PERFORMANCE GAPS AND CAUSES

Consulting process is not an easy job. A consultant should try to be in the Client shoes before approaching him with the solution. A consultant must systematically conduct performance and cause analysis prior to selecting, designing, implementing and evaluating an intervention. A friend of mine asked me the basic steps to a consulting process. So, I thought to pen down the process, which also takes care of identifying the performance gaps and causes.

Preparation. Preparation includes researching the organization and the industry as well as the client. While internal consultants have access to much more information, external consultants can use the internet to access organization and industry specific information. The external Consultants can always take the help of the Client’s organization and specifically look into the Business Units of the organization and gather information required to solve the Client’s problems.

Assessment. The next step is centered on building rapport with the client and asking open-ended questions to gain the client’s perception of the overall situation. This initial phase is necessary to build trust and begin the process of assessing the client’s situation and needs. This step should not be overlooked as the Consultants sometimes miss the basic fact as they are in a hurry to get into the problems.

Diagnosis. Once the overall situation is identified, we need to explore the client’s perception of the problem, its implications and the value of resolving that problem. This is done with direct questions that guide the discussion as we carefully diagnose the performance discrepancy. These first three steps are necessary to “earn the right” to make a recommendation as to how to improve performance.

Prescription. After identifying the overall situation, problems, implications and value of improving performance, the consultant is ready to make a recommendation as to alternative courses of action. We call this a prescription rather than a presentation to reinforce the idea from the medical community that “Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.”

Partnering. As the Consultant works with the client to decide the best course of action, he must define what roles each will play. In effect, Consultants form a partnership in which the client still owns the problem, but the consultant have a clearly defined role to play in seeking to resolve that problem. The partnership will be different for each client and problem.

Reinforcement. Before leaving, Consultant should reinforce the client’s decision to use his services. It is natural for the client to feel apprehensive about committing resources to a new course of action.

Follow-up. Consultants must make sure that they fulfill the promises made to the client and move the project ahead. All of good work would be for nothing if they didn’t meet the expectations we created.