Good documentation is usually associated with successful projects. This is true regardless of project size. It is not acceptable to ignore documentation just because “the project is too small” to bother it.

Further, good documentation coupled with a disciplined changed control process will go a long way toward reducing unauthorized changes in the scope of the project. We state that all documents that describe the project’s product must be available for review during administrative closure.

There are two types of project documentation that we consider especially important in fostering good project communication:

Progress reports. One of the most important ongoing components of effective project communication

Project plan. The carefully analysis required to document the project plan tends to reduce uncertainty in the project, and the distribution of the plan does a lot to keep appropriate people informed.

Administrative closure.

Administrative closure consists of verifying and documenting projects results to formalize acceptance of the product by customer or sponsor. It includes collecting project records, ensuring records reflects final specifications, analyzing project success and effectiveness, and archiving information for later use.

Each stage of the project should be carefully closed so important and useful information is not lost. In addition, employee skills in the staff pool database should be updated to reflect new skills and proficiency increases.

Outputs from the administrative closure include:

- Project archives. A complete set of indexed project records; any project specific or program wide historical databases also should be updated. We stress on the importance of paying special attention to archiving financial records when a project is completed under contract or involves significant procurement.

- Project closure. All customer requirements for the product of the project have been met and the customer has formally accepted the project results and deliverables. One other important element of project closure is that the requirements of delivering organization, such as staff evaluations, budget reports, and lessons learned have been completed.

- Lessons learned. At the end of each project, the causes of each variances, the reasons certain actions were selected, and the reasons why? Problems arose should be documented so they are part of the historical database for this project and other projects in the organization. This database then supports knowledge management initiatives in the organization.

- Identifying the problem;

- Data gathering;

- Problem and issue analysis;

- Generating ideas and options;

- Making decisions;

- Action planning.

- Following up.

Identify the bottleneck (the factor that are mostly causing the problem)

- Methods / instruments to identify the cause of the problems (bottleneck)

- Method / instruments for improvement in the company

Tools for identifying problems

Check sheets

WHY – To allow a team to systematically record and compile data so that patterns and trends can be clearly detected and shown.

WHAT

- Creates easy-to-understand data

- Builds a clearer picture of the “facts” as opposed to opnions

- Indicates patterns in the data

HOW

- Agree on the definition of what is being observed

- Decide who will collect the data, over what period and from what sources

- Design a checksheet form that is clear, complete and easy to use

- Collect the data

- Interpret the data

Control Charts

WHY

• To monitor, control and improve process performance over time by studying variation and its source (there are many types of control charts)

WHAT

- Analyse process variation over time

- Distinguishes special from common causes of variation

- Tool for ongoing control of a process

- Helps improve a process to perform consistently and predictably

- Provides a common language for discussing process performance

HOW

- Select the process to be charted

- Determine the sampling method and plan

- Gather data

- Calculate the appropriate statistics and control limits (average, upper control limit, lower control limit) – Construct the control chart

- Interpret the chart/

There are different types of control charts depending on the type of data which is analysed

For VARIABLES DATA (anything that can be measured)

Length

Weight

Temperature

Concentration, etc.

USE:

X R (average range) control chart X S (for large sample size, > 10)

For ATTRIBUTE DATA (data obtained by counting, rather than by measuring)

Number of defects

Number of cracks

Number of absent days

Number of breakages, etc.

USE:

np chart (for constant sample size and charting number of defective units) c chart (for constant sample size and charting number of defects) p chart (for varying sample size and charting number of defective units) u chart (for varying sample size and charting number of defects)

Example of Control chart:

Analyze the problem

5 Why’s 1H technique

(What?, Why?, Where?, When?, Who?, and How?

Or, define

What to change?

What to change to?

How to cause the change?

Cause and effect analysis WHY

• Identify, explore and graphically display, in increasing detail, all of the possible causes related to a problem to discover its root cause(s)

WHAT

Focus on the content of the problem, not on the history of the problem or personal interests

Involves the team which builds support for the resulting solutions

Focuses on causes, not symptoms

HOW

Problem statement

Generate the causes needed to build a cause and effect diagram (brainstorming, data collected)

Construct the diagram

Problem statement

Draw major cause categories (bones), connect them to the back-bone of the diagram: Machines, Methods, Materials, People, Policies, Measurement, Behavior, Environment, etc.)

Put the identified causes in the appropriate category

Ask repeatedly of each cause listed on the “bones” the question Why?

