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Execution of the Assignment
Successful assignments are those where the client and
the consultant work together. You must take
responsibility for the decision taken and actions
arising out of the consultancy. You should consider the
following:
·
Inform everyone in your organization about the
assignment and ask for their support.
·
Ensure that the consultant has adequate access to the
necessary people, information, property and materials.
·
Where the consultant needs to do some of the tasks
in-house, provide adequate facilities.
·
Appoint a manager or steering team for complex
assignments crossing functional boundaries.
Monitoring the Assignment
Establish explicit targets and regularly review status
to monitor and record the progress of the work. This is
necessary to ensure that the expected results are being
achieved, problems or delays are surfaced early, and
that the consultancy stays on track.
The
Outcome
At
the end of the assignment the consultant presents
findings and recommendations in the form of a report
and/or briefings. In too many cases presentation of the
report is regarded as the end of the assignment. There
are many reasons for involving the consultant in the
process of implementing the report's recommendations or
for involving them in regular progress consultations:
·
Consultants who are aware that they may be asked to see
an assignment through to implementation will ensure that
the actions they propose are within the resource
capacity of the client and are capable of
implementation.
·
The
client has a discipline imposed on them to keep the
momentum of the consultancy going.
·
The
consultant is also available as a continuing source of
expertise to minimize the danger of the implementation
going off track.
Manage your consultants much as you would manage any
other asset. Be clear about your objectives, reach a
common understanding with your consultant about our
expectations, monitor progress, and communicate
frequently about problems or opportunities.
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