The services of a consulting company are important even for a small company (for example, you are interested in consulting in China). That is why, when searching for the necessary consultant, you need to be serious and responsible. The quality of the services offered is of great importance, since errors can lead to negative consequences. One of these may even be bankruptcy. It becomes a consequence of improperly structured management and making mistakes in such activities:

• accounting;
• financial;
• legal;
• tax;
• managerial.

The art of choosing a consulting company lies in following certain criteria when searching for an organization that provides the required services. Entrepreneurs who do not have much experience rely on the organization that provides the most affordable services. And only lastly do they look at the remaining parameters. However, other criteria are of great importance for the successful resolution of business issues.

Choosing a consulting company: global experience

Developed countries have developed special procedures aimed at selecting consultants. Their development was carried out in more detail in large-scale organizations:

• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development;
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, etc.

Managers around the world are using existing consultant selection techniques. The search procedure has 3 key stages:

1. Long listing stage. A list of consulting companies of the required profile is compiled: on the basis of directories, information from Associations, publications in publications, advertisements, etc.
2. Short listing stage. A list of final candidates is compiled: 10-12 organizations for global problems, 5-6 for medium-scale problems, 2-3 for small ones. The selection is made based on the qualifications of employees, the list of ongoing projects, the availability of recommendations, and location.
3. The final selection is carried out according to two parameters: specific offers of the company and price. The main rule is that cost is not the determining factor. This is because the cost savings may be less than the difference in service quality.

Let's take a closer look at the selection options.

Criteria for selecting a consulting company:

• Experience. It is necessary to inquire about the general experience of the organization, the experience of conducting consultations on the standard and the experience of working with companies of the same direction or specificity as yours.
• Staff of consultants. You should find out the number of full-time and freelance workers. It is preferable to choose a company that has a large staff of internal employees.
• Current projects. Consider the company's current projects. It is advantageous if it is indicated at what stage each of them is. In addition, an open reference list, which is published online or in publications, is a plus.
• Closed projects. The analysis will require information about how many clients continue to contact the presented company.
• Services provided. A large list of services indicates constant work to improve the skills of employees, as well as a responsible approach to methodological work in the company.
• Publications. Evaluate how often company employees publish in relevant publications. As a rule, 2-3 companies are selected and asked for consultants. The following parameters will help you decide on the company’s employees: personal qualities, experience in this field, education, practical skills, development.

The above criteria will help you find a truly professional consulting company that can solve any problem.

If it is decided that it is necessary to invite an external consultant, they begin to collect information about consulting organizations and consultants. Sources of information can be: associations, unions, unions, guilds of consultants, auditors, recruiting firms, etc.; data banks of the public state fund "Russian Privatization Center" (RCP), Moscow Government; recommendations from partners, colleagues, acquaintances; reference books (“Golden Pages”, RAUpress, “Auditors”, etc.); conferences, seminars, exhibitions; advertisements; books, articles written by consultants and interviews with them.

As practice shows, recommendations from colleagues greatly influence the choice decision. At the same time, this is the most subjective source. For example, when recommending a company, they confirm the experience of the company, but not the consultants, whose composition may vary from project to project. Accordingly, the conditions of their work become different, and therefore the results will be different. Information sources are generated and distributed directly by consultants. Thus, to create and maintain their image and business reputation, consulting firms (consultants) participate in conferences, seminars, round tables, exhibitions, and conduct charity events.

Almost all publications devoted to consulting and organizing client-consultant relationships are written by consultants.

One of the first magazines that, in the late 70s, began to introduce readers to the work of Soviet and foreign consultants was “ECO”.

Now such information is published by “Director’s Consultant”, “Business People”, “Expert”, “Auditor”, “Magazine for Shareholders”, etc. This source, despite its high reliability and objectivity, has one significant limitation - the possible lack of materials on the topic of interest direction.

Thus, when choosing a consultant (firm), if possible, you should use all sources of information simultaneously in order to have a complete picture and compile a list of candidates.

As practice shows, it is very difficult for a manager to select a consulting firm (consultant) that satisfies him. And it’s especially difficult to do this for the first time.

Search and selection process consulting firm(consultant) consists of the following stages: development of technical specifications for consulting firms (consultants); compiling a preliminary list of consulting firms (consultants) (long list); compilation of the final list of candidates; selection of a consulting firm (consultant): invitation to participate in the competition; analysis and evaluation of technical and financial proposals of consulting firms (consultants); assessment of personal and professional qualities of consultants; announcement of the results of the competition; development of a draft contract.

Criteria for selecting a consulting firm (consultant)

Table 1. Criteria Evaluation indicators

2.3 Search for a consulting firm (consultant)

If it is decided that it is necessary to invite an external consultant, they begin to collect information about consulting organizations and consultants. Sources of information can be: associations, unions, associations, guilds of consultants, auditors, recruiting firms, etc.; data banks of the public state fund "Russian Privatization Center" (RCP) of the Moscow Government; recommendations from partners, colleagues, acquaintances; directories (“Golden Pages”, “Auditors”, etc.); conferences, seminars, exhibitions; advertisements; books, articles written by consultants and interviews with them.

It is very likely that someone you know has already turned to consultants for help. You can learn a lot from them: the advantages and disadvantages of specific consultants (firms), conditions for cooperation with them, possible problems, etc. As practice shows, recommendations from colleagues greatly influence the choice decision.

Almost all publications devoted to consulting and organizing client-consultant relationships are written by consultants.

