Characteristic | Implications |
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Intangibility | It is harder to assess the quality of the intangible aspects of a product than of the tangible ones. |
Variability | Services tend to be more variable – the provider of the service might have an ‘off day’, or not be suited to that particular context. |
Compatibility | Many services depend on the quality of the interaction between provider and client, which depends on both parties. You may hate a hairdresser's non-stop chatter; an elderly client may love it. |
Untestability | It is often difficult to ‘try out’ a service – whether a ‘trial’ haircut, or a ‘trial’ change intervention. |
Perishability | The service is consumed as it is produced – the shelf life of a shortlist for a CEO vacancy is only slightly longer than that of an airline seat. |
Scope for misunderstanding | Intangibility means that it is much easier for there to be misunderstanding between provider and purchaser as to the exact nature of the service to be provided. |
Difficulty of evaluation | It is often far harder to evaluate a service once it has been received than it is to evaluate tangible goods. |
Firstly my organisation was large and so has an extensive corporate memory. Each consultancy contract is evaluated at its completion and the performance of the consultants involved is recorded. When another project is considered there is already a list of known possible consultants. The solicitors maintained that list, and it is they who wrote the contracts. In addition, there are Universities and other organisations who do consultancy work, and these are also known. The emergence of new potential consultants is monitored. In addition, consultants present their abilities in all sorts of situations, at international conferences or cosy seminars, or by sending books which they have just published or articles in the learned journals. They may offer hospitality, although that is often difficult for a public sector client to accept. Colleagues may have met useful contacts and pass on their details. Consultancy work for Government is very transparent. Mistakes are visible and expensive disasters get onto the front pages of newspapers. I suspect that consultants’ mistakes in the private sector are often swept under the carpet. (Senior civil servant)
Consultants reply to an invitation to tender (ITT). Then there is a ‘beauty contest’. Trying new consultants is perceived as high risk – indeed my organisation now actively encourages use of consultants who have previously worked with us. The ITT is not necessarily a competition. In the past I have forced 2 or 3 consultancy proposals to be combined in order to gain the combined skills. Within sensible limits, price is not very relevant. Quality and value for money is key. And all work has to be done on time. The Civil Service works to serious deadlines, at least in the policy-making areas. For example, if a Minister is committed to giving a speech then the text has to be ready beforehand. (Senior civil servant, quoted previously)
Area | Desired requirements* |
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Previous coaching experience | Obviously this would need to be altered to fit the expertise (e.g. pay, training, OD/change agency). |
Relevant business/industry experience | What would count as ‘relevant’ would depend upon the circumstances. |
References | |
Membership of professional bodies | |
Qualifications/training | |
Relevant experience | The CIPD report suggests that an important point is also to check the consultant's understanding of the limits of their own expertise, although this is not featured as a separate area on the checklist. |
Professional indemnity insurance | |
Supervision | |
Qualities/personal attributes | |
Tools/techniques/models | The CIPD suggests that coaches should have an extensive ‘kit bag’ of tools and techniques from a wide range of theoretical backgrounds, as suggested above for HR consultants in general. |
When I worked as an associate director for an HR consultancy it was the practice to charge out consultants’ time for up to four times their salary. But in addition to earning fees, I spent time marketing, building client relationships, managing accounts, selling (sometimes to clients who only wanted to pick my brains – it is short-sighted to think that this comes for free, costs must be recouped somehow), personal development, developing more junior consultants, and administration. My fees also needed to cover a proportion of office accommodation, support staff, managerial staff, finance team, office services, product development time, profits etc. A proportion of overall profits were shared with staff but these were by no means enormous. Very little of senior partners’ time may be spent with clients. Their emphasis is upon shaping and managing a business and building relationships/networking with other executives, consultants and, indirectly, clients. Most partners become partners because of their skill set and achievements. (Critical reader)