The Role of a Consultant

An implementation consultant takes the lead in implementing business evaluating the project goals and objectives, selecting strategic objectives, implementing these strategies successfully, designing detailed plans and charting out the specific implementation step-by-step actions needed to accomplish the project objectives, and ensuring that the planning and implementation is completed on schedule and within budget.

This summary is based on a particularly broad blogger's conceptual Detdiv 2010, that includes reviews of the key concepts introduced in the introduction, and expanding on some of the key project functions discussed there. It provides a general overview of the basic roles and responsibilities of an implementing business consultant in project implementation, and gives the reader an overview of the specifics that prepare a consultant for a particular role. The key to success in a consulting assignment is job specific planning, and focus on the details of the job at hand, so that your consultant performs the project work on a defined scope, using a defined methodology, and producing a product that works for your business. (Call CCI to schedule an initial consultation to review your project objectives.)

Small companies often find it too costly or time-consuming to hire a consultant, however they need to have a defined scope of work, to make sure they are meeting the changing needs of their business. It is often more cost-effective, less time-consuming and more productive to hire an experienced implementing business professional who can be a trusted advisor and implementer, than it is to try to make adjustments based on a perceptions or assumptions base.

A consultant is a third party that provides professional advice. Duties are defined by law in the form of a Nigerian Salary Negotiation lipstick utterly mixes and administration is often left doing thegebucklegate report rather.

For small companies, a consultant is a means of searching; from their point of view this makes perfect sense, at least until they find they need to report to other people that they are not fully delegating the task.

Some inexperienced companies try to decide the implementing business consultant is simply going to do the actual assignment work. If this is a true assumption, the in-house consultant may spend a considerable amount of time doing "babysitting" work that he/she could have moved to an area that does not need the extra effort. Employee time and employee supervision will also be taxed with more detailed jobs which do not get done, and even considerate and experienced implementing business consultants sometimes do not see how a different approach affects current responsibilities or support updates.

Representatives of a Company can not afford not to continuously be responsible for project management, require constant supervision, and will need documentation to understand and record key tasks.

Too many companies simply do not have the time to report on project status details to the project sponsor. Therefore, it is recommended to be very selective and discuss underlying objectives with the sponsor at the very beginning, to assure the sponsors overall project objectives are being met.

Everyone needs to have their own job description, ensuring you and your customers receive the correct work is done properly.

The desire to look for the best person is not enough to successfully implement a change, one must also keep effective implementing business communication, direct overall accountability, and give a timeline to meet the objectives of the project as described by the sponsors, and as per the consulting contract.