One of the first magazines that, in the late 70s, began to introduce readers to the work of Soviet and foreign consultants was “ECO”. Now such information is published by “Director’s Consultant”, “Business People”, “Expert”, “Auditor”, “Magazine for Shareholders”, etc.

Thus, when choosing a consultant (firm), if possible, you should use all sources of information simultaneously in order to have a complete picture and compile a list of candidates.

Identification of potential consulting firms. As practice shows, it is very difficult for a manager to select a consulting firm (consultant) that satisfies him, and it is especially difficult to do this for the first time.

The process of searching and selecting a consulting firm (consultant) consists of the following stages: development of technical specifications for consulting firms (consultants); compiling a preliminary list of consulting firms (consultants) (long list); compilation of the final list of candidates; selection of a consulting firm (consultant): invitation to participate in the competition; analysis and evaluation of technical and financial proposals of consulting firms (consultants); assessment of personal and professional qualities of consultants; announcement of the results of the competition; development of a draft contract.

The first step towards choosing a consulting firm (consultant) is to prepare, based on available sources of information, the most representative and comprehensive list of firms and consultants specializing in the area of ​​the problem being solved by the client organization. It is recommended to include in this list the consulting services of the ministry or department to which the enterprise belongs, as well as scientific and educational institutions. The bulk of Russian consultants and consulting organizations operate on the basis of economic faculties and universities. By contacting them, the client will receive help, even if he has never had any relationship with them.

The information received is systematized, thus forming a data bank that will be replenished and expanded as the relationship between the client and consultants develops.

In the “visiting” part for each consulting organization (consultant), you must indicate: name (full name, if it is an individual consultant); address; telephone, fax, email; main types of services provided; contact person; source of information about the consulting firm (consultant).

The criteria for selecting a consulting firm (consultant) are presented in Table 2.4.

The second part should contain information about the experience and competence of the consulting firm (consultant).

Model of the consultant search and selection process.

In the organization, from the analysis carried out, problems are identified that the enterprise cannot solve on its own. The enterprise develops a technical specification in which all the problems of the enterprise are written and decides who will solve these problems and how. The company announces a competition to find a consulting firm. Consequently, the enterprise must select the winner of the competition (individual consultant, Russian company, foreign company). After selecting the winner, the company enters into a contract for services, and the selected consultant solves the problems of the organization.

Table 2.4 – Criteria for selecting a consulting firm (consultant)

Counseling methods. From the point of view of methods, the following forms of consulting can be distinguished: expert, process and training.

The model is selected depending on the problem being solved, the characteristics of the client organization, and the qualities of the consultants (skills, experience, personal qualities).

Expert consulting. The client himself forms the task, and the specialist consultant acts as an expert. The disadvantage of this model is that the consultant develops a recommendation without conducting an independent analysis of the situation. The changes are implemented, again, by the client himself. It is advisable to use the model when it is necessary to obtain knowledge of standard procedures and standards.

Educational consulting. The consultant not only collects ideas and analyzes solutions, but also prepares the ground for their emergence by providing the client with relevant theoretical and practical information in the form of lectures, trainings, business games, specific situations (“cases”), etc. The client forms a request for training, programs and forms of training, training groups.

Process consulting. Consultants at all stages of the project actively interact with the client, encouraging him to express his ideas, considerations, proposals, critically compare them with ideas proposed from outside, and, with the help of consultants, analyze problems and develop solutions. At the same time, the role of consultants is to collect these external and internal ideas, evaluate the solutions obtained in the process of working together with the client, and bring them into a system of recommendations. This approach is the most effective.

To determine the required degree of involvement of the client’s personnel in the consultant’s activities, it is necessary to compare the client’s time expenditure and the results of consulting work (Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1 – Cost of client time and results of consulting work

The effectiveness of the consultant's work is 0 if the client does not participate in it. As client involvement increases, efficiency increases until the optimum point (t opt), after which it begins to fall, which means: the client begins to do the consultant’s work for him.

It is clear that the minimum involvement of the client should be when implementing special problems, the maximum - when solving strategic problems.

Thus, under consultation process understand a consistent series of actions and activities carried out through the joint activities of the consultant and the client to achieve positive changes within the client organization and resolve its problems.

2.4 Terms of reference for the consulting firm

The invitation (in writing) contains the following information: deadline for submitting the proposal; to whom the proposal should be sent; working language of the project; criteria for selecting consulting firms (consultants).

Technical and financial selection criteria.

Technical selection criteria include: experience of the consulting organization, its qualifications; staff experience and skills; consultants’ understanding of the problem, availability of methodologies and clarity of approach to solving it, practicality and realism of the approach, innovation and creativity, ability to follow the established time schedule and work plan.

Financial selection criteria are based on a comparison of prices: a list of consulting organizations (consultants) invited to participate in the competition; the date of the project meeting to which all competition participants are invited.

Purpose of the technical specification:

– for the client: formulate your vision of the problem and the expected results of its solution; ensure agreement on the content of contracts with the consulting firm (consultant);

– for a consulting organization (consultant): understand the client’s problem and expectations; obtain the necessary information to prepare proposals, develop a detailed work plan and successfully complete the project.

The terms of reference formulate tasks for consulting organizations (consultants), thereby defining the scope of the consulting process and establishing the requirements that the consulting service must satisfy.

The main sections of the terms of reference are developed in such a way as to obtain answers to the following questions when analyzing the technical and financial proposals of consulting firms (consultants):

– Why can this particular consulting organization (consultant) bring tangible results?

– How will a consulting firm (consultant) confirm that it has received benefits from its services?

