Bill
Young
TCC Consultancy-Users Workshop Summary
Level
    Middle and upper-mid managers

Days
    Three

Overview
    Consulting firms contribute resource flexibility, knowledge,
    independence and focus to organisations in order to achieve change
    faster.   When working with consulting firms, organisational behaviours
    are important to a successful outcome, especially as consultants’
    agendas may differ from those of staff in the client organisation.
    What business issues are addressed in the Workshop?
    This highly interactive, three-day course addresses and deals with the
    conflicts that arise when external managers are engaged.  These cover
    job insecurity, confidentiality, salary differentials, team dynamics, self-
    esteem, and trust.  
    It demystifies the selling and account development techniques used by
    consultants and shows you how effective and valuable these are when
    practised by yourself.
    You will also learn how procurement avoids becoming side-lined, and
    how it should become a natural focus for excellence in guiding
    relationships with external managers.

Who is the Workshop for?
    Middle and upper-mid managers:
  • Procurement Category Managers who support or lead the
    engagement of consulting firms
  • HR and Finance managers who need to understand and classify
    external staff and their costs as part of an organisation’s overall
    human capital strategy
  • Staff who work with consultants, either as workstream members,
    or who monitor and directing them.  
  • Senior managers who are considering major projects and need to
    consider the role of external support, and who want to get the
    relationship right before the start.
    The course is also suitable for mid-range consultants who want to learn
    more about their own industry and its interaction with clients.

What will you take away from the Workshop?
    Following your participation in the Workshop, you will be able to:
  • Deal with subversive techniques used by consultants; and bring a
    relationship back into balance and control
  • Understand the aims of a consulting firm and use this knowledge
    to become the customer-of-choice
  • Recognise and begin to use consultative selling skills
    constructively in developing more effective relationships with
    clients, bosses, colleagues and,  of course, service providers
  • Improve the effectiveness of procurement in buying professional
    and consultancy services
  • Dealing more confidently with executives

What topics and areas are covered during the Workshop?
    We will ask you to come to the Workshop prepared to discuss
    experiences in working with consultants and consulting firms.  The
    purpose of this is to enable delegates to recognise and discuss
    concrete situations within their own organisations.
    The first part of the Workshop introduces the scope of the consultancy
    industry and how it has come to be relied upon.  You will see the
    importance of behaviours and how these drive results almost regardless
    of governance and process.
    Unique observation exercises are used to show you the behaviours and
    techniques used by both clients and consultants.  You will learn to spot
    and evaluate these and develop capabilities to retain control.
    You will learn the business drivers and business models of consulting
    firms, recognise the strength of your negotiating position, and identify
    ways to secure successful outcomes – at the same time as improving
    the level of partnership with the consulting firm and learning how to
    motivate individual consultants.   
    The Workshop trains all delegates in the essentials of consultative
    selling so that they understand how selling a service, delivering a
    service and building customer’s confidence in a service are all
    interlinked.  You will be able to put the techniques into practice when
    dealing with colleagues, executives and clients afterwards.  
    You will also know how a consulting firm strategically manages its overall
    relationships with the client’s team.
    Case studies and industry examples are used to support these
    sessions  
    You will be reminded about the usefulness of the standard procurement
    cycle and how this should be modified to deal with consultants; and you
    will see tools to help managers determine whether the engagement of a
    consultant is the right thing to be doing.
    Knowledge management is a strength of most consulting firms and a
    weakness of many clients so dealing with knowledge transfer issues
    during a consultancy supported project has a special session.

Workshop information
    Open enrolment
    Registration fee:         EUR [tbd] (excl VAT) accommodation.
    Days:                          Three