Interpret or test for root cause(s) (causes that appear repeatedly, selection, data on relative frequencies of the different causes)

Pareto analysis

WHY

• Focus efforts on causes of problems that offer the greatest potential for improvement

WHAT

Helps to focus on biggest impact causes

Based on proven principle: 20% of sources causes 80% of the problem

Visual display of relative importance of problems

HOW

Decide what you want to analyse

Choose the causes or problems by brainstorming or from existing data

Choose the most meaningful unit of measurement (such as frequency or cost)

Choose the time period for the study

Gather the necessary data

Compare the relative frequency or cost of each problem category

List the problem categories on the horizontal line and the unit of measurement (like frequencies) on the vertical line

Draw the cumulative line showing the portion of the total that each problem category represents

Interpret the results

Generate ideas and options

Brainstorming is a technique which encourages creative thinking and the generation of ideas. Analysis and evaluation are prevented in the early stages ensuring radical and different ideas are aired.

How to use it:

Assembly the brainstorm group

Appoint a scribe and if appropriate a separate time keeper

Explain the purpose of the meeting and the ground rules. Agree a statement of the topic or issue to be brainstormed. Write this up at the top of the chart.

Allocate time to brainstorm and time to review the outputs; 5-20 minutes is usually sufficient for generating ideas, but brainstorms can go on for hours.

Agree the ground rules

Start the ideas coming – make sure that all ideas are visible to everyone in the group

The scribe should not abbreviate or interpret. It is important to capture ideas exactly as expressed

Having generated a number of ideas, you can than evaluate their usefulness towards meeting the original objective

Benchmarking (comparison analysis) is a process of learning from others as a basis for setting stretch goals, identifying breakthrough processes and accelerated improvement towards world class performance standards.

Action Planning

An action plan is an outline of tacks to be undertaken, to achieve specified objectives. It forms the basis of “getting it right first time”.

Gantt Chart

Tree Diagram

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – task oriented family tree which organizes, defines and graphically display the projects. Descending levels representing an increasing detailed definition of the scope (elements of the project).

Example of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Plan time

Plan HR

In this regard Gantt Charts are very useful. In can be drown both: manually as well as using a computer. Microsoft Project is powerful software used to plan projects.

Example of a simple Gantt Chart

Example of a consulting project plan using Microsoft Project.

Estimate costs

Example of a budget for a training course

Budget for the project “Implementation of 20 keys management system

HACCP & ISO 9001 to ABC JSC”

Period: 1.12.03 – 30.11.04 Duration 12 months

USD

Note: A 25% discount was offered to the client because of contracting 3 products at once and assuring 30% advance payment

Note: Agree the plan & budget with company this is part of he proposal and the contract.

• Delivery service:

Accept projects for which you are qualified & Offer highest quality product. Be honest

Learn continually & be willing to say “I don’t know”

Place client’s interest ahead yours

Hold confidential information close

Continue to provide excellent services that the client may never comprehend

• Business aspects:

have a consistent pricing structure

be correct with your clients about expenses you made

The primary consultant shall:

keep subcontractors full informed what concerns them The subcontracted shall:

represent themselves as a part of consulting company

be positive and loyal to the primary consultant

identify all issues of pay, time, expectation

The subcontracted shall not:

market to the client

speak for/or represent to client

The bottom line in the consulting business is knowing how to sell business. You can be the best consultant in the world, but, if you are unable to sell business, you will not make a living. We totally agree that sales skills differ significantly among people. Further we will discuss about the selling process that will be very helpful for those that are in charge of selling their products/services.

Why the client doesn’t buy from us?

The consultant’s Marketing mix: The Nine Ps

The consultants’ marketing mix can be visualized as a bicycle wheel: the successful practice is the axle, and the various parts of the mix are the spokes. For the wheel to turn, each of the spokes must contribute to the functioning of the whole. If the one spoke is week, the wheel will not work effectively to propel the axle forward. The key to successful marketing of a consulting practice is to ensure that all elements of the mix are developed carefully and working at peak effectiveness.

The elements of the consultants’ marketing mix are, briefly described, as follows:

Planning. This consists of setting the direction for your business. For example, you should conduct some research to establish a description of the people who are most likely to use (purchase) your services, the needs and the wants of these potential buyers, and the most effective ways to deliver a convincing message to your target customers. You should determine the financial elements of the business such as revenue and expenses forecasts, cash flow estimates, source of business analyses, and so on. Finally, you should consider such things as the number of people in practice, the functions of various personnel, and likely flow of people (by function) in the organization.

Price

Planning Product

Price. This element relates to the fee structure that you adopt for your practice. It includes not only how much is charged for your services but how you implement the fee structure. For example, will you base your fees on time incurred at a predetermined rate? On an assessment of the value of the customer? On the competitive environment in which you are operating? Or will you base them on some other formula which seems to work best for you?

Place. This element of the mix refers to the location of your business in terms of such things as were it is geographically and how you will deliver your services to your clientele. For example, will you operate all services out of one office or have satellite facilities that are closer to your clients office.

