Selecting a consulting firm. How to choose a consulting company? Experience in a consulting company

Date of writing: 19.06.2022

Reading time: 33 minutes

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.

Ovchinnikov Sergey Mikhailovich

Consulting and its types. In a broad sense, consulting is a set of services related to the provision of advice on certain issues of interest to the client.

There are a large number of types of consulting, a far from complete list of which includes legal, management, personnel, and investment consulting.

In the classical sense, consulting itself is mainly management consulting.

Management consulting is an advisory activity based on contractual relations for the provision of services to organizations with the help of specially trained and qualified individuals to identify, analyze and solve problems related to management activities in general and the activities of financial, economic, commercial (sales, marketing, supply, warehouse), personnel, information and other services in particular. Advisory services are provided in the form of recommendations to solve these problems and assistance, if necessary, in the implementation of solutions.

At the moment, there are approximately three areas of management consulting:

1) “software” consulting, i.e. business automation through the implementation of computer information systems and individual software products in the field of management and production (mainly SAP R3/R4, Parus, Galaktika and computer-aided design systems);

2) so-called functional (classical) consulting, which includes financial and tax consulting services (for example, audit, financial assessment of operations, modernization of financial reporting systems, planning, tax optimization), marketing consulting (for example, analysis and development of marketing programs, sales and supply management systems ), personnel and other types of consulting in certain areas of the enterprise;

3) comprehensive management consulting, combining elements of the previous levels, provides for a comprehensive analysis and restructuring of the company's management system in order to increase the efficiency of the enterprise on the basis of modern management technologies (budgeting, SBS strategic planning, etc.).

Criteria for evaluating the selection of consulting firms engaged in management consulting. Before making a decision to engage independent consultants (consulting firm) to solve problems that have arisen in the enterprise related to management and control, the manager must decide on the requirements that the consultant must meet. This is, first of all, necessary to reduce the risk associated with poor quality or dishonest performance of tasks assigned to consultants.

The main criteria for assessing a potential consulting service provider are:

1. Adequacy of the activity profile of the consulting firm (consultant) with the tasks assigned to it. Many so-called consultants and consulting firms are actually engaged in the distribution of certain software products and office equipment or the automation of workplaces of employees of the client company, and, in fact, management consulting is carried out as an additional thing (if at all). Therefore, it is important to immediately find out the main profile of the consultant.

2. Accreditation of the activities of a consulting firm by reputable institutions or other organizations whose reputation is absolute. Accreditation can be official, supported by relevant documents, access to which must be open to the client, or unofficial, i.e. verbal confirmation from the head of a reputable institution, the organization’s reputation as an “accredited” consulting firm and the existence of cooperation (joint projects, contracts, regular interaction). In Russian practice, state accreditation is widely used, but accreditation by independent associations, societies, and associations is no less effective.

3. Experience in the consulting services market of the given region, which, as a rule, is confirmed by:

– date of formation of the company;

The effectiveness of the services provided by a consulting firm directly depends on an understanding of the specifics of doing business in a given region, the availability of established business connections and experience. Moreover, as a rule, the experience of the firm as a whole should prevail over the experience of individual consultants.
Recommendations, reviews or a list of completed projects make it possible to establish the profile of the main services and the professionalism of the company’s consultants. As a rule, consulting firms are not very willing to provide a list of their clients, which is due, among other things, to trade secrets. It is even more difficult to claim to disclose the details of the implementation of these projects.

It should be noted right away that in Russia the number of successful projects can be counted on one hand. This is due to a number of reasons.

4. Availability of a methodological base. A self-respecting consulting company with qualified consultants on staff bases its work on a specific professional methodology; in other words, it has its own corporate standards for performing work and projects. The methodology, as a rule, is drawn up in the form of manuals for internal use (it constitutes a trade secret), but in some cases it can be provided in a simplified version to an interested client. Most well-known consulting companies provide a potential client with the right to familiarize themselves with methodological materials related to the topic of their project.

