Northwest ASSIST How to obtain maximum value from consultants 3 rd April 2008 Nadine Fry Julian Todd

Agenda IntroductionsAll AimsNadine Fry ASSIST/Tribal RelationshipNadine Fry Consultant or ContractorNadine Fry ExerciseAll COFFEE The Consultancy Assignment Pathway Julian Todd A Quick re-capAll Commission Deliver Consolidate

Introductions A show of hands from:  Informatics Staff  Others ?  Who has recruited and managed consultants before?  How many have worked directly with consultants?  Who may employ and work with consultants in the future?

Tribal and ASSIST  Relationship from the outset between Secta (now Tribal) and ASSIST  ASSIST agreed to our formal partnership last year  Shared objectives e.g. brand recognition, sharing information and supporting regional workshops  Potential events:  Developing the intelligent customer/informed client  Consultation on new national NHS policies  HIS Benchmarking club  “Catalogue" of lessons learned  Building blocks for a new information strategy

Aims To demonstrate through example and exercises:  How to get the best fit consultancy to support you in your business – The Commission Stage  How to get the best out of the consultants during the consultancy assignment – The Deliver Stage  How to manage the handover process to achieve the most benefits – The Consolidate Stage

Consultancy Assignments – Main Stages Commission Deliver Consolidate

Consultant or Contractor? Consultant  Project resource  Not managed by the client  In depth knowledge of the project  Independent in terms of supervision, timekeeping and place of work  Creates value for an organisation Contractor  Operational resources  Fills a permanent vacancy or meets a temporary increase in workload  Managed directly by client staff

Exercise What makes a good consultancy assignment ?  i.e. what has worked well and why What makes a poor consultancy assignment ?  i.e. what causes poor results and why

Let’s compare our findings…

What works well?  Clear, open communications  Open to new ideas  Participating and supporting  Mutual respect for skills and experience  Strong sponsorship  Working in partnership  Commitment to get a good result

What causes poor results?  Poor definition of requirements  Changing requirements  Lack of ownership/leadership/ responsibility  Lack of trust and respect  Expected to do ‘sensitive’ work without full briefing  Financial difficulties  A lack of energy  A lack of understanding

Consultancy Assignments – Main Stages Commission Deliver Consolidate

Stage 1: Commissioning Consultancy (1/3)  What sort of relationship do you want and expect?  What type of support do you need?  Specialist expertise  New thinking  Filling a resource gap  Independent view  A facilitator  A challenge to the status quo  Have you clearly defined the requirement?  Do you want and expect knowledge transfer?  Are the objectives clear? Commission

Stage 1: Commissioning Consultancy (2/3)  How will you pick a winner?  Experience  Reputation  Price  Value for money  Are you ready to support the assignment?  Governance  Sponsorship  Support resources  Stakeholder engagement Commission

Stage 1: Commissioning Consultancy (3/3)  Are you “really” open to new ideas?  What are you prepared to reveal before and after the contract award?  History  Context  Constraints  Culture  Are you clear on the procurement process and is it fast enough and flexible enough?  Catalist  Competitive tender Commission

Stage 2: Delivering the assignment (1/2)  Discovering the real scope of the requirement  Clear roles and responsibilities  Admin and project support, working arrangements and access to information  Acceptance and quality control of outputs Deliver

Stage 2: Delivering the assignment (2/2)  Stakeholder engagement and communications  Dealing with senior stakeholder ‘power struggles’  Making decisions in a timely way  How to deal with dissent  How to balance competing views  Keeping a focus on the ‘success’ of the assignment Deliver

Stage 3: Consolidating the assignment  Hand over to ensure ownership  Who  What  How  So what has changed?  Is it accepted?  Is it sustainable?  Is there a bigger plan?  Learning from the experience – both parties Consolidate

A Quick Re-Cap - Our Aims for the Day  Commission  How to get the best fit consultancy to support you in your business  Deliver  How to get the best out of the consultants during the consultancy assignment  Consolidate  How to manage the handover process to achieve the most benefits  Clear definition of what needs to be done and by when  Clarity over the type of support required  Clear roles and responsibilities  Staying focused on the ‘success’ criteria  Clear definition of what is to be handed over to who and how Commission Deliver Consolidate

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CHECKLIST Defining your requirements for a Consultancy Assignment  What do you want to be delivered (hard/soft outputs and outcomes)  What are your timescales  What are the constraints  Who will deliver what and who will be involved and for what amount of time  What is in scope and out of scope  What reporting mechanisms need to be met  Who are the ‘customers’  What known risks and issues exist  How is ‘success’ defined  How do you and the consultancy benefit from success  Do you want and expect knowledge transfer  Are your objectives absolutely clear