Packaging. This refers to the look of the consulting practice- the graphics of the stationary, business cards, and brochures, the decor of the company offices, and esthetic concerns in general.

Positioning. The positioning of the consulting practice establishes how you want your business to be viewed by the client/prospect population. In essence, the positioning is the personality and character of business.

People. The people element of the mix refers to the types of clientele that the consulting practice is seeking to attract and the quality of personnel in the practice.

Product. The product of the consulting practice consists of the services that your organization will offer your clients. This relates to the benefit that the client will receive as a result of hiring your consulting organization.

Promotion. This element incorporates the four key traditional marketing functions:

Advertising. (newspaper, magazine, radio or television) of the consulting product or advertising specialties that incorporates the company name (pens), and other similar types of communications.

Promotion. Promotion includes any paid program that goes directly to the target consumer to stimulate interest in the consulting practice. As an example would be direct-mail program.

Public relations.

Sales. This function is the process of selling your consulting services, including preparation for the selling call, execution of the sales presentation, development of the proposal, and the follow-up that is required after the call.

Professionalism. The professionalism of a consulting practice refers to such things as how the people in the practice relate clients and suppliers, the activities in which your organization might wish to become involved within both the professional and the local community in which you operate, and the ethical standards by which your organization operates on a day-to-day basis

Initial contacts

The consultant makes the contact (cold calling)

The client makes the contact

Typically, the consultants approaches the clients’ via:

• Public seminars;

o In consultants’ company;

Presentations in his company;

Exhibitions and presentations related to the field;

Participation in networks & associations;

Trainings abroad & conferences (international assignments);

Existing clients;

Ex-clients (satisfied);

Publication and selling of the books;

Golden pages;

Friends and colleagues (socializing).

There are five steps in selling process (see the figure above).

Screening of prospects inquires.

The trick is to identify true potential clients. Therefore, when you receive a call, you objective is to determine quickly whether the caller is a legitimate prospect, and, if so, to gather some basic information that will enable you to prepare for the upcoming meeting with individual to discus your potential involvement.

Step 1. Determine the prospect’s validity as a prospective client.

It is very important to find out as soon as possible out where the caller got your name. This is often the most revealing trip-off as to the viability of the inquiry, as some referral sources are much more productive then others. For example the Yellow Pages are probably the lowest level of referral that you can handle. If a caller got your name from the Yellow Pages, it is unlikely that he or she will know much about your capabilities and probably will be very unsophisticated regarding the use of consultants.

If a caller indicates that he or she got your name from a trade association directory, he or she may be viable prospect, but these source suggests that a caller probably is shopping around for consultants. Also, they normally indicate that a caller is not particularly versed in the use of consultants, which would require you to do a good deal of educating before you are successful in signing a contract.

If the individual called as a result of reading an article (or book) you have written or hearing a speech you have given, this can often be a very strong lead. The prospect is coming into the conversation with the feeling that you offer something that will fell a specific need.

If the referral comes from a former (or current) client, it normally is the best of all situation. This type of inquiry deserves immediate and concentrated action. The caller knows very good information about you.

Finally you should determine whether the caller has prior experience using a consultant. In our experience, the best prospects are those that have used consultants in the past. They understand

what is involved in using a consultant and how a consultant can contribute most effectively to the organization. They also aware of the costs associated with using a consultant. Cost is a big concern for the first time users; with repeat users, cost is usually much less of an issue.

Prospect contact. The first part of the selling process consists of your initial contact with the prospect (potential buyer). The way this contact is initiated and the events during the first three to five minutes of the relationship influence very significantly the likelihood of your obtaining the consulting assignment.

In our experience, the probability of entering into a consulting relationship with a prospect is dramatically greater when the potential client initiates the first contact. We would estimate that the chances of signing a consulting contract might be ten to twenty times greater then if this is the exact case.

First of all, when the prospect organization contacts you, it has an idea that it might wish to hire a consultant. Often, it is only an idea, and the phone call or letter is just a fishing trip to compare the costs capabilities of different organizations.

Moreover, when the prospect organization contacts you, it normally has some information about your company, and you begin the conversation with some credibility.

Once contact has been made, the first few minutes of the interaction may determine whether the contract translates into consulting contract.

First, show enthusiasm about having received the call.

Secondly, unless the it is absolutely impossible, take the call immediately and handle what needs to be accomplished during the initial contact. By talking to them immediately, you communicate to them that they are very important to you, even if you do not know their needs are at the present time.

Third, prepare a very concise way of describing the nature of your consulting business and the scope of your operations. Normally, this will the first thing that the prospect wants to know.

