Welcome back to another session of "Real Estate Solutions & Coffee". Grab your favorite cuppa and let's dive into the compelling world of IWMS implementation. Following our discussion on "Point Solution Vs. Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS): Making an Informed Decision", today we will discuss the role and advantages of having a 3rd party consulting partner support your IWMS implementation project.
Why Consider a 3rd Party Consulting Partner?
As we emphasized in Blog Post 2, implementing an IWMS involves many different roles - Sponsors/Stakeholders, Project Manager, Solution Architect, System Administrators, Lead Resources/Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and Change Manager, each playing a significant part in the process. Each phase demands a particular level of involvement and commitment from these roles. However, managing these responsibilities in-house might stretch your resources thin, especially in a large organization or a complex IWMS. This is where a 3rd party consulting partner comes in, helping streamline the process, manage responsibilities, and ensure successful implementation.
The Competitive Edge of Engaging a Third-Party Consulting Partner
Engaging a third-party consulting partner for an Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) implementation can offer distinct advantages, adding layers of expertise, experience, and efficiency to your project. Let's dig deeper into how such an alliance can support both customers and IWMS vendors.
Advantages for IWMS Customers
A third-party consultant can play multiple roles, acting as an extension of your team and providing specialized knowledge and experience. Here are some of the key advantages they bring to your organization:
- Expertise and Experience: Third-party consultants have facilitated IWMS implementations across diverse industries, making them a repository of best practices, insights, and experiences. Their expertise can help identify potential challenges early and provide solutions based on proven strategies, minimizing project risks and enhancing success rates.
- External Perspective: As an external entity, third-party consultants bring a fresh perspective that can identify blind spots, offer objective critiques, and suggest improvements that might otherwise be overlooked by an internal team.
- Resource Relief: By taking on numerous responsibilities such as project management, vendor coordination, IT-system integration, and team management, third-party consultants can significantly lighten the load for your internal team. This relief enables your team to focus on strategic activities like requirements gathering, design documentation sign-off, and managing the organization's change process.
- Enhanced Communication: Effective communication is crucial in a project as complex as an IWMS implementation. Third-party consultants can streamline communication between the customer, the vendor, and various internal teams, ensuring everyone stays on the same page and misunderstandings are minimized.
- Training and Support: Third-party consultants typically provide training for the system administrators and users, promoting a smooth transition and ensuring that your organization is equipped to maximize the benefits of the new system.
Value-add for IWMS Vendors
In addition to supporting customers, third-party consultants can also serve as valuable allies for IWMS vendors, providing essential coordination services, industry insights, and expectation management. Here's how they contribute to the vendor's success:
- Project Coordination: Third-party consultants can streamline the project process, acting as a single point of contact between the customer and the vendor, ensuring efficient communication and coordination.
- Industry Insight: With their experience across various industries, third-party consultants can provide vendors with valuable insights about the customer's business, industry trends, and competitive landscape. This information can enable vendors to tailor their solutions more effectively to meet the customer's needs.
- Expectation Management: One of the most critical aspects of a successful implementation is managing the customer's expectations. Third-party consultants, with their deep understanding of the customer's needs and the vendor's capabilities, can mediate between the two parties, ensuring realistic expectations and preventing dissatisfaction and project delays.
- Informed Feedback: Third-party consultants can provide valuable feedback to the vendor based on their experiences with diverse implementations. This feedback can contribute to continuous improvement in the vendor's products and processes.
In essence, third-party consultants serve as a bridge between customers and vendors, facilitating a smoother, more effective IWMS implementation. Their expertise and experience can contribute to a more efficient project process, a more effective system, and a more satisfied customer.
The Power of Pre-existing Relationships in IWMS Implementations
Leveraging pre-existing relationships – both with the customer and IWMS vendors – is one of the potent forces a third-party consultant can bring to bear on an IWMS implementation project. Let's unpack why these relationships are so valuable.
Relationships with Customers
Having a pre-existing relationship with the customer can fundamentally change the dynamics of the project for the better. Here are some reasons why:
- Understanding of Unique Needs and Expectations: Each organization has its own set of specific needs, business objectives, and expectations for the IWMS. A third-party consultant who has a pre-existing relationship with the client is more likely to have a nuanced understanding of these elements, enabling them to cater their services more precisely. This intimate knowledge facilitates the design of an implementation plan that aligns closely with the organization's goals.
