Our Research into the

Client:Consultant Relationship

• We researched into the UK consultancy market during '96-'97, conducting a series of interviews with executive Directors and other organisational leaders, whose organisations from time to time make use of external consultancy services.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ...

• The majority of senior executives reported more negative than positive experiences of using external consultants - a combination of disappointing outcomes and unsatisfactory working relationships
• A few reported surprisingly beneficial and enjoyable experiences
• We found that the most significant causal factor was the quality of the working relationship between the senior executive 'user' and the head or solo consultant doing the work - when this was of a high quality the outcomes were satisfactory or better, and the experience of getting there was also positive - otherwise either the outcomes or/and the experience of the journey were poor

HOW THIS HELPS ...

• We have used our findings to enhance our approach to working with clients, and ensure they get what they want, both tangibly and experientially
• We have educated consultants and senior executives in the key principles identified through the research, to enable them to improve the quality of their working relationships, and hence their project outcomes

WHAT WE DID ...

• We interviewed 43 directors and other senior executives in a wide variety of industries, who provided a fascinating body of information and perceptions.
• The aim of the study was to report on the consultancy market, from the perspective of the customer - for example:
  • are leaders getting the service they want, in the way they want it?
  • what do they find are the main advantages and disadvantages of using external consultants?
  • if they had a magic wand what would they change about the nature of consultancy offered and the manner of delivery?
• We used the Phenomenological Research Methodology as described by Moustakas (1994), and developed an hypothesis about the essence of the experience clients have of using external consultants.
• The resulting Dissertation is now available from us, or you can read the Abstract here