5. Professional competence of consultants. Can be assessed by analyzing proficiency in professional terminology. A professional, as a rule, is not a speaker and uses dry lexical phrases in answers, based on the principle: after any statement - an explanation (argument), i.e. this is done this way because... Any statements must be well substantiated. Clarity and precision in language and arguments demonstrates clarity and precision in thinking. It should be noted that it is often difficult for an experienced consultant to simplify specialized phrases. In any case, when communicating with a consultant, you should not hesitate to ask additional clarifying questions. Answering them is their job.
Equally important is the consultant’s level of knowledge of modern information technologies. This concerns, first of all, skills in working with a personal computer and knowledge of software products that correspond to the specifics and areas of its work. For example, a professional auditor or accounting specialist cannot but know programs like 1C.

6. Professional ethics is an integral element of a consultant’s image. It is closely related to the safety of the client’s commercial information (not necessarily a trade secret). A consultant who is “frank” when talking about his clients should raise some concerns, because... he can just as easily divulge information about your company.
In addition, consultants, often working with the staff of a client company, as a rule, must know the basics of psychology. Their code of ethics must include loyal and respectful treatment of all clients without exception. A sign of the consultant’s professionalism, the adequacy of his qualities, the requirements of the project work, carried out jointly with the employees of the client company, is the ability, already at the negotiation stage, to combine an independent position and the desire to take into account the client’s wishes.
Closely related to the ethics of a consultant and his attitude towards the client are indicators such as neatness, accuracy, and punctuality.

7. Technical equipment of consultants. A professional consultant is not necessarily a “person with a laptop.” But you should be suspicious of a consulting company that has “one computer, and that one is with the secretary.” Let’s not even talk about those companies that prepare reports on writing paper.

8. The reality of the stated project deadlines. The sign of a professional consultant is the distribution of the designed work into main stages, each of which has its own deadlines for implementation. Time frames that are too long or too short should raise reasonable concerns. You should not trust consultants who often assure that they will solve any problem, say, in a month. But stretching the project for a year is undesirable. Of course, it all depends on the scale and complexity of the problem. To solve specific problems, there are certain standards.

It should be noted that an experienced consultant immediately stipulates the possibility and conditions for going beyond the established time frame. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to determine in advance possible force majeure circumstances and a complete list of upcoming events.
9. Adequacy of the cost of services for the work performed. As a rule, the consumer of consulting services has no idea about the principles of setting fees; Then there are quite a few ways to determine the price of services. There are 2 main methods:

– hourly rate;

– fixed fee.

It makes sense to agree to an hourly (or daily) fee for short-term projects - a few weeks or a maximum of 2 months. For example, prices for the services of professionals in Moscow are at least 200 rubles. in an hour. The world standard is at least $60. It should be noted that the prices of regional companies are correspondingly lower.
An additional difficulty is that it is difficult to evaluate in advance the acquired knowledge, techniques and technologies, because they are intangible, unlike purchased, say, office equipment.
Despite this, there are some general recommendations:

– do not count on the qualified work of consultants, whose fees are attractive due to their modest size and great flexibility in price (professionals value their work);

– also get rid of the stereotype that a high fee means high quality work (the professionalism of consultants from well-known Moscow companies is often not much higher than that of well-known regional firms);

– choose to compare prices from several consulting firms;

– it is necessary to remember that your expectation of providing discounts is quite justified (as a rule, you can achieve a significant price reduction);

– seek a detailed (stage-by-stage) assessment of the cost of the proposed activities;

– If possible, seek the expert opinion of specialists in the field.

Criteria for selecting services from management consulting firms.

Before applying for consulting services, it is necessary to obtain information about what is meant by consulting services and what they are, because The profile and specialization of the consulting firm largely depends on the type of consulting chosen.

If a problem has been identified that needs to be solved, and a consulting company is the supplier of the necessary consulting services, it is necessary to determine the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the implementation of the activities proposed by the consultants. To do this, follow the following rules:

1. It is necessary to familiarize yourself in detail with the content of the service provided as interpreted by the representative of the consulting firm. You should not accept a service if you cannot understand what it is.

