Sean Wallbridge
You may have heard stories of businesses hiring technology consultants to fix problems or create new solutions. Many of those stories end with the consultant not meeting the needs or expectations of the business.
A feeling of disappointment and resentment – but you can prevent this.
The reasons for failed technology projects are numerous; however projects come down to one thing: the people. These 6 things should help you avoid failed project situations by hiring good tech consultants – from the beginning.
You should ask consulting companies these six things to gauge whether they will fit your business and are quality consultants. Even hiring consultants means they should go through an interview process.
Make sure they specialize in the area you need
This might be network security, backups, or development of new software. If you require support for your entire infrastructure, then make sure you have access to others with specialty skills within the same company – no one person can do it all.
Make sure the consultant works with small and medium sized businesses
Ones who have come from large companies may recommend or build technology far too complex for your company. Your technology solutions need to fit your business and there are numerous ways of using technology from small to large, simple to complex.
Hire a professional
You get what you pay for and that’s especially true with technologists. Consider this an investment in your business. Finding a consultant that’s at a good price will save you headaches and heartache later on. When technology doesn’t work, you don’t want them wasting time learning, or you paying them, how to use the technology.
Find someone who can speak your language
The ones that can talk to you as a person, a business person, are the most valuable ones. You need to understand what’s going on without you getting into the technical details, or technology acronyms and jargon.
They should come up with a plan of attack
It’s a plan on how they are going to fix your problem or improve the situation, specifically. It shows they understand your problem. And you need to be able to understand the plan, so you can follow what they’re doing at various checkpoints.
You should get a summary of activities on a regular basis
This allows you to understand what they have done, how much it’s costing, and whether they are following the plan (or what changes to the plan are needed).
Finding a good technology consultant shouldn’t be trial and error. Finding a great consultant means making smart hiring decisions at the start. If you’re lucky, they will become trusted advisors for you.