– What specific results will be obtained?

– When will the results be received?

To do this, it is necessary to clearly and clearly formulate the expectations of the client organization on the following positions: general conditions for the execution of the contract; the purpose of the contract and the tasks that must be solved within the project; the most effective approach to fulfilling the contract; volumes and rough plan works (from the client's point of view); time frames and stages of work (if the client assumes any time restrictions); project goals and expected results; personnel necessary to perform the work; the roles and responsibilities of consultants in relation to the responsibilities of the client organization's staff; reporting requirements; monitoring the implementation of the project and its evaluation; approximate project budget (in man-days).

There is no single, standard form of technical specifications. Its content is determined by the nature of the problem being solved. Typically, the terms of reference include the following information:

– brief information about the client;

– project goals;

– services required from the consulting organization (consultant);

– project deadlines;

– a list of documents submitted for the competition confirming the experience and competence of the company (consultant);

– distribution of responsibilities between consultants and the client organization;

– requirements for information about fees and costs of the project;

– contact person.

A correctly drawn up technical specification is a document that defines the key provisions of the consulting project and the desired result, but does not limit the freedom and initiative of consultants in choosing methodological tools.

Before submitting the terms of reference to the consulting firms (consultants) included in the final list, you must contact them and find out about the desire and opportunity to take part in the competition. It is very likely that after this the list of candidates will be reduced.

Structure and content of technical specifications.

1. Introduction. The introduction should generally define:

– what the project will be;

– what services should be provided by the consulting organization (consultant);

– objectives of the technical specifications;

– main directions of the project.

The introduction will allow you to move on to a description of the client organization and the main objectives of the project.

2 Information about the client organization. This section requires a brief description of:

– the industry in which the enterprise operates, and the main trends in the development of the industry in Russia;

– a brief history of the enterprise;

– territorial location of the enterprise;

– main production facilities;

– legal status and ownership structure;

– main types of activities (manufactured products);

– main markets;

– client base and largest clients;

– competitors;

– main suppliers;

– organizational structure of the enterprise (more detail on the units directly involved in the project);

– personnel structure and managers;

– main performance indicators of the enterprise (over the last three years);

– social funds;

– risks to the environment;

– investment plans;

- main problems;

– main directions of improvement of the enterprise;

– health improvement measures carried out or carried out independently;

– briefly – the work (if any) carried out by auditing and consulting firms at the enterprise, indicating the results obtained during their implementation.

When describing the divisions and systems on which the project will be focused, it is necessary to characterize their managers, indicate the personnel structure, the scheme and procedures for their interaction, computer software, territorial location and other information that may be required by consultants when preparing a technical proposal.

3 Goals. This section should clearly define:

– what is required to be achieved as a result of the proposed project;

– how this project “fits” into the overall picture of the enterprise’s recovery;

– what are the main tasks that need to be solved to achieve the goals;

– why solving these particular problems is a priority for the enterprise.

This section should indicate what exactly the enterprise expects to receive during the implementation of the project.

4 Scope of work. The section must indicate what types of activities must be implemented by consultants to achieve their goals and solve problems. Typically, a project consists of the following stages:

– diagnostics (approximately 30% of the total labor intensity of the project);

The enterprise can also provide for additional stages of work necessary to achieve its goals and objectives.

However, a strong detail of the project is not required, since the consultant must have freedom of action: the methodology and approach to solving the same problems are different for different consulting firms.

It should be clearly defined which tasks within the framework of this project can be fully or partially undertaken by the company’s employees, which will reduce the project budget and train employees as a result of joint activities with consultants.

5 Requirements for consultants. When preparing the terms of reference, the client organization must determine the selection criteria:

– consulting firm (consultant);

– special requirements for the team of consultants (level of training, experience in this industry, experience in performing certain work, etc.).

6 Transfer of experience. If there is a need to transfer experience of restructuring to employees of the enterprise, then this must be indicated in the terms of reference. In this case, whether the consultants have appropriate qualifications to transfer experience will be one of the criteria when evaluating the technical proposals of the consultants. If training is not expected to be a separate task, it can be defined as a requirement and the work scheduled accordingly.

7 Expected results of the project. The results of the project work can be various documents prepared by consultants and significant (prospective) changes.

Documents – business plans, investment plans, developed procedures, manuals, research and analysis results, various methodological recommendations, software developed by consultants during the project.

Short-term changes (quick results) are measures that consultants implement already in the first stages of a project (as a rule, these are actions aimed at eliminating obvious gaps and contributing to immediate effect).

Significant changes - can be aimed at creating or improving a separate function (department, procedure), changing the structure of the enterprise (organizational, corporate), developing and creating conditions for the implementation of a long-term strategy. The consequence of these changes may be the conclusion of new contracts, finding investors, obtaining financing, etc.

8 Reporting and approval procedures. In the terms of reference, it is necessary to indicate to which of the enterprise employees the consultants send reports (full name, position), determine reporting requirements, the number and content of reports, deadlines for their submission, describe the procedure, deadlines for approving reports, which of the enterprise management will assert.

The terms of reference must indicate which of the company's managers and how many copies of materials on the project are presented by the consultant. For each main document, it is necessary to provide a brief summary (in a separate appendix).

9 Participation of the client organization’s personnel in the project. The terms of reference must indicate the functions of specific enterprise employees that they will perform at each stage of the consulting project. It is necessary to appoint a person responsible from the client organization who will ensure cooperation with consultants and coordinate work on the project.

