Communicators need to have their finger on the pulse during organizational change, but this can get difficult if a consultancy firm is involved in the transition. Use these 5 tips to work closely and productively with consultants.
by Christopher Hannegan,
principal, Booz Allen Hamilton
Organizational change often presents once-in-a-career opportunities for communicators to demonstrate value to their company and make a tangible difference.
But if your company has engaged a management consultancy to develop your business strategy, you may also be inundated with templates, data requests and project timelines.
Based on perspectives from both sides of management consulting and client relationships, the following 5 tips will help you develop a strong and productive relationship with your consulting firms:
You need direct access to the decision-making body of your company's transformation program.
1. Get a direct line to the project's core team
For you to craft the story about what's changing, why and what it means, you need direct access to the decision-making body of your company's transformation program.
Typically, this is a core team or steering committee with representatives from senior leadership, business units and counterparts from the consulting firm.
Work with the project manager to get the meeting calendar and know when particular important topics may be discussed. In cases where it's not possible for you to participate directly for political or other reasons, appoint someone to listen on your behalf and represent your views; this is often a chief strategy officer or chief operating officer.
Once you've identified and vetted your counterpart, begin developing a strong relationship immediately.
2. Identify your counterpart at the consulting firm
Management consulting firms are increasingly adding functional capability to their service offerings so they help clients plan for their business transformation and develop the people-related strategies to support it.
Ask who the designated communication, change management or human capital consultant is and then validate that selection by making sure the person has genuine experience in that area – it's unfortunately not always the case.
Once you've identified and vetted your counterpart, begin developing a strong relationship immediately. They can help you navigate the complexities of a Program Management Office (PMO) and help ensure you're getting information from and access to the project teams.
3. Get agreement on the scope of communication for each phase
A typical transformation program has 3 distinct phases:
- opportunity definition;
- design and planning; and
- implementation.
The communication needs for each phase vary significantly, yet they all build on each other. Get agreement as quickly as possible on the scope of communication for each phase and work with your counterpart to clearly identify what the communication deliverables for each phase will be. Depending on the nature of the transformation, you may need 3 separate communication strategies and messages for each phase.
The communication needs can seem endless and overwhelming if you don't identify what's in and out of scope.
4. Get agreement on how "deep" in the organization your team will play
The communication needs can seem endless and overwhelming if you don't identify what's in and out of scope for your team early on.
Typically, a corporate communication team will work with their counterparts at the consulting firm to create the overall communication plan, and be involved in business-unit level communication for the highly sensitive parts of the transformation.
Another decision to make early on is if you'll play a role in communication related to management of the program, including early communication to people chosen to work on the project teams and to senior leadership to keep them apprised of the program's progression.
5. Leverage the firm's past experience
As an in-house communicator, it's not to be expected that you or your team has the specialized expertise to develop and implement change communication plans. Rely on your management consultancy counterpart for their expertise and perspective as "outsiders". If they're doing their job well, they'll not only show you how it was done before, but they'll help you to develop your own strategies in ways that provide learning opportunities for you and your team.
First published by Melcrum in 2007.
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