RJA Consulting

Consulting Overview

Consulting Overview

Companies hire consultants for many reasons. An organization may lack the specific expertise, time, experience, or objectivity to achieve a particular outcome without outside assistance. A business consultant will:

· Be able to bridge the knowledge and resource gap

· Bring experience and insight to your project or topic

· Considerably improve your chance for success in accreditation or project outcomes

· Fast-track the development process by effectively planning, identifying gaps, and developing plans of action.

· Organize and facilitate project deployment from an independent and non-biased perspective

Clients partner with consultants to achieve the outcomes efficiently and effectively, and ensure that the outcome is able to be maintained by the client for ongoing compliance and sustainability.
A consultant should be able to plan and organize the project activities, help identify and document your applicable processes, recommend process improvements, suggest benchmark practices, assist with or facilitate the activity, produce a documented report of the activity, and identify future action items or needs to ensure sustainability. A consultant may also develop policy & procedure documentation, depending upon the client’s internal resources.
Yes-there should be clarification and confirmation of all proposal details. Potential clients should negotiate any terms to their satisfaction, including fees and expenses. The proposal provides clarity on the deliverables and contractual terms and should facilitate a clear relationship between the consultant and the client.
All outsourced work, including an expert consultant, should have continual communication between the client and the consultant including timelines or project deliverables.  Primary contact information and deliverable timelines should be clearly documented, understood, and agreed upon by both parties.  Regular project and milestone/deliverable reviews should occur with the consultant and ensure any issues or misunderstandings are promptly resolved.
When the project is completed, evaluate the consultant’s performance by asking the following questions: Were the project deliverables acceptable and on time?

· Were deliverable results in line with the objectives?

· Did the consultant do a good job of planning? And was the plan followed without significant changes or delays?

· Were communication and reporting requirements met?

· Were the consultancy costs within budget?

A consultant can be a significantly useful resource to partner with to ensure regulatory compliance and assisting with projects or specialty improvement activities.  Contact RJA Consulting International for a free confidential review of your organizational needs and partnership opportunities.