| We recommend interviewing at least two consultants and asking the same questions in the same order. This allows you to better compare their experience and qualifications to your needs in a fair manner.
We recommend these steps for conducting the initial meeting:
1. Describe what will happen during the interview
Let the consultant know how you would like to proceed at this initial meeting, that is, that you will provide an overview of the problems and then ask some specific questions about their experience.
2. Describe the situation
Continue by providing a general review of the problems that you are experiencing or the issue at hand. Describe the kind of assistance that you would like from the consultant. Allow for questions from the consultant, but remember that you also need to interview that person to assess their ability to meet your department’s needs.
3. Conduct the interview
Pay attention not only to the content of answers, but also to the consultant's personal manner and professional style. Here are some questions that we suggest you cover.
- How would you describe the challenges we face from the limited amount you now know about us?
- Have you worked on similar projects or consulted with other groups facing problems similar to ours?
- What did you learn from the experience? What would you do differently if you could repeat the experience?
- Based on past experience what problems do you anticipate as we begin to work together? How can we best address these problems early on?
- What experience do you have working in organizations that are similar to mine?
- Describe your work process. How would you propose working with me and our staff?
- What strengths do you possess that will prove particularly helpful in connection with this project?
- Are there other members of your consulting team who would be working with you? Who are they? How would you propose to divide up the tasks among your team members? When can we interview them?
- How can we evaluate your success in solving our problem?
- What is your availability to complete this project within our time frame? Will you be using other consultants?
- Approximately how much will this cost?
- What else should we be asking you? What should we know about you, your experience, or what it would be like to work together?
4. Financial Arrangements
Before going any further, you will want to determine how the consultant charges. Discussing finances early on paves the way to open discussions in the future.
Consultants typically charge a daily or hourly rate; sometimes a fixed rate is agreed upon for completion of an entire project. Do not agree to an open-ended fee.
Make sure you discuss potentially hidden expenses from the beginning, such as who is responsible for expenses such as travel and/or mileage, lodging, printing costs, etc. All items are negotiable but they are more easily resolved when discussed in advance.
For large projects or a project that will be conducted in phases, we do not recommend paying the consultant everything up front. Phased payments, tied to milestones, are the best way to compensate an outside consultant.
5. Ask for a Proposal and References
It is common practice to request a proposal that outlines time frames, work process and what products and services will be delivered. If a consultant asks for payment for a proposal, please contact us – this is not considered to be an acceptable practice.
You should also ask for references. Although the Learning Center has already checked references, we recommend that you also check references to ascertain the consultant’s ability to address your specific needs.
The consultant will supply you with a list of clients who have agreed to be references. We suggest that you ask for the name of the person who supervised the consultant's work directly.
6. Next Steps and Timeframes
Let the consultant know your next steps in the process and when you will next contact them. After you've completed your interviews, please follow-up and let each individual know whether or not they have received the assignment. |