Fourth, remain constantly aware that the impressions you make during the first few minutes of a conversation can be vital. Be sure to use a friendly voice on the telephone and communicate an attitude that indicates that you are concern about the needs of the caller, even if your organization will not be able to help. You never know who prospects know or who might ask them about your company in the future, so try to build goodwill for your consulting organization with all callers, regardless of their potential as clients.

Finally, try your hardest to help callers complete their mission (i.e., find a consultant), even if you are not the right person for them.

Step 2. Gather sufficient information about the prospective assignment and the client organization for you to conduct an effective introductory meeting.

Once you have determined that the caller represents a viable prospect that should be pursued further, your objective should be to collect the information that will help you in the subsequent steps of the sales process. This should include:

• Some very brief background about the company and the situation that led to the consideration of outside consulting services. This will be helpful for you during the preplanning phase of the third part of the sales process, the initial meeting. Specially, you should ask about the

nature of the business, the product or service involved, and any past attempts to solve the problem for which you help has bee sought.

The expectation of a caller relative to this meeting. Specifically, what would the prospect like to accomplish when you follow-up with a visit. This presentation will influence greatly how you plan the presentation.

How long the meeting – including both the formal presentation and the follow-up questions-should last

Where and when the meeting will be held. The time and place of a meeting is very important to the overall effectiveness of a presentation. Generally, you should avoid meetings very late in the afternoon (particularly on Friday) or right after lunch. Also, some consultants are better off holding meetings in their offices, as they can bring in several other people and perhaps show off an attractive facility, whereas other consultants are best served by going to the client’s premises.

Once all this information is collected, you are ready for the third step in the selling process. Step 3: Initial meeting.

The third major part of the selling process, which normally will be your first face-to-face contact with the prospect organization. Your primary objective during the initial meeting is to sell yourself and your company to that prospected organization so that it will want to hire you as a consultant

You should encourage the client to talk about:

Company;

Difficulties;

Hopes and expectations

In listening and putting questions, the consultant assesses the client’s needs in terms of management and business practice, future development prospects, personal concerns, perception of consulting, and readiness to work with consultants assuming different types of role. The consultant decides how best to describe the nature and method of consulting as it applies to the client’s context, being careful not to repeat information that is probably known to the client. Usually the consultant should take the initiative during the discussion, selling his services being the primary aim of the meeting.

The exit

Final word

Appoint for the second meeting

Material distribution

Departure

• Prepare your self for the second meeting Your Presentation should include:

1. Credential presentation. During the first part of the presentation, you should built credibility for your organization by providing the prospect with a significant amount of information about the you and your company

• Company background. Give some background on your company. Outline when it was founded, what is current structures is, and where the office(s) are located.

Category and client history. Next you should cover the product/service categories in which your company has experience, to establish your companies track record and display the experience.

Personnel. Provide also a brief description about the peoples within your organization -their educational background, prior work histories (i.e. companies, positions and dated), other relevant accomplishments (i.e. key publications) and current position in your organization.

Scope of the practice. Next, you should give to the prospect organization an overview of the functional areas in which your consulting organization practices. Cover major area of your involvement, even if all of the are not related to the needs of the prospect company. By describing all the things your company does, you may evoke some interest in using your practice in other projects.

Relevance. Mention other work you have done in the prospect organization’s industry and in very related industries. You should also describe work you have done in functional areas that relate closely to the work that would be involved in the potential assignments. Use comparison. The consultant will find these by making comparison with:

Past achievements

Other comparable organizations (to asses what has been achieved elsewhere and whether the same thing would be possible in the client’s organization)

Sectoral standards (benchmarking data) available in consulting firm or from other source

4. Case history, some consulting companies find that one of the most effective ways to presenttheir credentials is to provide brief case histories of past consulting assignments. Typically, theyare set up in the following format:

Statement of the problem

Outline of the solution that was proposed

Summary of the results

Typically projected implementation procedure. Now, you should provide a brief description of the normal process that your consulting organization follows to implement an assignment.

Staffing and costing. For example, which of the representatives attending the meeting from your organization would be directly involved in the consulting assignment, and what would be each person’s role in the project? If other are likely to be involved, how would they fit into the project team? Explain briefly how you arrive at your consulting fees and what other costs are incremental to that fee. (i.e. travel, long distance telephone, etc,.)

Proposal development. A proposal submitted to the client is an important selling document. It is not enough for the consultant to have a clear vision of how to execute the assignment: he or she must be able to describe this vision on paper in a way that make it clear to another people. This may include individuals who have not met the consultant, and will be forming their opinions solely on the basis of the written proposal.