2. It is necessary to assess the adequacy of the scale and content of the activities that make up the service to the scale and content of the problem.

3. When automating internal corporate processes, it is necessary to take into account that technical measures (installation of equipment and software products) must necessarily be preceded by measures for qualitative and quantitative change (reengineering) of pre-existing processes, as well as personnel measures.

4. If it is obvious that the solution to the problem is complex, you should not skimp on elements, refusing individual services that make up a single complex.

The main reasons for failures in the implementation of projects by consulting firms and ways to prevent them.

Most promising projects fail due to the following reasons:

1. Conflicts and inconsistencies that arise as a result of poor development of contracts between consulting firms and clients, when at the project implementation stage all the controversial aspects of the agreements and different understandings (interpretations) of their points appear. This should also include the lack of compromise on the issues of compensation for consultants’ expenses that arose through the fault of the client and were not taken into account in the contract.

2. Excessive demands placed on the results of the consultants’ work by the management of the client company, which leads to disappointment of the client and, as a consequence, termination of the project. You shouldn't expect instant returns (especially from complex projects). The onset of changes, as well as their potential scale, must be predicted, for which special calculations are sometimes made. It is often undesirable to force events: it should be remembered that the more intensive the planned transformations, the more difficult it is to predict and prevent possible shortcomings during their implementation.

3. Unprofessionalism of consultants. A professional will never take on a job if he understands that it is outside his area of specialization or realizes that due to some circumstances he will not be able to cope with it. For such specialists, the main thing is reputation. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider the selection of a consulting company.

4. The range of activities (services) does not correspond to the nature and scale of the problems facing the client. Often, the solution to a problem is complex in nature, and by trying to save on individual services in the complex, i.e. by refusing them, the client does not receive the expected effect from the project. Sooner or later, the rejected activities will still have to be carried out, and, as a rule, the amount of savings on these services in the past far exceeds the subsequent cost of carrying them out separately from the entire complex.

5. Inconsistency and uncertainty of the management of the client company.
On the one hand, there is an awareness of the need for changes and the inability to carry them out independently, on the other hand, there is a desire to preserve the existing corporate culture and fear of fundamental changes. In many ways, this is due to the leader’s almost complete dependence on his subordinates, and the attempt to “change everything without changing anything.”

6. Sabotage of the project on the part of the client company’s personnel, associated with the understanding that:

– changing (improving) some processes and activities of the company will require new knowledge, principles and work dynamics from them, and, as a rule, most of the staff are aware that they are not able to work in a new way (and “there are no irreplaceable workers” );

– increasing the efficiency of internal procedures and reducing the time and effort spent on their implementation will most likely lead to a reduction in the number of employed workers and increased responsibility for their implementation;

– the work of consultants will eliminate informal levers of influence on intra-company processes and destroy the system of realizing the personal interests of individual managers.
Criticism of managers and specialists towards the project and the project team is, as a rule, unconstructive, often verbal and overly emotional.

7. Ineffective work of the specialists (managers) responsible for the implementation of the project on the client’s side.

The main reason is an error in the selection of a manager and specialists for the work (project) team, and the consequence of this is the non-execution or ineffective implementation of the decisions made. In addition, the boundaries of their powers and responsibilities are often not clearly defined.
8. Failure to meet project deadlines. The reasons for this are almost all of the above, except for the second (item 2), circumstances.

Preventive measures that reduce the risk of project failure and, accordingly, loss of financial and time resources are:

1. Before making a decision to implement a project, the head of the client company must:

– accurately determine the expected scale and depth of changes;

– be prepared for the fact that the project will not have an immediate effect;

– Be mentally prepared to implement changes consistently and decisively, despite increasing resistance from employees. Otherwise, the project may not start.