- Familiarity with Organizational Culture: Every company has its own unique culture that permeates all aspects of the business, including project implementation. Understanding this culture – the decision-making processes, communication styles, hierarchy, and so on – can significantly improve the consultant's ability to navigate the organization, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.
- Improved Communication and Cooperation: Trust, often built over time and through previous successful collaborations, tends to lead to more open and effective communication. The organization is more likely to openly share information, voice concerns, and provide feedback, leading to more successful problem-solving and more effective cooperation.
- Tailored Change Management: With their understanding of the company's culture and processes, the third-party consultant can design a change management plan that is more likely to be accepted by the employees, thereby reducing resistance and promoting more effective utilization of the new IWMS.
Relationships with IWMS Vendors
An active partnership with the IWMS vendor is another significant advantage a third-party consultant may have. Let's discuss why:
- ?Streamlined Processes: Understanding a vendor's processes, requirements, and quirks can allow the third-party consultant to anticipate needs and problems, thus streamlining the implementation process. They know who to contact for issues, how to expedite requests, and what pitfalls to avoid, thereby minimizing delays and inefficiencies.
- Enhanced Solution Adaptation: Vendors usually offer a range of solutions and add-ons, and a third-party consultant with experience with that vendor will be better able to customize the IWMS to the client's needs. They are aware of the full range of the vendor's capabilities and can leverage this knowledge to tailor the system, improving its utility for the organization.
- Improved Vendor Communication: With an existing relationship, communication with the vendor can be more efficient. The consultant understands the vendor's communication preferences and knows the right contacts for specific requests. This familiarity can lead to faster responses and problem resolution.
- Negotiation and Contracting: Familiarity with the vendor's pricing models, negotiation practices, and contract terms can be beneficial during the contracting phase. The consultant can use their knowledge to ensure the customer gets the best deal possible.
In essence, these pre-existing relationships allow third-party consultants to navigate the IWMS implementation process more smoothly, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings, delays, and conflict. This results in a more efficient, effective project that meets the client's needs and expectations.
Checklist for Bringing On a 3rd Party Consulting Partner
When contemplating whether to bring in a third-party consulting partner for your IWMS implementation, consider the following key aspects:
Implementation Complexity
- Is your IWMS solution complex, requiring specialized knowledge for successful implementation?
- Does your solution involve integrating with multiple existing systems?
- Is your project timeline tight, requiring additional resources to meet the deadline?
- Does your organization have the necessary in-house expertise for the implementation?
- Do your internal resources have the capacity to take on the additional workload?
- Is your team familiar with the vendor's processes and the specific IWMS solution?
- Does the IWMS vendor provide comprehensive support throughout the implementation process?
- Is the vendor's support team easy to reach and responsive?
- Does the vendor provide sufficient training for your team?
- Do you have a robust change management plan in place for transitioning to the new system?
- Is there a designated change manager within your organization who can coordinate and drive this plan?
Third-Party Consultant's Expertise
- Does the third-party consulting partner have a strong track record in IWMS implementation?
- Does the consultant have experience in your specific industry?
- Does the consultant have positive customer testimonials and case studies?
- Does the third-party consultant have a pre-existing relationship with your organization or the IWMS vendor, which could facilitate smoother coordination and better understanding of your needs?
- Does the cost of engaging a third-party consulting partner fit within your project budget?
- Will the consultant's involvement potentially offset costs by reducing project risks, implementation time, or post-implementation issues?
If your answers to these questions suggest a need for additional support, expertise, and resources beyond what your internal team and the vendor can provide, a third-party consulting partner could be a valuable asset for your IWMS implementation.
Conclusion
In summary, incorporating a third-party consulting partner into your IWMS implementation project can deliver a wealth of benefits. With their deep well of expertise and experience, they serve as an invaluable resource in navigating the complexities of such a significant endeavor. Their external perspective and broad-based experience can uncover potential pitfalls and provide solutions that might otherwise remain unseen. The relief they provide to your in-house team, by taking on crucial roles such as project management and vendor coordination, allows your organization to focus on its core competencies and strategic activities. Their relationships with both customers and vendors further smooth the implementation process, ensuring a successful outcome that meets your organization's unique needs and expectations. The decision to engage a third-party consultant should be weighed against the checklist provided, taking into account your organization's resources, needs, and the complexities of your IWMS implementation. By doing so, you can assure that your IWMS implementation is not just successfully completed, but done so in a way that maximizes its benefits for your organization.