The terms of reference must list all the information and documents that the client organization will provide to consultants, equipment, and assistance. The client must indicate what services were previously provided to him by other auditing and consulting firms, and by whom exactly. The terms of reference must be supplemented with a list of available data, indicating their accuracy and the place where a copy is obtained.

Other types of participation of the client organization in the project should be noted: provision of premises, computer and office equipment, office supplies, transport, translation services, accommodation, meals for consultants, etc. Such participation of the enterprise can significantly reduce the cost of the project.

The given example of a client's technical assignment to consultants can be used by enterprises not only for restructuring work, but also for any other consulting project.

The technical specifications can be prepared by the client independently or with the help of an expert.

As practice shows, the greatest difficulties for the client are the identification and formulation of problems and the setting of tasks for consultants. Therefore, very often, before starting work, consultants have to develop technical specifications again.

2.5 Analysis of proposals from consulting firms

Structure and content of technical and financial proposals.

A proposal is a written desire and justification for the ability of a consulting firm (consultant) to provide consulting services to a client organization. The content part of the proposal is called the technical proposal. Justification of the cost of the consulting project – financial.

There is no standard form for a consultation proposal. Each consulting firm (consultant) prepares it taking into account its own experience according to established rules. There is one general requirement for a consulting proposal. In order for the client to receive the necessary information in full and not experience difficulties when comparing proposals from different consulting organizations (consultants), their structure must correspond to the structure of the terms of reference (i.e., provide an answer to the questions posed in the terms of reference).

Client organizations can use the following model of consulting proposals (technical and financial), reflected in table 2.5.

Table 2.5 – Consulting proposal model

The table provides a summary of the technical proposal for the development of a company restructuring program submitted to the Russian Privatization Center by one of the Russian consulting companies. Project timeframes and costs are determined based on specific conditions client organization and are justified in the financial proposal.

Table 2.6 shows an example of a technical proposal for the development of a company restructuring program.

Table 2.6 – Example of a technical proposal for the development of a company restructuring program

Evaluation of proposals. The overall assessment when deciding on the final choice of a consulting firm (consultant) is made based on an analysis of a number of factors. One of the components in the overall assessment is the evaluation of proposals.

The main purpose of comparing the proposals submitted by consultants with the terms of reference is to identify the depth of understanding of the client’s expectations and the specifics of the client organization.

The results of the assessment of consulting firms are reflected in Table 2.7.

Table 2.7 – Results of assessment of consulting firms

The client should be prepared for the fact that, for reasons of confidentiality, consultants will not name specific enterprises in which they have previously worked, but will only indicate the industry, the size of the enterprise and the problem. But even after receiving information about former clients, and, at best, recommendations, the client is not immune from failure. The consulting firm may assign another team to work on the project. Therefore, in various methods, assessing the work experience of a consulting firm has a small share. In work plans, consultants are required to indicate and describe in detail their action plan, methodological tools for solving the problem, and their vision of the client’s role in the project. The client must evaluate the clarity and logic of the work plan, and compliance with the technical specifications. The greatest weight in the assessment in accordance with the methodology is given to the qualifications of consultants. This means that preference is given to the consulting firm that will form the team.

1 Specific weight of criteria: team of consultants – 0.5; work plan – 0.3; experience of a consulting organization – 0.2.

2 Each criterion is assessed on a 10-point scale (from 1 to 10).

The first step in the selection process is to “screen out” firms and consultants that received a low score on one of the criteria (for example, 6 or less). In our case, this is company 2.

Then a comparison is made between companies that have the same final score. Thus, firm 3 has a higher rating in terms of consultant qualifications, but is inferior in experience, and also has a worse assessment of the work plan.

Practice shows that it is difficult to make a final choice based on the analysis of documents only, since a well-written proposal does not at all guarantee the successful implementation of a consulting project. Therefore, the standard selection procedure includes meetings with consultants and presentations of proposals. These events allow the client to clarify unclear, complex, controversial points in the documents presented by consultants and formulate his personal impression (which in most cases is the most powerful argument in favor of a particular consulting firm (consultant)).

Such events require careful preparation: drawing up a schedule of meetings and coordinating it with consultants; formulating a list of questions that need to be answered.

The final step in the long procedure of searching and selecting a consulting organization (consultant) is an assessment of the merits and demerits of candidates who have expressed a desire to take part in the competition, and the announcement of the final selection.

Thus, from this moment the preparatory work of the client and the consulting firm (consultant) to conclude a contract begins.

An expert is any person not from our city.
Murphy's Laws

The problem of choosing a consulting company and consultant for creating quality management systems (QMS) is relevant for many organizations. The editors of the magazine continue this topic with a publication that presents criteria for assessing a consulting company and the consultant’s competence.

When starting to improve management systems, among other issues, senior management is considering engaging third-party consultants to assist the project. This article is addressed to companies choosing consultants to create a QMS in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 standard. After appropriate adaptation, the criteria formulated in the article can be used to assess the competence of consultants in creating management systems in accordance with the requirements of other documents: ISO/TC 16949, ISO/TC 29001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, SA 8001, etc. The article is based on recommendations standard ISO 10019:2005 “Guidelines for the selection of quality management system consultants and the use of their services” and the author’s experience of interaction with customers across the entire profile of consulting services provided by TKB Intercertifica CJSC.

Before considering the process and criteria for assessing the competence of consultants, it is necessary to pay attention to the role of senior management. In accordance with the ISO 10019:2005 guidelines, top management should be involved in the assessment and selection of the QMS consultant. Only in this case can all the goals of creating a QMS be taken into account, and the company will be able to satisfy its needs for consulting services and its expectations.

