The Role of Consultants in BPR projects

The Role of Consultants in BPR projects

New reengineering teams typically consider the use of a consultant for their project. This module addresses some guidelines and tips to think about when evaluating the use of consultants. We also present benchmarking findings on the use of consultants from two separate studies.


What consultants bring to the table?

1. Consultants can play a valuable role in your project.
- They are objective and immune to internal politics.
- They have followed the process before.
- They bring information and best practices from other companies.
- They are good communication paths between front line workers and customers, and the leaders of the company or organization.

2. Consultants can also unintentionally create barriers by:
- having the solution being viewed as "theirs" and not "yours"
- taking too strong a lead role and disengaging the organization

3. The team leader and stakeholders must decide the role they want the consultant to play, and let that influence the consultant selection process. Three very different roles are:
*Role A - a strong facilitator and experienced practitioner who brings a methodology with them. If you need this type of support, look for consultants who have strong facilitation skills and in-depth process design knowledge.
*Role B - a team member; can be an objective and unbiased contributor to the solution; may fill a gap in your team that cannot be filled from within the organization; should be someone knowledgeable in your industry.
*Role C - a subject-matter expert with knowledge of performance levels and best practices of similar organizations and processes; able to perform specific tasks for the team.

Teams that have strong internal facilitators and experienced process design leaders should lean toward Role B or Role C. If the organization lacks internal skills to facilitate the team, then Role A may be required. You may need a combination of these roles.

Whichever roles you choose, define the responsibilities clearly. For example, will your consultant be responsible for:
- writing project documentation?
- leading the project and facilitating meetings?
- making presentations to stakeholders and associates?
- making decisions for the project?
- contributing subject-matter expertise in your organization’s work processes?

The better these roles are defined, the better your relationship with the consultant.