How to work with consultants successfully

In this newsletter, we explain the mindset towards working with consultants (what you can control vs. what you cannot), the difference between engaging consultants vs. contractors, why build mission-focused teams made up of inhouse and consultant resources and balancing resources supporting both your in-house team and your consultant.?

We answer the question: “What is the difference between a consultant and a contractor?”.

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It’s almost a seasonal event, like Sakura season in March/April and beer in October.?

“My agency/consultant/project contractor was not able to deliver again!”?

“We gave them lots of chances to produce results, and the only thing they did well, was disappoint us.”?

“As the lead, I had to put them on notice. They are not going to hit our KPIs by the end of FY.”?

Does the inhouse-agency or the client-consultant relationship almost always have to end in tears??

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful if our external partners performed well and helped us with our goals??

The answer is actually yes. You have control over what you can control.

You likely brought the agency/consultants in to help with skills or competency gaps, or to provide more resources, and maybe even to counsel leadership/management.?

There are many areas – time, relationships, history – that is beyond your control.?

However, what you can control is the environment for both your team and your agency/consultant. ?

If you can set up the environment for success, it will kick the process off on a good note, and the positive momentum can provide you and your team with the advantage of a good working relationship from the start.

How can you successfully work with consultants in support of your goals?

Here are some steps to try out.?

• Figure out if you require a consultant or a contractor: The scope of work for a consultant and contractor are frequently confused. Do not assume that consultants and contractors can code-switch.
• Provide a clear brief and expected outcomes for the project: Save on the pain. Work on objectives, provide clear outcomes along with examples. Share details about measurements. If there are none, admit it and ask for help in putting them together. A consultant is an ally, not just a vendor.
• Engage a consultant by capability: Take time to explain what you are paying for, in terms of scope, outcomes and time. Tell the consultant what you do not want. Record these discussions and establish a culture of transparency from the get-go.
• Establish a workflow and get out of the way: Pick a comfortable combination of digital tools. Ensure that there is a proper onboarding. Follow-up with refreshers. Set checkpoints and work towards milestones.
• Be realistic about compensation: Most managers intuitively understand the relationship between speed of work, price and quality of work. If there are budget constraints, consider changing the duration of the project, the volume of output, or the expected end goal.

Sidebar: Why we experience tension working with our consultants and/or contractors?

As a team lead responsible for communications programmes and campaigns, it is important to:

• Stay focused on the goals of the brand and the specific project at hand
• Keep an eye on the big picture while also paying attention to the details.
• Be open-minded and willing to consider new ideas and approaches, even if they differ from the brand's existing strategy or ways of doing things.
• Be strategic and thoughtful in your decision-making, considering the potential risks and benefits of each option and working with the consultants to develop a plan that is both effective and realistic ?

This approach can go astray and contribute to frustration when there is:

• Lack of Alignment: Consultants may have a different understanding of the brand's goals, values, and messaging. If their recommendations or actions don't align with the brand's vision, it can create tension and make it difficult to execute an effective PR strategy.
• Communication Issues: Communication is key in any successful PR campaign. If there is a breakdown in communication between the brand and the consultants, it can lead to misunderstandings, misaligned expectations, and ultimately, tension.
• Different Approaches: Every PR consultant brings their own unique approach and style to the table. If their approach clashes with the brand's existing strategy, it can create friction and tension.
• Budgetary Concerns: PR consultants can be expensive, and if there are concerns about the cost-effectiveness of their services, it can lead to tension between the brand and the consultants.
• Accountability and Ownership: When a consultant is brought in to work on a specific project, it can be unclear who is responsible for the outcomes. This can lead to tension and finger-pointing if the project doesn't go as planned.

Sometimes, the brand or the team lead has to pay attention to the following factors or triggers that can impact the working relationship with the consultant:

• Time Constraints: There might be pressure to deliver results within a tight deadline, which can cause the in-house team to focus more on short-term goals rather than the big picture. This may result in the function/team being less strategic and more reactive.
• Personal Biases: There might be preconceived notions about certain PR strategies or consultants, which could prevent the function/team from being open-minded to new ideas or approaches.
• Lack of Experience: Team members might be new to their role or to working with consultants, which could result in them being less strategic or unsure of how to effectively manage the consultant relationship.
• Conflicting Priorities: There might be conflicting priorities, such as managing multiple projects at once or juggling competing demands from different stakeholders. This can make it difficult for the function/team to stay focused and strategic.?