2. Detailed study of contracts with a consulting firm. Particular attention should be paid to the following points:

a complete and, preferably, detailed list of activities, divided into appropriate stages;

maximum deadlines for project implementation (preferably drawing up a calendar plan - Gantt chart), conditions and procedure for their correction;

methods for assessing the work of consultants (or the price of the contract), as well as the conditions and extent of excess of the project cost;

the procedure for interaction with consultants, including: the procedure and conditions for submitting reports, their discussion;

the procedure for forming a project team (group), its competence;

a method for assessing results, the final goal of the project, preferably subject to qualitative or quantitative measurement;

quantitative or qualitative results of the project (the effect that will be obtained from it).

3. Trust the opinion of consultants, if the decision to cooperate with a consulting firm has already been made and the project has been launched.

4. Careful selection of an employee, a group of employees who will be responsible for the implementation of the project together with a consulting firm and be part of the project team (group). Their main qualities are: a positive perception of the new, independence of opinion, the ability to constructively discuss problematic issues, and the absence of personal interests incompatible with the goals of the project. The final decision must be agreed upon with the consultants.
5. Consideration only of constructive proposals from employees who criticize the project, refusal to accept illiterately substantiated arguments and acceptance only of written counterproposals and personal assessments of the project’s implementation.

Approximate elements of projects and time standards for the implementation of management consulting services.

The implementation of any project, even a small one, should at least conditionally be divided into stages. Each stage has its own goal, budget, methods for assessing effectiveness and reporting. The table below shows standard project elements.

Basic elements of project work of consulting firms

Stage		Reporting
1. Preparatory	Determination of stages, deadlines and performers of work throughout the project	Sample schedule, Gantt chart
2. Diagnostic	Diagnosis and analysis of the problem	Report "Diagnostics..."
3. Planning	Drawing up and approval of an action plan	Project "…"
4. Basic	Implementation of project activities	Project Progress Reports
5. Final	Analysis (preliminary) of the project results and the need for additional activities	Project Results Report
6.Additional	Methodological support, accompaniment and monitoring (regularly or as needed)

At stage 1, the terms of the project are agreed upon, the Approximate schedule is signed, which is an integral part of the contract with the consulting firm, and, if necessary, the composition and competence of the project group (team), consisting, in addition to consultants, of enterprise employees, is formed.

Even a small project should include a detailed diagnosis of (2) the company’s current problems, because It is at this stage of work that an idea of how to resolve them is formed. In addition, it is always useful for the client to have a written, expert, informed opinion about the state of affairs in the company.

As a rule, a conscientious consultant, when studying a situation, goes beyond the outlined problem area of the project. So, if a consultant is involved in setting up an effective sales system, he will most likely be interested in the issue of pricing, and this is already a planning and financial management system. You should treat his interest with understanding, because... this will affect the result of his work.

You must always remember that before starting the implementation of activities, you must have a project agreed upon by the client and the consulting firm (3), and having accepted it, you must strictly follow its points. Frequent adjustments reduce the effectiveness of the project to zero.

The main stage is divided into separate activities according to the objectives of the project (4). At the end of the event, it is obligatory to discuss the results of its implementation, the so-called. intermediate monitoring.

At the end of the consultants’ work, its preliminary results are summed up (5); if necessary, the client makes a decision on the need for additional work on this project or to attract consultants for other projects in this area and (or) in other areas.

Most professional consultants consider it necessary, even after the completion of a project (6), to provide support or otherwise interact with the client (provide support) in order to:

– provision of assistance at first with methodological and other materials and consultations, in training employees, etc.;

– preventing possible problematic situations caused by both improper use of project results by the client and omissions in the work of consultants;

– assessing the long-term effect of the work done.

Time standards for project implementation depending on their complexity

	Difficult	Medium difficulty	Simple
Preparatory	no more than a week	3 - 5 days	12 o'Clock in the noon
Diagnostic	2 - 2.5 months	about 1 month	2 - 3 weeks
Planning	5 days	5 days	3-5 days
Basic	up to 1 year	6-10 months	3-6 months
Final	1 month	1 month	2-3 weeks
Additional	from 6 months	from 3 months

*Complex projects are long-term large-scale projects, for example, related to the creation of a new and complete restructuring of an existing company (business), as well as work to modernize one or more processes, activities (finance, tax accounting, marketing, etc.) in group of enterprises or holding.

