Contracting
Clarify expectations, roles and agreements with your client. Effective contracting prevents misunderstandings and ensures alignment on outcomes.
An explicit agreement of what the consultant and client expect from each other and how they are going to work together. Often verbal, though ideally in writing, to avoid confusion or misunderstanding.
Contracting is the point of maximum leverage for consultants.
Perceptual Positions
A technique that helps us analyse what each party needs from Contracting. Understanding another position beyond your own needs empathy – the more you immerse yourself in the other perspectives, the more you'll learn from this practice.
Position 1: Consultant
Want?
Clear scope, resources and support
Contribute?
Expertise, objectivity and solutions
Position 2: Client
Want?
Solutions, improvement and results
Contribute?
Context, resources and commitment
Position 3: Organization
Want?
Sustainable change and value
Contribute?
Culture, systems and support
Elements of Value
Like beauty, value is in the eye of the beholder. The Elements of Value pyramid illustrates what organisations typically value in business relationships.
Which 3 elements does your client value most?
- ✓ Objective Value: Measurable outcomes and results
- ✓ Subjective Value: Experience and relationship quality
- ✓ Strategic Value: Long-term competitive advantage
- ✓ Emotional Value: Trust and confidence
- ✓ Relational Value: Partnership and collaboration
Contracting Checklist
1. Boundaries
A statement of the problem you are going to focus on. And if possible, a statement of what you are not going to get involved in.
2. Objectives
The organisational improvements you expect if your consultation is successful. Your best guess on the benefits your client can expect.
3. Information
Clients want to tell you what is going on but are also afraid of telling you what is really going on. You might want access to technical data, figures, workflow, roles & responsibilities, attitudes...
4. Your Role
How do you want to work with the client? A statement of spirit and intent rather than spelling it out too clearly. At the beginning it is hard to predict what is going to come up.
5. Client Involvement
The heart of the contract for consultants. Specify what you want from the client to make this project successful. If your request is sensitive, then absolutely include it to ensure the client understands.
6. Your Product
Be as specific as possible about what you are offering. You want to achieve clear understanding with the client on what your product will look like - or risk client disappointment later.
7. Time Schedule
Including start date, intermediate milestones and completion date. If you want to give interim reports to your client, schedule them at the beginning – better to reschedule than act last minute.
8. Confidentiality
You are almost always dealing with both a political and technical situation, so who gets what information is an important concern. Ideally give your client control over who sees your output.
9. Feedback Later
An optional element of the contract is to ask the client to let you know the results of your intervention at an agreed point in the future. If you want to know, ask for it.