In practice, the process of selecting a consultant is divided into two stages: at the first stage, the company evaluates the consulting structure, at the second, it evaluates and selects the consultant(s) from the list proposed to it. In this case, the second stage can be carried out simultaneously with the first, but never precedes it. Since the objects of assessment differ markedly, we will consider the most significant criteria for assessing a consulting company.

Cost, timing of the project and scope of services provided. Of course, the cost of consulting services is of no small concern to customers. When comparing the cost of services of various consulting companies, it is necessary to take into account whether the prices are inclusive of VAT and how the consultant’s travel and accommodation expenses are paid. When talking about the project implementation period, you need to clarify what period the consulting company implies. Sometimes we can talk about the time a company needs only to develop documentation, without taking into account the time for training staff and implementing documentation. In this case, the actual project implementation timeframe may be four to five months longer, which may become an extremely unpleasant surprise for the customer already during the creation of the QMS. When analyzing the volume of services provided, it is advisable to estimate the number of man-days of work of the consultant on a given project and the nature of the services provided. If everything is more or less clear with the first indicator (the more man-days a consulting company plans to spend on a project, the more successful, all other things being equal, it will be), then it is almost impossible to assess the nature of the consulting services provided in the absence of a quality management specialist in the organization . Without opening a discussion now about approaches to creating a QMS, we can only advise not to resort to the services of consultants who offer the organization a ready-made set of QMS documentation or promise that they will write all the QMS documentation for the organization themselves. Since the consultant cannot know the specifics and processes of the organization as well as its employees, in both cases the value of the QMS documentation and, accordingly, the value of the customer’s QMS are reduced to zero.

Experience in a consulting company. It is advisable to find out the general experience of the consulting company, experience in consulting according to the stated standard, and experience in working with organizations of a similar profile or specificity. You can try to assess the financial strength of a consulting company by asking for relevant information over the past few years. However, for obvious reasons, consulting companies will provide such information extremely reluctantly and with a number of reservations.

Staff of consultants. It makes sense to estimate the number of full-time and hired freelance consultants. A firm with a large number of in-house consultants is preferable. It is pointless to estimate the average age of full-time consultants at this stage, since a specific consultant will then be selected.

Current projects. You should familiarize yourself with the list of current projects of the consulting company, preferably indicating the current stage of each of them. An open reference list of a consulting company published on the Internet or in periodicals is also welcome. It is necessary to find out whether the consulting company had clients of a similar profile, and if so, ask for feedback. However, you should not rely too much on positive reviews and letters of thanks, since it would be naive to expect that the company will also provide negative feedback from customers.

Completed projects. Information about how many former clients, after the creation of the QMS, continued to use the services of this consulting company, may also be interesting for analysis.

Offered range of services. The wide range of services that a consulting company can offer to its clients, both in the process of creating a QMS and during its further development, indicates the constant improvement of the qualifications of specialists and serious methodological work in the company. Sometimes consulting companies act as additional service offer some kind of support for the certification process, and a number of certification bodies for which this service is valid are immediately specified. The presence of external representatives during a third party audit is not prohibited, but ISO 10019:2005 specifically emphasizes that the consultant, as well as the consulting firm, should “maintain independence from quality management system certification/registration bodies or from accreditation bodies and ... maintain impartiality in the organization’s selection of certification/registration bodies.”

Publications. It is advisable to evaluate the frequency of publications by company specialists in periodicals covering quality management issues.

Based on the results of the assessment, two or three consulting companies are usually selected and information about the consultants is requested. To assess the competence of consultants, ISO 10019:2005 proposes a concept similar to that of auditors established in ISO 19011:2002, Guidelines for the conduct of audits of quality management systems and/or environmental management systems.

It is proposed to evaluate consultants based on the following criteria: personal qualities, education, knowledge and skills, work experience, maintenance and improvement of competence. How can an organization evaluate a consultant's competence based on each criterion?

Personal qualities. The ISO 10019 standard lists a number of qualities: ethics, observation, sensitivity, versatility, tenacity, consistency, self-confidence, communication, practicality, responsibility. If possible, it is better to meet with a consultant to evaluate these qualities yourself. Along with information about completed projects, you can ask for information about contact persons in client organizations and contact them.

Education. ISO 10019 recommends a university degree (with four years of total work experience being desirable) or a secondary education (with six years of total work experience being desirable) as an average base.

Knowledge and skills, which, in accordance with the recommendations of the ISO 10019 standard, the consultant should have and demonstrate.

1. Knowledge and skills specific to quality management.

It is necessary to ensure that the consultant is trained and understands the requirements of the relevant standards. Experience working in enterprises as a person involved in the creation of a QMS also indicates possession of the relevant knowledge and skills. Certification of the consultant as an auditor of one or more certification systems is encouraged, since the consultant should have knowledge of national and international certification/registration and accreditation systems. Knowledge and ability to apply quality principles, methodologies and methods also indicate the consultant's competence. In accordance with the recommendations of the ISO 10019 standard, the consultant’s competence may include knowledge of:

• quality management principles;
• continuous improvement tools and techniques;
• appropriate statistical methods;
• auditing methodologies and methods;
• principles of quality economics;
• teamwork methods;
• PDCA methodology (plan - do - check - act);
• policy deployment methodologies;
• process mapping methods;
• methods for solving the problem;
• methods for monitoring consumer/employee satisfaction;
• brainstorming methods.