Survey report;

Technical proposal;

Project plan;

Contract proposal

Sections of the proposals

The technical aspect section. describes the consultant’s preliminary assessment of problem, the purpose to be pursued, the approach to be taken, and the work programme to be followed. The staffing section. Give the name an profile of consultant company’s staff who will be executing the assignment. This includes the senior consultants (partners, project manager) who will be responsible for guiding and supervising the team working at the client’s organization. The consultant background section. Describes the experience and the competence of the consulting organization as it relates to the needs of the particular client. Financial and other terms section indicates the cost of the services, provisions for cost increase and contingencies, and the schedule and other indications for paying fees and reimbursing expenses.

Presenting the proposal

Send the proposal beforehand via email – the client will have time to analyze the document and be prepared for the meeting. A good presentation is when everybody agrees beforehand about everything and the meeting is just a formal event.

Hand the proposal to the client before presentation – the last version of the proposal just for clarification of some details in case they will appear during the meeting. Also it forms the official part of the proposal.

Write winning proposals. Many consultants lose assignments because they do not put enough time, creative thought and preparation into winning proposals.

A winning proposal culminates all your marketing efforts to date. Successful consultants are superb proposal writers. They put their effort only into creating winning proposals, not into those that lose.

A winning proposal is a coherent, carefully structured selling document which convincingly persuades your prospective client that: you know what he wants done, you can do it, and your price falls within the budget.

Techniques for negotiating and selling in the contract

Articulate your needs -personal and professional-to the client. Don’t be shy

Have a dialogue with the client to resolve any differences in articulated project needs. Insist on an equal playing field

Sharpen your questioning skills before meeting with client.

Be prepared to initiate discussions about larger business picture

Be specific about the deliverable of the project and write them into TOR

Be assertive about your own ability to work

Show genuine appreciation to the client for the demonstrated faith for you.

Be on the same level with your pottential client (behave, manner, talk, language)

The consulting contract. Verbal agreement is one given by the client orally and should be avoid.

Letter of agreement (or letter of engagement, of confirmation, of intent). Having receiving the consultant’s proposal (proposal letter), the client sends him or her a letter of agreement, that may

confirm that he or she accepts the proposal and the suggested terms or the consultant send the client a proposal for a letter of agreement.

Written contract it is often the best form the consultant should present a draft proposal of a contract to the client. The consultant should take the initiative, but be flexible!

What to cover in a contract – check list

Contracting parties (consultant & client);

Scope of the assignment (objectives, results, description of work, starting date, timetable, volume of work);

Work outputs (expected results),, including reports;

Consultant and the client inputs;

Fees and expenses;

Billing and payment procedure;

Handling of the confidential information;

Protection of the intellectual property and copyright in consultants work product;

Liability (the consultants liability for damages caused to the client, limitation of liability);

Use of subcontractors by the consultant;

Signature and dates

There are many definitions of consulting, and of its applications to problems and challenges faced by management. The first approach takes a broad functional view of consulting. For example Fritz Steele defines consulting in this way

“…any form of providing help on the content, process, or structure of a task or series of tasks, where the consultant is not actually responsible for doing the task itself but is helping those who

are”

These and similar definitions emphasize that consultants are helpers, or enablers, and assume that such help can be provided by people in various positions. Thus, a manger can also act as a consultant if he or she gives advice and help to a fellow manger, or even to subordinates rather then directing and issuing orders to them.

Peter Block suggests:

“You are consulting any time you are trying to change or improve a situation but have no direct control over the implementation… Most people in staff roles in organizations are really consultants even they don’t call themselves consultants.”

Management consulting

One approach define management consulting as an advisory service contracted for and provided to organization by specially trained and qualified persons who assist in an objective and independent manner, the client organization to identify management problems, and help, when request, in the implementation of solution

The second approach views consulting as a special professional service and emphasizes a number o f characteristics that such a service must posses.

We regard the two approaches as complementary rather then conflicting. Management consulting can be viewed either as a professional service, or as a method of providing practical advice and help. There is no doubt that management consulting has developed into specific sector of professional activity and should be treated as such. At the same time, it is also a method of assisting organizations and executives to improve management and businesses practices, as well as individual and organizational performance.

Peter Drucker wrote:

“What is unique to management is that from the very beginning the consultant played a key role in development of practice, the knowledge and the profession of management.”

Thus the quintessential nature of consulting is to create, transfer, share and apply management and business knowledge. The term knowledge, as used in his saying, and in most of the literature of knowledge management, encompasses experience, expertise, skills, know-how and competencies in addition to theoretical knowledge. Thus, knowledge transfer is concerned not only with the knowledge and understanding of facts and realities, but also with approaches, method and capabilities required for the effective application of knowledge in particular economic, business, institutional, cultural, administrative or organizational environment.

Why is the consultant needed?

Lack of expertise – usually SME’s do not have expertise in all the fields that why they apply for consulting services.

Lack of time – SME very often are lean resources companies and time recourse is one of the most important.

