How to get best results from the consultant

If the NASSCOM 2008 IT/BPO report is to be believed, the trend of consultants in the workplace is set to increase as more and more organizations look towards consultants to meet staffing needs on a temporary basis – rather than increase the numbers on the payroll. What’s more, about 5% of the non-permanent workforce is in senior positions; which only goes to show that an increased amount of faith is being reposed in specialists who consult with a number of companies rather than work for just one. Be that as it may, company personnel (especially those supervising consultants, or responsible for the success of their projects) need to be aware of how to get the best out of a consultant, in terms of providing an atmosphere conducive to his or her working as well as being aware of common pitfalls in an assignment’s lifecycle.  

Milestones and checkpoints need to be setup before the assignment begins. This means investing enough time with the consultant and the client team to chart out the roadmap that the assignment will follow. In the eagerness to get the project on the road, this task is often treated with less importance than it deserves resulting in needless heartache. A process-orientation in a consulting project’s approach ensures that issues are flagged off well in advance, before they become flame mail trails.                                                                                                                                                                                               Read more -http://www.consultgenie.com/geniespeak/articles_detail.do?id=7985