You can gain knowledge in these areas by completing appropriate training. It is advisable that supporting documents be provided for all of the above items.

2. Organization-specific knowledge and skills.

A consultant who has knowledge of the legal and regulatory requirements relating to the company, its processes and products, as well as customer requirements, is preferable. However, the ISO 10019:2005 standard pays special attention to a reasonable amount of such knowledge. It is advisable to request information about the consultant's previous work experience and compare it with the industry specifics of your company. A consultant with experience or a large number of successfully completed projects in similar or related industries will be more valuable to the organization.

Experience. The consultant's experience may include the following (relevant ISO 10019 recommendations in parentheses):

• experience practical work(four years for persons with higher education or six years for persons with secondary education);
• experience in management;
• experience in quality management (at least two years);
• experience in QMS auditing;
• experience in QMS implementation (at least three completed QMS implementation projects with adequate participation).
• It is welcome that the consultant has management experience and experience in auditing the QMS. Conducting seminars on topics related to quality management also indicates the competence of the consultant.

The recommendations of the ISO 10019 standard regarding the consultant's experience are given from the point of view of creating a QMS of some “average” complexity. Factors such as geographical dispersion, complexity of processes, the presence of specific legislative and regulatory requirements, the presence of competent specialists in the field of quality management in the organization, and the reluctance of top management to participate in the creation of a QMS will lead to stricter requirements of the organization for the experience of the consultant.

Maintaining and increasing competence. It is necessary to pay special attention to whether the consultant maintains and improves his competence.

It is advisable to request information about the consultant’s publications (articles and books), participation in conferences or membership in various government or public organizations.

Based on the assessment results, a consultant is selected, and the customer and the consulting company proceed to concluding an agreement for the provision of consulting services.

Conclusion. A few words about what, in accordance with the recommendations of the ISO 10019 standard, should be reflected in the contract for the provision of consulting services. To avoid controversial situations and mutual claims, the contract should clearly establish:

• scope of application of the QMS (as far as possible at this stage);
• a list of project stages with approximate deadlines for their implementation;
• the cost of each stage and payment terms;
• mutual obligations of the customer organization and the consultant to perform work at each stage of the project;
• the client's commitment to allocate appropriate resources to the project;
• a mechanism for the consultant to report to clients on the work done at each stage and the progress of the project as a whole;
• mutual obligations of the parties to ensure confidentiality of information;
• mechanism for amending the contract.

I would like to express the hope that the criteria for assessing the competence of consultants given in the article will help reduce the company’s risks when choosing and using the services of consultants to a reasonable minimum.

Selecting a consulting firm (consultant)

Professional consulting services have been provided in Russia for about 20-25 years. Despite such a long period of time, a clear understanding of why to invite consultants and whether they need to be invited at all has not yet developed among potential consumers of consulting services. This is largely due to an inadequate understanding of what consultants can and cannot do, when it makes sense to invite them, and what the necessary conditions for successful cooperation with consultants are.

Reasons for contacting a consultant

The main task of consultants is to assist clients in solving their management problems. They can solve this problem in several ways:

*Find the problem and suggest solutions.

In a situation where the client realizes that he has a problem, but cannot determine what exactly it is, what its true causes are, consultants can analyze the situation and identify the problem and the reasons for its occurrence, as well as develop and offer the client ways to solve it ( expert consulting, when consultants themselves do all the work to identify and solve the problem).

* Help the client find the problem himself and determine ways to solve it.

There are situations when a client is ready to identify a problem and solve it, but lacks some methodological support to successfully implement his intentions. Then consultants can provide the client with this methodological support and go with him all the way from identifying a problem to solving it ( process consulting, i.e. consulting in the process of client’s management activities).

* Teach the client how to find and solve problems.

Creating a system of practical knowledge for the client, a mechanism that allows him from now on to find and solve his problems, is the essence of educational consulting. With this approach, the consultant is not directly involved in the process of finding and solving problems, but only trains the client and checks that the “homework” is completed correctly.

In practice, all three approaches often overlap and complement each other (especially training, as a rule, is not carried out separately). The emphasis shifts depending on what the client needs most: that a solution to the problem be found for him, or that he be helped to solve the problem, or that he be taught how to solve it.

The following are the most common main reasons for inviting consultants.

• 1. The learning process (cognition through a consultant). Collaboration is seen not only as a means to find an answer to a specific question, but also as an opportunity to learn certain methods of analyzing and solving this question. A client who invites a consultant for his own training understands that the result of interaction with the consultant can be manifested in improving and deepening the understanding of the real problems of the company.
• 2. A stereoscopic view of the problem. A consultant must have such an important quality as a broad vision of the situation. A true professional is able to assess the results of the contradictory influence of various factors on the company's business. Having a sufficient outlook, certain knowledge and mastery of the appropriate technology, the consultant is able to identify the main factors in any situation and give competent recommendations on further actions that are much more adequate to the current realities than the proposals of the company’s personnel.
• 3. Curiosity. Often, when inviting consultants, some managers do not very clearly define the motives for this action, even for themselves, and in many cases they are driven by ordinary human curiosity. In Russia, foreign companies are especially often invited in this way. Then domestic managers, having spent significant funds on a retelling of Western textbooks adapted for them, become disillusioned with management consulting as a phenomenon for a long time.
• 4. A tool in external and internal corporate intrigues. To defend its interests in the outside world, a company sometimes needs solid research. Other options for using consultants for intrigue are associated with situations where one manager or group of managers needs an additional channel of influence on the situation within the company, and one wants to justify the changes taking place with references to the recommendations of independent consultants. The way the world works is that there is no prophet in his own country, so independent experts are often needed. “An expert is any person not from our company.”
• 5. Obtaining confirmation of the correctness of the actions of senior managers based on a report compiled by a reputable organization.
• 6. Shifting responsibility. This motive appears when inviting financial and tax consultants. In this case, consultants are needed so that senior managers have someone to hold responsible for any (even arbitrary) actions of the tax authorities making claims against the company.
• 7. Intensive assistance on a specific issue. Sometimes a company faces specific legal, accounting or management problems. In such cases, relatively narrow specialists are often invited for a relatively short time.
• 8. A fresh look at the company. Even the most professional and competent people can be greatly influenced by existing traditions and values, which greatly interferes with the decision-making required at new stages of the company's development. Of course, a fresh look at the company's activities is useful when it results in not only abstractly correct recommendations, but also realistic step-by-step procedures for their implementation.