A project of average complexity is a project of the type of setting up any of the elements of the enterprise management system (financial management, marketing, supply, planning, etc.), i.e. improving the working methods of the relevant areas (departments). Examples are: the introduction of budgeting, the implementation of analytical marketing.

Simple projects include transfer and training in specific operating technologies, for example, ways and means of optimizing income taxation or technology for organizing an effective dealer network.

Despite the difficulties associated with taking into account the specifics of projects, the specifics of enterprises and the state of affairs at them, consulting, like any other area of activity, can and should be standardized.

Undoubtedly, there are and will always be exceptions to the specified time and content parameters, but it should be remembered that basic standards are an indicator of civilized business.

Image (reputation) of the consulting firm (consultant).
Professional competence – the competence of consultants and the company in the required area.
Reviews.
Quality of proposal development.
Consultants' ability to complete assignments within a given time frame.
The ability of consultants to find a partner, additional resources for themselves and the client.
Consulting costs.
Compliance with ethical norms and professional standards.
Location.

At the final selection stage, two parameters play a major role: -

grade technical (substantive) proposals of consultants;-

price(financial proposal).

Evaluation of technical (substantive) proposals of consultants is based on:

Carrying out preliminary tasks, for example, express diagnostics (developing initial versions of problems);

Closed tender, i.e. a competition in which only shortlisted consultants are invited to submit proposals for a relevant consulting project.

Purpose of the technical specification:

for client:

Form 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:

Understand the client's problem and expectations;

Obtain the necessary information to prepare proposals, develop a detailed work plan and successfully complete the project.

Approximate structure and content of technical specifications :

INTRODUCTION
INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLIENT ORGANIZATION.
GOALS.
SCOPE OF WORK.
REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSULTANTS.
TRANSFER OF EXPERIENCE.
EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE PROJECT.
REPORTING AND APPROVAL PROCEDURES
PARTICIPATION OF THE CLIENT ORGANIZATION’S STAFF IN THE PROJECT

Standard methods used in personnel selection :

1. Analysis of personal data, educational documents, certificates, recommendations from clients.

2. Interviews, surveys of varying degrees of structure. Including conversations with enterprise specialists related to the problem being solved, which, in particular, makes it possible to determine how common their professional language is and to what extent they are psychologically compatible. However, company specialists may perceive the consultant as a competitor and their assessment will be biased.

Pre-project stage.

The pre-project stage consists

In establishing contacts and the initial formation of consultant-client relationships;

In the preliminary drawing up of a plan and assessment of the consulting project planned for implementation;

At the conclusion of the contract;

Formation of a working group.

Representation of consultants

Consultants must be introduced to the management and staff of the client organization. The presentation can be combined with a walkthrough of the plant. It is important that during the presentation, members of the consulting team demonstrate their commitment and generate interest in the project.

Options preliminary assessment of the consulting project planned for implementation:

1. Types of required work.

2. Complexity, labor intensity, innovativeness of the work.

3. Duration of the project.

4. Necessary material, human, financial resources.

5. Project risks.

Types of required work, their complexity, labor intensity, innovativeness

Indicated:

Works to be done

Their start and end dates, calendar duration (in weeks or days),

Scope of work (in consultant-weeks or consultant-days),

Deadlines for providing interim and final reports on the completion of the task and dates for monitoring the progress of the project.

Project duration:

An estimate of the time required to complete a project can be made:

Top-down, when the consultant knows that he has a certain number of available work weeks and tries to distribute them upward, when the consultant estimates the time, among various jobs;

From below, when the consultant knows the time required to complete each specific job.

In preparation for the project, it is necessary to ensure:

1) project supervisor on the client’s side;

2) recruitment and training of client personnel;

3) office premises;

4) instructive meeting of consultants;

5) information meeting for the client.

