A qualified contract management consultant is one of the several roles a director or manager can assume. Every business will require an external consultant to oversee a business requirement or a project at a given period.
How do you identify the best contract management expert that understands your business needs and complexities?
The first thing is to establish the reasons you require a consultant. This means creating a holistic consultancy requirement or specification. This is about one or two-page report that sets out:
- Details of the business need or issues to be resolved
- The deliverables such as a feasibility report or study, and cost-benefit analysis.
- Both direct and indirect reports for the consultant.
- Who manages the consultant?
- Where will the consultancy be located?
The second thing to do is to communicate with agencies that manage your freelance consultants. Supply them with the specification of the consultancy, and seek their recommendation on the availability of experienced consultants, as well as, pricing.
These agencies will provide you with several resumes of individuals who are qualified to handle your business requirement.
Third, having reviewed the portfolios, you should request to interview the independent consultants or freelancers recommended. Endeavor to ascertain during the interview process:
- The skills, competencies, and experience of the consultant
- How they fit into your unique business environment
- If they possess the requisite skills and expertise required to fulfill the consultancy requirement.
- If you trust them to solve the business issues or problems.
Four, having selected the consultant, there will need to include them in a contractual agreement with your company. Tax regulations in most countries show that the best decision is to contract with the agency to provide consultant.
You can contract with the agency, or with the consultant’s company.
Five, once the consultant begins working with you, ensure he or she fully understands the problem or requirement and has been copied with the consultancy specification.
Your expectation from the consultant at the end of the contract is the provision of deliverables that flow directly to your bottom line.