Not all of these reasons lead to effective counseling. Therefore, the important question is when to invite a consultant and when not to do this, and what exactly a consultant should not undertake.

A consultant should be invited in the following situations:

When the problem is complex, systemic in nature. If the scale of the problem is such that to solve it it is necessary to carry out radical comprehensive changes in the management system and business building principles, it is best to invite outside experts who will bring fresh ideas and provide the necessary labor resources. Solving complex problems usually requires significant labor and specialized knowledge.

When the problem is one-time, situational in nature. If a client is faced with a problem that is caused by a combination of specific circumstances and is not of a recurring, routine nature, and also requires a prompt solution, it is more effective not to create internal organizational capacity to solve it, but to carry out a one-time invitation to consultants. At the same time, inviting consultants to solve routine, everyday tasks is not effective, i.e. to carry out current management activities.

When there are differences of opinion about an issue and ways to resolve it within the client’s management or between management and owners. In this situation, consultants are the optimal independent arbiter, capable of objectively assessing the problem and offering objectively justified ways to solve it.

When solving a problem can have serious consequences, including strategic, financial or social. This situation is similar to the previous one, with the only difference that in this case the cost of solving the problem and the associated responsibility are quite high. Therefore, the client's management may require independent expert support for identifying and solving the problem. Sometimes this is a way for the client to share responsibility with the consultant, not in terms of making a decision, but in terms of developing it.

There may be other situations when it is better to invite a consultant. The common criteria for all of them are:

• - There is a problem.
• - Lack of time or human resources to solve the problem.
• - Lack of specialized knowledge to solve the problem.
• - High price issue.

It is also necessary to note what the consultant cannot or should not do for the client and for which he should not be invited:

• * Making decisions. The consultant, as a rule, cannot make decisions for the client. The client himself is responsible for his business, responsible to the owners, contractors, staff and himself, and he is the one to make the final decisions. The consultant only offers possible solutions, gives recommendations on the optimal solution, but does not make the decisions themselves.
• * Playing with the law. The consultant cannot and under no circumstances should give the client recommendations that are contrary to current legislation. Any recommendation, the implementation of which brings the client into conflict with the law, is a threat to the client’s business and in itself creates a serious problem. Thus, the consultant cannot and should not, while solving some problems of the client, create other, sometimes more serious ones - problems with the law.
• * Participation in conflicts. The consultant cannot and should not participate in the client’s internal conflicts. An extremely unethical situation is when some people in the client’s management invite consultants in order to “overthrow” others. The consultant must always rise above personal or group conflicts, act as an independent arbiter, and seek solutions that are beneficial to the business as a whole, and not to individuals or groups of individuals.
• * Formal results. The purpose of consulting assistance is to solve the client's problems, and not to write a consulting report. The task of a consultant should not be to create reports that are beautiful in form and empty in content, “candy wrappers” that are used to create the appearance of useful management activities. Therefore, you should not invite a consultant to write such a report, which will then be stored in a desk drawer and taken out from time to time for display - this is too expensive and an unjustified way to make an impression.

If a firm decides to engage a consultant, how can and should it proceed?

Search and selection of a consulting firm (consultant)

Methods for selecting consultants in Russia are not yet as developed and formalized as in developed countries. Typically, a method is used that could be called the intuitive random search method. A Russian manager selects consultants in two ways:

• 1. He intuitively feels the need for help in solving his problems and turns to any consultants. This method is the least effective, since in this case the client does not have a very good idea of ​​what kind of help he can receive from a consultant. Usually he simply invites the consultant to do the work for the manager that he could not do himself - find an investor, sell overstocked products, etc.
• 2. The manager meets consultants at some event (training courses, conferences, etc.), learns about their activities from funds mass media or from his colleagues in the industry or region and, having become interested in their work, tries to test its benefits for himself. This method is more fruitful, since the client at least approximately knows what to expect from a given consultant, but still, the randomness of the choice reduces its effectiveness. Therefore, as market relations develop and qualifications increase, Russian managers are gradually moving to the internationally accepted extensive procedure for searching and selecting consultants based on a tender.

In any case, the decision to invite or not to invite consultants remains with the client. But this decision also depends on the consultant. Since consulting is not only an intellectual activity, but also a business, the consultant is obliged, first of all, to act so that the potential client chooses him as a service provider. A special term is used to refer to actions to attract clients at the stage of selecting consultants "inteyk"(from the English intake - absorption, recruitment, seduction). In many consulting firms in developed countries, there is a special position - client contact manager (or key client problem manager) who is responsible for leading this process. To be successful, a relationship manager must act from the perspective of the client rather than the consultant. This allows him to build client-oriented consulting, which is, according to modern concepts, the most effective means of promoting consulting services to the market.

