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Help Wanted: How and When to Use Consultants

Help Wanted: How and When to Use Consultants. In Your Nonprofit Organization. What is a Consultant?. Consultants have an expertise in a particular area and they make their knowledge and services available for hire. ADVISE & GUIDE. Board Development Facilitation Strategic Planning Mediation

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Help Wanted: How and When to Use Consultants

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  1. Help Wanted: How and When to Use Consultants In Your Nonprofit Organization

  2. What is a Consultant? Consultants have an expertise in a particular area and they make their knowledge and services available for hire.

  3. ADVISE & GUIDE • Board Development • Facilitation • Strategic Planning • Mediation • Fundraising • Events • Marketing • Public Relations • Crisis Management • Program Evaluation • Training

  4. EXECUTE TASKS • Write Grants • Coordinate Events • Fill Temporary Staff Positions • Executive level • Specialized professionals

  5. When do you need a consultant? • When you don’t have the skills to complete a task or project • When you have not achieved your goal and need more expertise • When you want to move to the next level and you need help to do so • When you are too busy – caution!

  6. When do you need a consultant? (continued) • When an expert “outsider’s” message will be heard better than your own • When you need a neutral party to • Raise issues with divergent parties and move your organization in a new direction • Act as a bridge when board and/or staff members don’t agree

  7. How do you prepare for a consultant? • Determine your organization’s needs • Get board and/or staff buy-in to engage a consultant • Develop a Request for Proposal (RFP)

  8. What’s in an RFP? • An RFP clearly describes: • What your organization needs • Time period involved and deadline • Expected outcomes and deliverables • Project or event budget • Your nonprofit status

  9. What’s in an RFP? (continued) • Stakeholders and consultant’s contacts • Your organization’s selection process • What you expect in a proposal e.g. client list, samples • Submission deadline This process helps clarify your own thinking!

  10. How do you find a consultant? Research: • Ask your peers for recommendations • Search the web • Refer to professional journals and newsletters • Include consultants you know about

  11. How do you find a consultant? (continued) Send RFP • Personally follow-up with top prospects – note: many consultants do not respond to RFP’s • Call highly desirable consultants who don’t reply • Be flexible

  12. How do you select a consultant? • Review submissions • Study client list, look for • Similar types of clients (mission, budget, etc.) • Applicable project experience • Conflict of interest or competitors

  13. How do you select a consultant? (CONTINUED) • Interview candidates – include high level stakeholders! • Check references (on and off the reference list) • Offer contract and sign a written agreement

  14. What’s in the written agreement? • Sometimes called a Statement of Work (SOW), this document is usually created by the consultant, it describes their understanding of the job.

  15. What’s in the written agreement? (CONTINUED) A SOW should cover many of the same points outlined in the RFP: • Project description • Budget and Timeline • Deliverables • Contacts

  16. What’s in the written agreement? (continued) The SOW will also detail other points: • Project contingencies • Benchmarks • Payment schedules • Contract termination conditions • Statement related to hiring • Signatories Review carefully!

  17. What should you pay a consultant? • Consultants will tell you what they charge for their services. Speak to a few before you send your RFP • Talk to colleagues to get an idea what they paid for similar services

  18. What should you pay a consultant? (CONTINUED) • Create a budget, get buy-in from leadership in your organization • Negotiate rate and payment schedule prior to SOW

  19. What should you expect from a consultant? Look for these qualities before making any binding agreements: • Clean communication • Timeliness • Accountability • Respect for your organization’s structure and chain of command

  20. Cautionary Tales Unsuccessful consultancies often result from inadequate staff work. • Lack of organizational buy-in • Incomplete RFP • Vague Statement of Work (SOW) • Deferring to “the expert”

  21. Cautionary Tales (continued) Sometimes the source of the problem is out of your control: • Agency personnel changes • Task outstrips consultant’s skills • Underestimate complexity of job - inadequate agency resources

  22. Success Stories • Establish a good foundation - there is a direct correlation between a thorough RFP and SOW and a successful consultancy • Develop a partnership – this could be the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration • Allow consultant to challenge your thinking and practices – engage in healthy debate

  23. Contact Info Mallory Pierce Director of Marketing and Communication Oregon Shakespeare Festival malloryp@osfashland.org Thank you!

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