Lack of experience – Even if they may have expertise they might face problem in terms of experience

Staffing flexibility – SME’s do not have difficulties with hiring the consultants from the outside of the company.

Objective outside opinions – SME’s need a third eye or fresh brain from outside to improve the business performance.

New ideas – consultant is the person who can easily bring fresh ideas and alternatives for

SME’s

Speed and efficiency – due to consultant inputs the SME can perform the improvement project faster, better and cheaper than using internal resources

Assessment – the evaluation techniques are coming together with consultants experience and expertise. Often they are adapted to the specific business of SME. Also consultant may have offer access to SME for the benchmarking data.

Resolution means that the SME’s manager decision is more likely to be appropriate and right.

• Compliance – the decision token is the really one that can answer to SME needs. Why do people want to be a consultant?

A lot of studies were made in this regard. Thousand of consultants were interviewed and the mainly tangents why do people want to be a consultant are as follows:

Own Boss – people do not want to have superiors and autocracy.

No set schedule – rigid schedule or imposed one often is ignored by consultant.

Greater opportunities – in terms of profits and career development.

Do my own “thing” – during the decision taking process you act only on own reflections

Easy start-up – minimal capital investments requirements in order to start

Freedom – related to 1,3 and 4

More money – this is simple by not sharing huge administrative costs and profit sharing

Out of Work – offer the possibility to have the second/third job

Security – you’ll never be fired by yourself

Creativity – consultant by definition should be creative individual by having an “helicopter” view.

Travel – if you like traveling then consulting is your vocation

Challenge – always facing new perspectives, peoples and businesses

Location – doesn’t matter were you are located.

As it is stated in the above mentioned text you can easily observe that it much cheaper for SME to hire the right experienced consultant then use internal staff (cost of training and development)

The role of performance consultant

A performance consultant is one who facilitates doing better work and can de adopted by anyone with any job title.

It is important to determine how the assignment will be conducted by the two parties: consultant and client

What role will be played by the consultant and what by the client? What will be their mutual commitment?

Who will do what, when and how?

Does the client want to obtain a solution from the consultant, or does he prefer to develop his own solution with the consultant’s help?

Is the client prepared to be intensely involved throughout the assignment?

Are the specific areas that the consultant should cover without trying to involve client? And vice versa?

During the assignment, many unforeseen events may occur and new facts may be uncovered so it becomes necessary to review the original definition of expectation and roles. Both the client and the consultant should be alert to this possibility and be flexible enough to adjust their contract and work arrangements.

The consultant often plays the role of specialist or communicator of knowledge “We need a professional sparring partner, in particular in concretizing visions and strategies. We lacked knowledge at expert level in specific fields. We also needed a professional process manager to ensure that the project was finished and that the time schedule was observed. Because of our internal marketing we also needed professional experience and counseling in the further communication process.”

Roles of consultant

Role of the consultant

Characteristics

Provider of information Targeted solution to specific problems/tasks

The consultant transmits expert knowledge to the client Specific suggestions for solutions

Provider of knowledge A problem-solving process which describes the goals

The consultant uses analytical knowledge Specific suggestions for action

Sparring partner A problem-solving process which formulates the goals

The consultant uses/transmits expert knowledge Specific suggestions for solution and action

Talk partner Goal-defining process

The consultant uses process knowledge Setting up a framework of understanding

Project manager Targeted problem-solving process

The consultant uses expert and managerial knowledge Ensuring and controlling solutions and solution processes

Process manager Targeted problem-solving process

Consultants use expert, process and managerial knowledge Strengthening competence development

Necessary requirements for a performance consultant:

Action mindset;

Clear understanding of the many factors in the workplace performance;

• Good set of facilitation tools

There are different consultants…

• Process consultant (generalist) is the person who knows the process of solving the problem and can facilitate every improvement and problem solving project to achieve good result

• Expert consultant is the one who come with solution for the specific business problem.

But, identification of suitable local trainers often appears to be quite difficult: Although there are qualified candidates with sufficient academic background, they often lack bank experience.

Moreover, it is important to identify people who do not only have the required know-how and bank experience (in order to be accepted by trainees), but who also have specific training skills. To attract them, a training center shoud give local trainers a stable employment, a competitive salary and attractive incentives and career perspectives.

There still remains the need to provide good monetary and non-monetary incentives in order to foster long-term collaboration between training centers and local trainers: rewards for courses with high participants ratings, further engagements provided, to have the opportunity to be sent abroad is a powerful incentive, etc.