In developed countries, special procedures for selecting consultants by clients have been established. They have been worked out in particular detail in large international organizations, such as the European Union (EU), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), etc. Recommendations for the selection procedure are also developed by the consultant associations themselves.

Typically, consultant selection procedures include the following 3 stages:

• 1. Pre-selection (long listing).
• 2. Drawing up a final list of candidates (short-listing).
• 3. Final choice.
• 1. Pre-selection (long listing).

Let's look at some of the features associated with hiring a consultant. When problems arise, the head of the enterprise is interested in solving them in the most effective way (for which, in fact, the decision to consult is made). Managers at the next level, who are responsible for problem areas, are more interested in solving problems on their own. They may see the consultant not as an assistant, but as a competitor (before their qualifications were not in doubt, but now they will have something to compare with). As a result, the decision to hire a consultant often meets resistance within the enterprise. And for the same reason, it is inappropriate to delegate the choice of consultant to managers of “problem areas”.

At the long-listing stage of selection, the client compiles a list of all consulting firms with a profile corresponding to the problem for which he wants to attract consultants (if the client himself has not identified his deep-seated, key problems, then such a list should, first of all, include consultants in general management - generalists). To compile a long list, information contained in various sources is used.

Sources of information may include:

• · associations, unions, unions, guilds of consultants, auditors, recruiting firms, etc.;
• · data banks of the public state fund "Russian Privatization Center" (RCP), the Moscow Government;
• · recommendations from partners, colleagues, acquaintances;
• · reference books ("Golden Pages", RAU-press, etc.). Leading Russian consulting firms and consultants are included in the European Directory of Management Consultants published in London;
• · conferences, seminars, exhibitions;
• · advertisements;
• · books, articles written by consultants, and interviews with them.

But still, choosing a consultant is fraught with difficulties: while agencies still promote their services through publishing advertisements (usually from time to time), independent consultants almost never do this. Advertising to promote counseling is ineffective. Directories do not always contain information about all consultants; the association database being created is not complete. People usually learn about consultants through acquaintances, from articles in economic journals prepared with their participation. Letters of offer are also used, usually sent by consultants to business managers by fax. All kinds of publications are preferable for selection, since in them the consultant substantiates his opinion on any problem.

You can save time in negotiations by not turning to those whose approach is initially unacceptable to the client.

In practice, the client usually chooses from 5-6 consultants, and he does not always have the opportunity to negotiate with everyone. However, with two or three, this must be done in order to have at least some alternative. Taking the time to choose a consultant always pays off.

For convenience of consideration, we will assume that the client has a complete list of consultants and has the opportunity to negotiate with each one. The choice of a consultant should be taken seriously. Having determined the most appropriate approach to consulting (and thereby limiting the list), it is advisable in the next step to select the type of consultant to whom the task will be entrusted. Here it is necessary to determine which consulting company will provide services to the client - will it be an independent consultant, a domestic consulting agency or a foreign company operating in Russia.

Below are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of consultant, which are significant when a client company selects a consultant.

Comparative characteristics of types of external clients

Once the type of consultant is determined, a specific specialist is selected to perform the task. This is also true for agencies, which, like any organization, have highly and unqualified personnel. However, qualifications are not the only selection criterion. Since the outcome of counseling is created by the cooperation of the client and the consultant, it is necessary to evaluate the possibility of such cooperation. The consultant must be sympathetic to the client, inspire trust and be able to explain himself in a language that the client understands (with minimal use of special terminology).

A reliable method of determining qualifications through recommendations from past clients is of little use when choosing a consultant.

The reasons for this are as follows:

• - heterogeneity of tasks solved by a consultant for different enterprises (achieving the same goals, for example, increasing sales, at different enterprises can be achieved in almost the opposite way);
• - confidentiality (often the consultant does not have the right to name the company for which the project was carried out, and almost always - the essence of the project. Just like former clients are ready to comment on what type of work and how it was performed).

If we are talking about an agency, then receiving recommendations does not always allow us to determine which specific specialists participated in the project. There is no point in determining the qualifications of a consultant based on formal criteria. Anyone can now receive an “international standard” certificate from a reputable foreign consulting company by paying a certain amount and attending a nine-day course. Membership in FEACO, a European association of consultants, possible through membership in a domestic association, costs about the same, although it involves additional formalities.

Thus, when choosing a consultant, a manager must rely mainly on common sense. There are areas of enterprise activity in which the manager is an expert. His experience includes successful solutions to many problems and practical testing of various methods. During preliminary negotiations, the manager may ask the consultant's point of view on these problems and methods. The versions proposed by the consultant serve to indirectly assess his qualifications.

2. Drawing up a final list of candidates (short-listing).

At the short-listing stage, a final list is formed from the preliminary list, consisting of 10-12 consulting firms for large projects, 5-6 for medium-sized ones and 2-3 for small ones. Selection is carried out, first of all, according to objective quality parameters. At this "qualification" stage, the client should receive answers to the following questions about the consulting firms included earlier in the long list: "What is the professional level of the staff working in them?", "What consulting projects have they already carried out?", "Who were their clients ?", "How good are the recommendations they have?" etc. Information to answer these questions can be obtained from booklets and advertisements of the consulting firms themselves, in consultant associations, as well as from articles in the press and reviews of business colleagues.