Core consultancy skills

Day 1
*The CONSULT* process**	Introduction to the CONSULT delivery process – the basis of the remainder of the course
Entry 1 – situation appraisal	Making sense of complex situations through useful analytical tools
Entry 2 – positioning yourself with the client	Consultants have to have appropriate interpersonal as well as consultancy skills to make a favourable impression when meeting a client for the first time
Entry 3 – influencing clients	Consultants have to use their personal influencing skills to get things done in a client environment. This session considers the basics of persuasion and negotiation as applied in consultancy.
Contracting 1 – managing client relationships	Successful consultants not only do the work well, but also keep their clients happy. This session considers the issues in so doing, using the medium of a case study on video
Contracting 2 – defining terms of reference	Terms of reference define the nature of a consultancy project. This session presents an approach that will be helpful to all consultants, whether or not they are responsible for the initial negotiation and selling of projects
Day 2
Contracting 3 – assignment management	We assume that participants will be familiar with planning techniques to the extent they need them in their work. This session therefore provides an overview of estimating and management processes in consultancy projects
Contracting 4 – working in teams	Consultants often have to work in teams, with clients and/or colleagues. This session reviews some of the difficulties involved and how they can be addressed.
Diagnosis 1 – problem solving	Consultants need to recognise and address different types of problems. This session focuses on “messy” problems where much of the work in a project is concerned with defining the problem in the first place
Diagnosis 2 – data collection	This session reviews how to decide what data to collect; various methods of collecting data; and practical skills in interviewing
Diagnosis 3 – assessing the readiness for change	This is an important area of data that influences intervention design
Diagnosis 4 – solution generation	In this session we look at creative ways in which solutions can be generated. We also look briefly at helpful techniques for doing this in groups
Intervention 1 – developing recommendations	Recommendations must be not only “right” but also attuned to the client environment if they are to be really helpful
Day 3
Intervention 2 – managing change	The test of a good consultant is not only to come out with good solutions, but also to make things happen at the client. This session examines issues involved in managing change and practical tips and techniques to facilitate it
Intervention 3 – reporting to clients	This is not a presentation skills course, but often the test of the quality of a consultant’s thinking is through presentations. This session suggests an approach to the preparatory work required and then practise it
Closure and action planning	There will be many pressures back at work that will make it difficult to apply what has been learned on the course. The aim of this session is to facilitate the translation of the learning into practice.

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What our clients say

A wonderfully interactive course with lots of practical exercises.

Veera Räsänen, Finpro

Excellent trainer!

Great exercises - I learnt a lot about what not to do!

A really well run and useful course which introduced me to a whole new range of concepts and techniques I'll be able to apply to my role

Excellent

A very good opportunity for me to see the consultancy process in its "full lifecycle". Majority of my roles seem to cover small aspects so it was really good to go through it methodically.

Fantastic

The course and case study were engaging, thought provoking and were constantly referring back to 'real world' examples within the wider organisation and consultancy industry

This course has taught me key analytical techniques: - How to diagnose and appraise a situation.

Learnt some new techniques which are very relevant to my roles