There is also a problem concerning disponibility, as many local trainers are bank employees. Hence, il is necessary to convince banks that they benefit from their employees training activities: trainers do acquire new skills and new techniques through teaching. Often, one learns even more being a teacher instead of a student. Banks may also get additional prestige vis-а-vis other banks, if their employees prove to be skilled trainers Instead of that, banks’ scarcest resources remain their skilled employees. Nowadays, they are needed to manage and operate their rapidly growing and frequently unstable business. Indeeed, in this environment, banks are often unwilling to pool such resources and find it difficult to make their key staff available for training.

However, no matter how good trainers are, their contribution will be limited if they are not managed properly and motivated or if their work is not supported within the organisation. »

A more structured approach for the achievement of the self-sustainability of local training centers would then be beneficial to all concerned. It will be based on their aptitude to improve their:

- marketing and public relations strategies (to make their supply better known),

- local trainers (western trainers cannot be paid by the revenues raised),

- development of diversification of their offered training products,

- systematic long-term education programs (well structured long-range approaches, training programs, curriculum and guidelines for the bank staff),

- business programming and management.

This may partly rely on co-operation between training centers: exchange of information, very concrete common activity plans focussing on future development of joint projects, exchange of course materials (redundancies when creating new material -for instance glossaries- should and could be avoided).

But as inter-banks seminars are not usually the most effective to bring about changes, it is necessary to insist also on the importance of developing internal training courses (that can often be considered as one of the most performant possible assistance practice) designed to meet specific needs.

There is thus a need for the improvement of in-house training capacities. In order to gain more flexibility, some C.I.S. banks have already developed their own training programs, other build up internal training departments to train their staff. After course fees had been introduced, the response has been less intensive and banks have built up their own training facilities. We even think that most of the training efforts should be, more and more, task directed and « on-the-job » trainings. This is why Ebtra has conceived its M.O.C. module named « Developing in-house training capacities ». We assume that this module can there be of a great usefulness as it describes all the main functions of the job. « This course has actually being designed to help in the conception and management of training, in association with external experts. It covers topics such as « managing an in-house training department » or « preparing training programs and materials and introducing « training the trainers » facilities to increase the training resources, etc. » (see detailed summary of this module in Annex 2).

Obviously, western course material often has to be adapted. This is why some schools (R.B.T.C., Tashkent, for example) have introduced “Faculty Development” weeks, during which western and local trainers discuss existing training material and develop it further. Upgrading and creating course materials actually requires joint work, as « development of innovative products will, in medium term, not be possible without the support of western trainers and consultants who provide the necessary know-how ». That is not to say that the initiative of local trainers is not useful for the development of new courses. On the contrary, trainers’ efforts to improve their products is very important and should be rewarded by the development of a payment scheme that gives substantial incentives to trainers who develop their own training material. And experts have to experience a learning process during which mutual understanding is built up.

The main problem often is choosing the relevant teaching methodologies.

Sometimes, western best practices (modern interactive approaches) simply cannot be used in C.I.S. banks.

One has first to consider the fact that some participants show reactions that it is difficult for not experienced trainers to deal with. For instance:

Some are complacent and believe they have nothing to learn and need no assistance with anything because they know how to do everything.

Some are good listeners but believe that the situation in C.I.S. is so very different that nothing westerners will say will be relevant.

There are also intercultural differences in learning processes: often the participants are quite passively waiting to listen to presentations of very precise solutions, but sometimes, also, there are reject reactions from local bankers concerning the tendency of some speakers to «talk down» to them, giving them the impression that they «knew nothing». Then, the participants want to be actively involved, the case studies, exercises and role plays (compared to reading and lecturing) are felt as beeing especially effective and are appreciated. The development of the curriculums should, thus, be carefully done and improved.

In fact, «our experience has shown us several times that eastern managers are not used to western ways of learning and teaching methods. They are used to academic training. In fact, they were accustomed to knowledge beeing vertically transmitted, handed down from top downwards, with ideological underpinnings, and being received without discussion. They have, therefore a preference for learning techniques based on formal presentations, with a definitive answer approach. So, they have:

- a tendency to assume that that there must be “laws” governing development, which can explain socio-economic performances. They do think that there must be normative orientation towards management activities,

- the conviction that they are here to learn, not to discuss their problems! They are unfamiliar with participative learning, based on sharing common difficulties and experiences,

- no perception that there could be, among others, different ways of perceiving things and different ways of being successful,

- difficulties of self-involvement in role plays,

- little true perception of the necessity of continuous training.

These reactions are intensified by the fact that many managers from banks are sent for training only because, according to the existing standards adopted by the Central Bank, specialised banking education is necessary to attain certain management positions.»

When the relevant objectives have been defined and motivation of the bank and the trainees obtained, there are still several things to do to ensure the effectiveness of the training: choosing accurate pedagogical approach, elaborating efficient training tools, obtaining participation of the most adapted trainers, etc.

Let us discuss the first of these points, before coming back, next, to the others.

