Working with ICT consultants
Keep things running smoothly |
Consultants can help run projects, provide expert insight or help with development activities to enhance your mainstream work. They may help you with your ICT strategy, advise on database development or prepare a strategy for online fundraising. They may work on a chargeable basis, sometimes at a charitable rate, or they could be available at no charge through volunteer schemes.
Finding a consultant you will have a good working relationship with is crucial.Ask in your networks about who is available, what they cost and whether they were useful.There are ICT support companies and independent consultants in most local areas and a local circuit rider or community ICT support company may offer consultancy services.
An interview is the best way to find out whether the consultant is someone you want to work with. Prepare a briefing document and ask for a response:
- Does the consultant's technical experience match your needs?
- Does the consultant understand how VCOs work?
- Do they explain things in a way you can understand?
- Are they trying to push one specific product?
- How busy are they? Do they have enough time for your project?
- Can they provide an outline plan of proposed work?
- What fee structure do they use? Can you afford it?
Technical experts may miss important organisational issues, or if they don’t know about the voluntary and community sector they may not understand the constraints on your resources. Make sure that the expertise on offer matches your needs.
Always take up references. Ask organisations that have used a particular consultant what specific benefit can be attributed to their work and whether it was worth paying for.
Before agreeing to start the project ask for a work plan as part of the final contract. This is a crucial time for checking what you’ll get for your money and sets the tone for your work together. Don’t just give it a quick glance and assume it all makes sense. If it’s full of jargon ask for an explanation (and think again about your decision). Check that timescales are realistic and try to get at least one other person to give it a reality check.
Managing a consultant is about making
sure you’re always clear about progress.They must report regularly and you must raise problems when
they arise, so that plans can be adapted accordingly.
Case Study: Better communications and less administration
The Down’s Syndrome Association has been helping people with Down’s syndrome to live full and rewarding lives for the past 35 years. It has over 20,000 members, a national office in Middlesex, offices in Northern Ireland and Wales and a regional development team.
Despite this geographic spread the organisation has only 38 staff – many of them part-time – and a network of about 100 regional volunteer-led support groups.This team relies on email to communicate, and enquiries from the public have increased recently thanks to an Eastenders storyline featuring a Down’s Syndrome baby.
IT Manager Stuart Honeysett has managed the development of a new email system to meet these communication challenges.
“I have a technical background more than strategy, so we brought in a consultancy company to help. They suggested a hosted solution to reduce in-house IT administration, which we saw as a key benefit.We compared quotes from several suppliers and chose a solution that gives all the features we need:
Shared calendars – much better than our previous inadequate website calendar;
Up-to-date software – rather than our messy old systems;
Webmail – email access via a web page means people on the road can keep in touch;
Corporate identity – without remote access our remote workers would end up using Hotmail or Yahoo, which doesn't look great.
“Everything we did came out of an initial ICT strategy review. People were asked how they do their jobs on a day-to-day basis – without any IT slant. I then worked with the consultants to look for ways in which ICT could help people work better and identified key projects to help the organisation move forward.
“I would highly recommend that any organisation looking to upgrade or sort out current systems takes the time to do an overall ICT strategy, with the help of consultants or knowledgeable volunteers to create a framework for all future work.”
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