Procurement

Continuing his look at what goes wrong with professional services assignments, Peter Smith answers another common problem:

Dear Peter

We thought the consultants would be in for a few weeks but it is now almost 9 months. This assignment seems to never end! It's the same with lawyers; we have what we think is a minor issue, but it always seems to go on for months. I just don't seem to be able to end these relationships!

Peter says

A recent report by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) into effective procurement for major projects had at its heart a ‘talk first, act later’ proposition. In short it encouraged procurement to engage with suppliers early on in the life of a project for the purposes of ‘developing a stronger understanding of the art of the possible and preparing better to manage uncertainty’. Sound advice, no doubt, but just how early is early?

Despite the best intentions of highly skilled and paid consultants, purchasing staff, budget holders and users, the number of professional services assignments that end up with unsatisfactory outcomes or dissatisfied participants, is too high.

It is hard to establish the true level of satisfaction; clients are cautious about admitting to problems for reasons of credibility or confidentiality, and providers and unlikely to volunteer the information.