Evaluating Consultants

Kenneth has 14 years of healthcare experience in government and private industry. Over eight years of experience managing healthcare IT projects, operations, contracts, and personnel. His work experience includes project management, contracts and procurements, data analysis, claims adjudication, business writing, and business process modeling. Kenneth was certified in 2006 as a Project Management Professional.

  Procurement Management   Quality   Talent Management  

Projects are work that is, by definition, limited in time and scope; so it should come as no surprise that many organizations hire consultants to do some or all of the work involved with a project. In some aspects, consultants can be very helpful--but it is up to the hiring organization to make sure they are getting a solid benefit when hiring consultants. To that end, they should be evaluated beyond the resume or proposal.

Everyone puts their best foot forward on paper; digging beyond what is on paper can help an organization or project manager make an informed decision about who to hire and who to pass on when it comes time to sign or renew contracts. Doing some homework and research can make the difference between helping the project and hurting it in the long run. Sometimes just having bodies in seats is not enough for a project to succeed; it needs to be the right bodies at the right time.

References
The first thing to dig into is the references of the consultant being considered. Approaching references for consultants is slightly different than approaching references for hiring purposes. When obtaining references for permanent positions, the focus tends to be on how that person works and how they will fit into an organization in the long run and whether or not they can be counted on to be reliable and stable in a job.

While those things may or may not be …

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