The end of the gravy train....

The AFR has just published an article that suggests the 'gravy train' for Consultants working in Australian Federal Government is about to cease. https://tinyurl.com/y7ph3j5b. *Warning - you need an AFR subscription to read the full article.

Let's start this conversation with an acknowledgement that not all Consultants are made equal. But not every Consultant is a shady second hand car salesman intent in routing the system. Having been both a public servant and a Consultant this article does resonate in a few areas, so if the gravy train does stop - what do you do about it?

One of the issues here and it affects multiple jurisdictions is the last 10-15 years of OPEX reductions. Year on year I have seen clients be forced into making OPEX savings and staff get cut as a result. NZ is not immune for this with many government departments cutting the commodity teams such as Project Managers but then have to hire them back as 'consultants' on specific projects.

The positives for the client is that the cost can be capitalised, and they aren't breaching headcount restrictions. But the more negative impact is that those project managers (just as an example) then have to spend time trying to work out the internal processes (documented and real ones), who's who, and most importantly, how you get things done successfully in that culture.

If the powers that be want to see less Consultants, here's some advice:

• Stop slashing the OPEX budget without consideration of the work you've assigned your departments
• Hire the best people, if you want consultant level experience you need to pay for it
• Invest in your people; if you want them to innovate then support them, expose them to new thinking, new tools etc
•  Listen to your staff (they often know the answers, or at least partially)
•  Create an open and honest culture where feedback, suggestions are freely given and finger pointing is not the norm
•  Understand your resource model and the demand that you are going to have, then pipeline with recruitment specialists
• Collaborate with your colleagues internally and in other organisations, I guarantee someone has done this before
• Look to the private sector for business models - heresy I know, but often the private sector has developed an approach for competitive edge that can be modified for a public sector use case.

You are never going to get around the need for Consulting services, so select wisely. Opt for a partner not just a supplier and work with them positively - there are some incredibly experienced Consultants out there who can fill the gaps in your team's knowledge and experience and often leverage a wider network for your benefit.

And finally, a good Consultant (especially one who operates in the Public Sector) will want to increase your internal knowledge and if they don't - write it into your agreements. You should never come to the end of an engagement with a Consultant with your team's not having advanced their knowledge.

As ever, I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this.