The success of many programmes or campaigns depends on a strong working relationship between the brand and their consultants. It is important for all parties to establish clear expectations, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively to achieve their shared goals.

What are the key differences between a consultant and a contractor?

Many brands assume that consultants and contractors can perform and code-switch constantly with changing scopes. ?

However, from a time and cost perspective, that is inefficient. Getting the service provider to do the wrong scope will result in more time or resources spent; and therefore, more fees charged to the organisation.?

It is not surprising that many consultants are also highly capable contractors when it comes to execution of communications and marketing execution. The industry expects retainers and projects to cover both the conceptualisation, planning and thinking as well as the doing and measuring. ?

However, this creates a potential area of tension as the scope for a consultant and that of a contractor can differ. ?

A consultant is focused on building a plan with strategic intent and ensuring that the structure, positioning and approach is good to implement. The contractor – while typically the same provider – can be different. Contractors deliver on tactics and operational outcomes. Also, it is within a brand’s prerogative to hire a contractor to deliver the plan; and not always hand it to the consultant that came up with the plan. ?

Contractors come with a variety of engagement models. They can be outsourced partners, tasked to deliver specific tactical outcomes or they can be the equivalent of a full-time team member, working within an organisation to deliver a variety of outcomes.

Being clear about the scope and outcomes can help with the thinking behind selecting a consultant or contractor for your project or campaign.??

Building mission-focused teams made up of inhouse and consultant resources

Many in-house teams continue to adapt – post pandemic, and in a weak economy – by focusing on improving operational efficiencies. Some of these actions include becoming even lean (lesser people), more reliance on automation and technologies, as well as outsourcing/off-shoring tasks and projects. ?

The composition of the in-house team has also changed from building/having a ‘fully complete’ function composed of members with varying experience levels, a good balance of generalists and specialists, capped with some prior experience from the same sector, industry or a competitor. ?

Instead, it is starting to evolve into more of an on-demand model where the team lead selects between generalists and specialists of various experience levels, and expertise as and when the scope and outcomes require them. ?

The analogy has shifted from having a ‘best eleven’ football team, and into assembling a ‘mission or field’ team where having the wrong combination of talent and capability in the campaign or project team can result in a negative outcome. Leads are selecting campaign and project team members with care proportional to how important the mission outcome is.?

Balancing resources supporting your in-house team and your consultant.

·??????Saving and optimising resources

While it might appear counter-intuitive at the start, working with contractors or consultants can help to save or optimise resources. Examples of such scenarios include organisations that are just beginning to build their PR/marketing function (or more likely only have a single generalist handling many outcomes), or looking to connect their marketing directly to revenue triggers, or those looking to work on a brand campaign, or a product roll-out. Across these scenarios, the master plan or roadmap has been decided upon, and the combined internal-external team is assembled to help the brand deliver against the plan, or take on the revenue stream, or even to provide support for marketing operations such as building the budget, or milestones for the team. ?

·??????Time is always a cost

Working with external team members will always require its cost in terms of both budget and time. Management should always allocate time to align the organisation’s goals and outcomes with the external support person or team. Time is also required to set up the brief, workflow, checkpoints, output, actions and outcomes. ?

·??????Be realistic

Understanding what is realistic when applying the entire budget – finance, time from team and organisation input – is key to balancing resources. Begin with the strategic communications plan and evaluate whether the outcomes and the milestones needed are achievable. Being honest with management and the team at this point will save a ton of resources down the road when the point of no return has been crossed, and money cannot be recouped. ?

·??????Don’t set teams up to fail

The other resource to be realistic about is people. It is easy to set ‘stretch targets’ for teams but if they do not have the capability to achieve it, that’s setting them and the organisation up to fail. Being clear about the team’s capabilities and time, can point towards the gap and the need to bring in external support to bridge and solve. ?

·??????Understand when it’s time to evolve the external partner relationship

Organisations should always look at how external resources can help to increase the team’s learning and insight. When the external support team’s effort starts to bear fruit either by launching, growing or delivering results, start thinking about whether it is the right time to move an in-house team member to take over, or to bring such as a specialist into the in-house team. Consider redeploying the external specialist support to other projects to keep the relationship ongoing. This will help in tapping on more support with people or teams that are already familiar with your organisation culture and structure, goals, and the in-house team.