We’ve seen a trend lately of potential clients requesting we devote staff full time to projects. This seems particularly true of our IV&V and QA projects. We think the reasoning is probably based on at least three factors. Clients:
- Are tired of consultant bait and switch strategies where superior resources are bid (and may even start) on the project but less experienced staff show up and do the bulk of the work;
- Want rapid access to known consulting resources for projects; and
- Want to make sure there’s continuity on project issues and tasks provided by the consultant.
There are however downsides to having consultants devoted exclusively to your project. Consultants:
- Become myopic over time and miss critical issues and solutions a fresh pair of eyes might catch;
- Are costly resources that should only be on board when they are needed, when they’re not fully utilized (and there are always those down times on projects) you don’t want to pay for them;
- Stop bringing in new ideas and experience gleaned from other projects that might be just what you need to thrive; and
- Become viewed as staff and their unique experience and voice is no long heard.
Of course we’re not suggesting the elimination of consistent consulting staff on your projects. You do need continuity and responsiveness. And we are also not suggesting consultants should be swapped out regularly. Just be aware there are hidden costs to demanding consultants be devoted full time to your project (particularly on longer projects) and benefits to having “fresh legs” in the marathon that projects can be.