What to Know Before Choosing a Technology Consultant

Presented by: Aciron Consulting, LLC

IntroductionInvesting in new technology has the potential to exponentially improve business operations at your company.

Choosing the right technology consultant to help with your organization’s unique needs can seem like a daunting task for such a significant investment.

While the process and procedures involved with a technology consulting engagement can have a lot of similarities to other consulting engagements you’ve had before, there are many key differences that you should consider before selecting and engaging with your technology consultant/consulting firm.

Here are 3 key tips that you can employ when selecting a consultant for your project!

Define Project GoalsSpending the time to clearly define project goals, objectives, and needs internally before seeking a consultant can make all the difference in ensuring a smooth evaluation and selection process.

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Define Project Goals◇ Defining goals and objectives doesn’t

mean you need to know all of the technology specs right now by any means.

◇ Instead, provide the details about what you need, and how you want your technology investment to solve your organization’s pain points.

◇ With a clearly defined project objectives plan in hand, you will be prepared to assess each prospective firm’s:

￮ Expertise￮ Communication style￮ People￮ Proposed project approach

Ask QuestionsFor an investment as crucial as the implementation of new technology, you want to ensure that you and your consultant will communicate well with each other.

This goes beyond knowledge and experience, and touches into the area of interpersonal skills that will mesh well with the people, processes, and the range of technological sophistication at your own organization.

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Ask Questions◇ For a technology engagement, your

consultant must not only possess the technical know-how to execute the project successfully, but they must be able to communicate their knowledge in a clear and effective manner that will resonate with the key project stakeholders in your organization.

◇ This is particularly important because you want to ensure that the communication style of your consultant meshes well with the communication style of your own organization.

◇ This will ensure a much more enjoyable and collaborative experience and will also reduce the risk for miscommunication.

Ask Questions◇ Additionally, remember to consider the fact that a consultant’s

technical knowledge does not automatically make them the best fit for the job.

◇ While many technology consultants possess an incredible wealth of technical knowledge, this does not mean they will be able to communicate everything to you in a clear, concise business manner that will make sense to people of varying levels of technological sophistication within your organization.

◇ The key is to remember to not only look at technical knowledge, but consulting experience and communication style as well.

◇ In your initial meeting, ask how the company would explain/approach your project pain points and goals.

￭ How well do you identify with their explanation of your needs?￭ Does their answer make sense to you and align with your own goals for the project?￭ Will it make sense with the other employees involved in the project?￭ Are their answers clear, concise, and to the point?

Ask QuestionsYou can tell a lot about a firm by the way they conduct initial meetings and engage with you from the very beginning. In your initial meeting or introductory phone call with the prospective consultant, you can get a feel for how they communicate and explain things, from the simple to the complex, by keeping a few things in mind:

Ask Questions◇ Assess the consultant’s communication

style beyond the initial meeting:

￭ How easy is it to get in touch with someone at the company?

￭ Has the organization openly invited you to engage with them further (i.e. providing direct phone lines or email addresses)

￭ Has the firm made it clear that they possess the man-power, time, and resources to complete your project on time and within budget?

Research References and ExperienceThe true test of a consulting firm’s experience is what their past clients say about their work. After you hold your initial meeting with the potential firm, ask to speak with some references that worked with the firm on a similar type of project.

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Research References and Experience◇ References will offer a deeper and

unrehearsed look into the capabilities and experience of the firm.

◇ Because a technology initiative is such a significant investment, seeing previous examples of their work can help you determine if the organization’s capabilities and final products delivered align with the dream system you had in mind.

◇ As always, we encourage you to communicate your needs, goals, and ideas with whomever you choose to engage with for a technology initiative.

◇ For projects big and small, doing your own due diligence on the firm will ensure a much smoother project process down the line.

Thanks!Any questions?You can find me at:

◇ Twitter: @askacion◇ Email: info@aciron.com◇ Phone: (617) 245-0497

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