Project supervisor from the client side . Its main function is to maintain close and constant communication with consultants.

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.

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 (or 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 second part should contain information about the experience and competence of the Consulting Firm (consultant).

The theoretical part involves conducting an express survey on the following educational issues:

Types of consulting organizations and external consultant organization, internal consultant organization, consultant association.

Identification of potential consulting firms.

Model of the process of searching and selecting a consultant.

The practical part is intended to test residual knowledge on the studied topic. (Creation of competing pairs and groups)

1. Develop a model for searching and selecting a consultant

2. Assess the effectiveness of the model.

Topic 7. Terms of reference for a consulting firm. Analysis of proposals from consulting firms Contents of the invitation to participate in the competition

The client organization must prepare for consulting firms (consultants): an invitation to participate in the competition; technical task.

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).

T. “Choosing a consulting firm” Questions 1. The need to attract consultants: ways, methods, factors TYPES. 2. PROCESS (PROCEDURE) OF SELECTING A CONSULTING FIRM.

Relevance Professional consulting services have been provided in Russia for over twenty 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.

WAYS TO PROVIDE HELP BY CONSULTANTS Find the problem and suggest solutions. analyze the situation and identify the problem and the causes of 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. situations when consultants provide methodological support to the client and go with him all the way from identifying a problem to solving it (process consulting, i.e. consulting in the process of the 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 counseling. 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.

METHODS FOR SELECTING CONSULTANTS in Russia are not yet as developed as in developed countries. Typically, a method is used that could be called the intuitive random search method. A Russian manager chooses 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 work for the manager that he could not do himself, to find an investor, to sell overstocked products, etc. 2. The manager meets the consultants at some event (training courses, conferences, etc.) , learns about their activities from the funds mass media or from his colleagues in the industry or region and, having become interested in their work, tries to test its benefits on himself (a more fruitful method). Experience shows that the majority of Russian managers belong to the category of so-called “difficult” clients who are not easy to convince of the need to use consultants.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE SELECTION OF CONSULTANTS Time. As a rule, any problem introduces its own time constraints. Depending on how much time is available to solve a particular problem, a choice is made in favor of one approach or another. Typically, expert consulting is the fastest way to solve a problem if the invited consultant has proven methods for solving such problems. Labor resources. Each problem requires labor resources spent on its solution. When the scale of the problem is large enough, it can be quite difficult to allocate people who will be exclusively focused on solving it, given that all of the client's full-time employees have their own day-to-day responsibilities as part of the ongoing business. At the same time, hiring and maintaining a special staff of specialists in case of every problem, as some companies sometimes prefer to do, is not economically feasible. Consultants in this case are an additional labor resource that is available when needed and removed when the need for it has passed.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE CHOICE OF CONSULTANTS Money. Hiring consultants requires costs. Depending on what financial resources the client can allocate to solve the problem, one or another counseling approach is chosen. As a rule, training consulting is the cheapest way to solve problems if the client has the necessary labor resources and time to train them. Knowledge. The level of specialized knowledge is no less a critical factor than time or money. Of course, knowledge can be obtained through self-education. However, the degree of consolidation of knowledge and the skills of their practical application will be different. It is no coincidence that the effectiveness of full-time education is higher than that of distance learning. In addition, self-education means learning from your own mistakes, whereas by engaging consultants, you can learn from others.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE SELECTION OF CONSULTANTS Objectivity. The consultant provides an independent, outside perspective on the client's problems. Due to his independence, he is free from cliches and prejudices that the client has developed over the years of his activity and which are often themselves sources of problems. The consultant may ask questions that the client himself does not think about because, due to established habits, he does not consider them questions. The consultant is a disinterested person in the sense that his only interest is the most effective solution to the client's real problems, and he has no interests of his own within those problems.

