If working with consultants is a new experience for you then this section offers some
guidelines that may help ensure that the experience is a good one.

If you do elect to hire a consultant to assist with any aspect of your work then bear
in mind that a successful outcome depends on a working partnership between
you and the consultant. Unless they know exactly what it is you want them to do and
unless you are aware of what they are doing throughout the process then the
report you get may not do what you need it to do. This section aims to help you think
about recruiting a consultant.

Reasons

• There may not be the time available for existing staff to do the work
• There may not be the in-house expertise to do a particular job
• You may require an external or impartial perspective
• You may require experience of good practice from elsewhere

Think carefully about exactly what it is you want done by preparing a clear and
concise brief and choose carefully to ensure that the consultant has the skills and
experience for the job.

Benefits

Consultants can;
• Help to move a project or a process forward more quickly
• Add capacity when your own staff are stretched for time
• Bring specialist skills, knowledge and experience
• Help transfer this knowledge and these skills to your own staff
• Bring experience of good practice elsewhere
• Provide another perspective and be impartial in their judgements

Preparing the Brief

This should be a clear statement of what you want the piece of work to achieve.
If you are not exactly sure what support you will need from a consultant then you
may initially prepare an outline brief and invite expressions of interest. These initial
discussions can help to clarify the brief and help you to get to know and assess
some consultants.