will have made up their minds about you. Your people skills are crucial for a successful outcome. We find that humility and respect for people go with the client a long way. Remember to tread carefully and adapt your style.

Many of us have encountered consultants sitting in the corner working sixteen-hour days writing PowerPoint slides to e-mail the client. Despite their efforts, this approach is probably not too impactful. It is unlikely to achieve the desired change. We find it works better when discussing any change you propose with the client. For example, it could be a new process design or financial control. If it is not fit-for-purpose and understood by the organisation, it will be dead in the water from day one.

Ways of Working 5: Communicating with your Client

Consider your audience and tailor your message. Remember that you are there to get things done, but be aware of a potential minefield of organisational politics, culture, and team dynamics. The last thing you want to do is offend people. A change in a process, for example, does not necessarily mean that the way things are currently done is useless, even if you think that, on occasion, you must keep your thoughts to yourself!

On a serious note, however, your message on adopting a new process should be about its benefits. So, for instance, the benefits could be in adopting the latest technology, increasing the time spent on value-adding work or reducing the frequency of late nights and weekend work. So whatever you choose as your persuading argument must have a positive appeal – otherwise, why should people listen to you?

E-mail is OK, Right?

One last thing on communication: in recent years, many surveys have shown that e-mail communication is one of the poorest ways of communication. People experience in-box overload. Busy people do not have the luxury of reviewing and understanding every e-mail that comes their way. It is especially true of an e-mail from someone they don’t know in the organisation, such as an external consultant.

So, what do you think you could do? Imagine you have designed a draft of a new process and want feedback. Your draft will likely be on paper, whether in PowerPoint, Word, or Excel. How do we get this out to the right audience?

We recommend meeting with your target audience and talking them through your proposal. Of course, taking the meeting face-to-face is preferable. However, using video calls as a medium is more than acceptable. First, ask for their feedback during your process “walkthrough” and note down their feedback, issues and concerns. Then, verbally agree that you will investigate and address their concerns and feedback. It is, however, acceptable to follow up on the meeting outcomes in writing by e-mailing the participants. You can then go ahead and arrange a new meeting after addressing the actions from the first meeting. The same loop then starts again.

It boils down to that in the world of communication. Nothing is more powerful than verbal, face-to-face communication or video calls if face-to-face communication is not practical.

Therefore, we recommend e-mail communication only to confirm something verbally agreed upon in a meeting. Your audience expects an e-mail from you and is interested in reading and understanding it.

Ways of Working: Interested in More?

If you have been following Loughridge Transformations‘ blog, you may already have seen our “Nine Steps to Finance Transformation“. These steps describe a sequential set of activities you should do to get a successful outcome of your Finance Transformation journey. We explain the “technical” aspects of the activities. However, it is also invaluable reading about “Ways of Working”. Within each activity of the “Nine Steps“, there is a strong emphasis on our Ways of Working, and you may find it helpful to revisit those blogs.

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