Five most common mistakes that are made when hiring an Aviation Consultant
IN CONVERSATION
In this series consisting of three articles, I explore the world of aviation consultancy; who consultants are, what they can do for you, the value that they can add, and what to watch out for. In the last of three articles, I look at five of the most common mistakes made when hiring an aviation consultant..
As discussed, making the right choice when hiring an aviation consultant is essential. But the fact is, mistakes are made during the selection process, which can lead to disastrous and far-reaching consequences, significantly reducing the chances of a successful outcome.
1. KNOW WHAT YOU NEED
The reasons for hiring an aviation consultant are many and varied. On most occasions, clients are clear on what they need, but occasionally they reach out to the consultant for clarity or advice on handling certain, often technically complex situations.
It can be a tricky situation. The client will need to place a certain amount of trust in the consultant to provide the right advice. However, the relationship may still be in its early stages, so how do you handle this?
Testimonials, referrals and experience can help provide that much-needed confidence, but trust, at this stage, can sometimes be a relative leap of faith. However, a good consultant will put a lot of effort into building a relationship from that point and, consequently, building the trust element over time.
In these situations, it may take a little time to establish precisely what the client needs. Perhaps an initial diagnostic is required to establish the most appropriate way forward. Whilst this approach will cost the client, it can be a good, lower risk option to develop a more precise way forward when that is what's needed.
After the negotiation stage, before any work takes place, being clear on the way forward, what is in or out of scope, the desired outputs and associated realistic time frames are all absolute 'must haves'.
As a consultant myself, I'd find it challenging to present a costed proposal without those essential 'must haves'.
2. THE WRONG FIT
When a consultant is hired, they often become a part of the client team in one form or another. The overall level of success of the project can sometimes be directly related to how the consultant interacts with the client's team.
A good consultant will understand that on some occasions, they can be viewed with a certain amount of suspicion, perhaps even resentment by the client's team. Both the client and the consultant must have a plan to deal with this.
Occasionally, the consultant will bring their team into the client's organisation. Although it's the consultant's responsibility to manage their group, the same principles apply; know who and what you are getting.
Commissioning a consultant with a proven and credible track record with the ability to operate effectively at all levels can only enhance the chances of success, mitigating some elements of a potentially harmful situation.
The ultimate aim should be to put a spare peg in a square hole. Consider whether a specialist or a generalist is required. Choose wisely; a square peg in a round hole, and you are likely to create a lot of additional work and build unnecessary barriers, costing valuable time and money.
3. DON'T BE CAUGHT OUT ON COST
In our first article, we discussed the cost of hiring an aviation consultant. Going into the negotiation, try to have an approximate unit or total cost in mind to ensure that you are roughly on the same page; otherwise, you could waste each other's time.
Disagreements on cost during the project are generally counterproductive, waste time, and sour the relationship. That would be a shame if the trust-building had been going well until that point.
Ensure that there is clarity on, particularly, travel expenses; they can vary significantly and sometimes be quite large numbers. For example, flights; who will arrange them? what class will they travel? what is the budget? I've seen consultants and clients caught out on this lower level of detail simply because it wasn't agreed upon in advance.
It's also a good idea to agree on the mechanism for unforeseen costs that may arise, such as additional time or travel. The client could also add value to the consultant by promising to write positive testimonials or make high-quality referrals; this is valuable currency in consulting.
Once the work has been scoped and all parties agree, the project can be costed and a proposal made. Not before.
Before proceeding, both parties must be clear and agree on the total cost of delivering the project, including any internal costs and the approximate cost of any agreed expenses. Always confirm in writing to ensure that there are no surprises here.
4. GOOD QUALITY, BAD QUALITY - KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING
As anyone who works with me will tell you, I hate poor quality work and materials. Over the years, I've seen too much of it. It's unnecessary, indicates a lack of respect for the client, and, frankly, it's embarrassing.
You can potentially avoid this by asking to see examples of their work, such as reports, training materials or technical documents that they have written. Although many of their materials will be subject to confidentiality or copyright restrictions, it should be possible to do this either by deidentifying the material or getting the owner or original client's permission.
You can check its age and when it was last updated. Spelling or grammar errors and poor quality images are all potential indicators that the focus on this aspect of their work may not be quite what it should be.
Much of the work of an aviation consultant involves alignment to industry and regulatory standards, and having a comprehensive knowledge of them is essential. I often get asked to prove our materials are in conformance or compliance with the latest version of that requirement. This provides a good view of where the consultant is at and how on their game they are.
There's no point in complaining after the fact if it wasn't checked before it.
5. NO VISION OF WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Over the last eight years of running my consultancy business, I've lived in fear of hearing the words 'that's not what I wanted' at the end of the project. I'm very focused on ensuring that I understand and agree to undertake what the client wants.
Of course, what the client wants and needs could be two different things. Nevertheless, unless the client has specifically asked the consultant to establish what they need, the ultimate focus must be only on what the client wants.
However, not agreeing on the final outputs, what success looks like, how it is measured, or the point at which the consultant can disengage could lead to problems at the end of the project.
Any issues that arise during the project that may affect the success measures should be flagged and dealt with quickly.
If the client requires a report with recommendations, this should be specified from the outset. If the client wants a comprehensive set of cost reduction deliverables, they too must be specified. It sounds corny, but this is precisely what SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Time-Driven) was made for, an essential part of success.
In the ideal world, on completion of the project, the expectations of both parties should have been met, and deliverables should have been delivered. The client and the consultant should part company on good terms, with the consultant being number one on the client's speed dial and the consultant welcoming it when the call comes.
Being clear on what success looks like will help all of this to happen and success to occur.