It is also important to choose the right training methods and use the right methodological approach when conducting courses,

For instance, in order to enhance their usefulness, the courses ought to be purpose-oriented, the trainings should be well coordinated, the trainers should prepare themselves (for instance, through the already mentioned preparation weeks for western trainers) and specific target groups should be defined -along with criteria for the selection of the trainees- so that homogeneous audiences (not having heterogeneous levels of knowledge and expectations) can be formed. To reach concrete on-the-job outputs, the groups being trained should be as homogeneous as possible, in terms of type of bank and level of seniority. Thus, in running seminars, efforts should be made to ensure that those attending come from similar backgrounds and have similar problems and functions within their organisations.

Ebtra’s Management Of Change module on « Educational planning » presents a more complete identification of the organisational conditions for training transfer and effectiveness, selection of pedagogic methods, development of course schedules and of course materials, measurement of the effects of training, etc.

But it is mainly Ebtra’s Management Of Change module « How to make the best use of training » that covers all the conditions for training effectiveness: « This course is based on the “Training for results” process developed and used by the C.F.P.B. and intended to satisfy two complementary conditions:

- the quality of the training itself, its conception and distribution,

- the quality of the application of what has been learnt – its integration into the working environment.

It should be added that the effectiveness of training also depends on the quality of its organisation and management”

We noticed, first, that there is an obviously increasing need for materials available, translated into Russian, for self-education and distance learning: text-books, manuals, handbooks and video productions or film tools for training. There is actually a growing demand for such materials and it would be useful to set up banking libraries, reading rooms for employees, etc. But, here again, this requires a previous adaptation.

It can, moreover, be a precondition in order to increase turnover and/or to be able to charge higher course fees. In fact, since the introduction of course fees for bank training in C.I.S. countries, there have often been less managers and staff participating in the courses.

In the C.I.S., as of today, it has proved to be difficult to generate sufficient interest and commitment for training. Not all banks realise the importance of such an approach and take part in the process of training and building up the required qualified staff for the transition period. How can one increase the interest of local banks in training (and consulting) products?

Let us first try to understand the specificities of the motivation for training process in the C.I.S. banks. We have, for instance, observed that « despite the level (or amount) of the needs, if the training of eastern managers has often proved not to be very efficient, it was mainly because things went as if the managers’ willingness and capacity/ability to absorb and apply western management skills was restrained by several motivational factors. We still need therefore to find out how to implement western management knowledge in the C.I.S. organisations.

That requires us to be able to overcome those underlying factors which prevent success. We could, for instance, take into consideration the following negative aspects of eastern managers’ motivations for training:

For some of them, if not for most of them, the participation on a course means above all an all-expenses-paid trip, a distraction is their major purpose. Therefore they do not attend to the courses very carefully, they do not pay much attention to what they are taught, and they hardly try to apply anything in their professional lifes.

Most eastern managers feel there is some kind of urgency for them to catch solutions and tools that could be immediately used in the conditions they are facing, in their own professional environment. They have no interest in theoretical aspects, and would, therefore, reject any lecture where the practical side was not immediately obvious. Whatever does not appear to be directly applicable is felt as irrelevant, thus boring, leading to people reading newspapers during the courses (”just as we used to do in Party meetings”). Even the most open minded eastern managers admit huge difficulties in relating theory to practice and thinking about how to apply management concepts into their environment.

Even if they would not agree with it, we several times felt that many eastern managers have ambiguous attitudes induced by the “fear of the Great Unknown”: wariness about acclimatizing to the new economic realities, fear of new ideas and practices, deep anxiety about change, etc.»

The obvious conclusion of these observations is that motivation for training depends mainly on the involvement of the bank’s management.

Sometimes, bank executives and top managers (who, in most banks, were initially central bankers) lack awareness of the necessity of permanent training, clearly do not consider training of great use for their banks, and are still reluctant to send their clerical staff to courses. We know, in some banks, cases of absolute unwillingness and conservative approach, towards training of staff members, on the part of top management. It will thus remain crucial to raise awareness about the necessity to manage change and the commitment for training among the top management of banks. For that purpose, it is possible to organise a workshop for banks’ top management and executives on the management of change.

Commitment of beneficiaries’ immediate management is also sometimes lacking. Contacts to the middle management of banks should be improved in order to increase training demand.

The active involvement of Human Resources Managers is also very useful. Through implementation of workshops with personnel managers, in order to develop their consciousness about their functions in the banks, it is possible to develop convincing arguments in favour of more training and to strengthening the personnel departments’ position vis-а-vis their respective top managements.

Finally, the motivation for training can be enhanced by working in collaboration with Banks Associations and Central Banks concerning the development of vocational standards for banking staff. The existence of such standards quite naturally leads to more demand for bank training.