ACTIONS THAT THE CONSULTANT SHOULD NOT PERFORM FOR THE CLIENT Making decisions for the client, since the client himself is responsible for his business; Playing with the law - should not give the client recommendations that are contrary to current legislation. The consultant cannot and should not participate in the client’s internal conflicts. The task of a consultant should not be to create reports that are beautiful in form and empty in content, i.e. (formal results).

PARTICIPATION OF A CONSULTANT IS EFFECTIVE IN SITUATIONS When the problem is complex, systemic in nature. When the problem is one-time, situational in nature. When there are differences of opinion about a problem When solving a problem could have serious consequences.

STAGES OF THE PROCESS OF SELECTION OF A CONSULTING FIRM ■ ■ DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS); ( COMPILATION OF A LIST OF CONSULTING FIRMS (10 15 FIRMS); ■ FORMATION OF A FINAL LIST (THE CRITERIA HERE ARE: IMAGE, PROFESSIONALISM, CLIENTS, LOCATION); ■ SELECTION OF A CONSULTING FIRM: - INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION; - ANALYSIS OF PROPOSALS OF CONSULTING FIRMS; - EVALUATION OF BUSINESS AND PERSONAL QUALITIES OF CONSULTANTS; - DECISION MAKING TO SUMMARY THE RESULTS OF THE COMPETITION; - DEVELOPMENT OF A CONTRACT OPTION.

THE TOR USUALLY CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: - BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLIENT; - PROJECT GOALS; - SERVICES REQUIRED FROM THE CONSULTING FIRM; - PROJECT DATES; - LIST OF DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED FOR THE COMPETITION, CONFIRMING THE EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCE OF THE FIRM; - DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN THE CONSULTANT AND THE CLIENT; - REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION ABOUT FEES AND COSTS FOR THE PROJECT; - CONTACT PERSON. STRUCTURE OF TOR: INTRODUCTION, INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLIENT ORGANIZATION, GOALS, SCOPE OF WORK, REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSULTANTS, TRANSFER OF EXPERIENCE, EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE PROJECT, REPORTING AND APPROVAL PROCEDURES, PARTICIPATION OF CLIENT OR PERSONNEL GANIZATIONS IN THE PROJECT.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF A CONSULTING FIRM Firm image; Prof. Competence; Reviews about activities; Quality of development; Ability to complete work on time; Availability of additional connections; Costs of final services; Compliance with ethical standards.

THE GENERAL EVALUATION OF THE CONSULTANT'S ACTIVITIES SHOULD CONSIDER: ■ ■ ■ COMPLIANCE OF THE PROPOSAL WITH THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS; EVALUATION OF TECHNICAL PROPOSAL; COMPARISON OF PRICE LEVEL AND QUALITY OF SERVICES; PRESENTATION OF THE PROPOSAL; IDENTIFYING THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE PROPOSAL. BUT, EVEN HAVING CHOOSED THE BEST CONSULTANT, THE ORGANIZATION IS NOT INSURED FROM FAILURE: ■ THE CONSULTING FIRM MAY SEND TO THE CLIENT A DIFFERENT TEAM OF CONSULTANTS TO PERFORM THE CONTRACT, NOT THE ONE INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSAL; ■ THE CONSULTING SERVICE IS HETEROGENEOUS IN ITS COMPOSITION, THEREFORE THE INFLUENCE OF THE FIRM'S EXPERIENCE ON THE FINAL DECISION SHOULD NOT DOMINATE. THE SPECIFIC WEIGHTS OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INDICATORS OF A CONSULTING FIRM MAY LOOK ABOUT LIKE THIS: TEAM OF CONSULTANTS - 0.5; WORK PLAN - 0, 3; EXPERIENCE OF THE CONSULTING ORGANIZATION - 0, 2. FIRMS THAT RECEIVE THE LOWEST SCORING FOR ONE OF THE THREE INDICATORS MENTIONED ABOVE ARE DISMISSED FIRST. THEN THE PARAMETERS OF THE REMAINING FIRMS ARE SPECIFIED BY CONDUCTING CONSULTATION MEETINGS WITH THEM.