There comes a time when the consultant has completed the strategic communications project and it is time for the in-house team to take over the scope. We walk-through a few tips on making this a positive and successful take-over with minimal disruption to the team’s operations.
Many consultants are focused on creating and building systems and programmes with strategic intent. These programmes will include structure, positioning and approach that is good and ready to be implemented.
A consultant is typically brought in to support an organisation and marketing/communications team with bridging skills or competency gaps; or to be the neutral party evaluating needs and outcomes; or to adapt previously successful outcome from elsewhere and brings in expertise that can do so; or to help a business differentiate through different directions, positioning or offers.
The project scope for strategic communications would cover research, positioning and messaging, building the master plan, connect the generalists in the team with specialists as well as coach and train the in-house team. We generally recommend the scope of work, and duration to be time-bound with key outcomes being an increase in the ability for the in-house team to operate independently, as well as the increase in capability (or skillsets) of team members.
When the project comes to an end, here are some tips for a seamless and non-disruptive take-over by the in-house team.
Start the take-over at least 2 months prior to the end of the project
In-house specialists or team members can start the take-over process by shadowing the consultant, as well as taking on the scope while the consultant is around to serve as a check and balance.
By learning and doing at the same time, there is an element of skills transfer from the consultant to the in-house team. This is valuable because at some point of time, the in-house team will have to take over responsibility for the scope and outcome.
Set-up a library of questions and answers that is accessible to all team members
Most organisations have some form of a knowledge depository whether in the form of shared folders, a Slack channel or a bunch of files. By creating a library, and designating a team member to be responsible for maintenance, this becomes a more powerful tool. New members can use this library to help with onboarding; while current members can use it to find information, help with briefing external contractors and also extract past reports to help with current projects.
We do not recommend the library being a stand-alone tool to only capture information from the consultant project. Instead we suggest that it expand to become a key resource for the entirety of activities run by the marketing or communication function. This will help to rationalise both the resource of cost and time spent to create and maintain the tool.
Commit and spend the time on a proper take-over meeting
Many in-house teams tend to spend only a short amount of time during the end of project meetings, perhaps thinking that it is a waste of time. This is opposite to what we recommend. The meeting (or series of meetings) is critical in ensuring that the in-house team – whether they are generalists or specialists – understand the specific scope, execution and outcomes they are taking over. With a lack or gap in understanding or context, the take-over is diluted and the efficacy of execution thereafter is lesser. This might be erroneously attributed to the consultant when a simple deployment of resources is the better solution.
Redeploy consultants to other projects within the organisation
Organisations can consider redeploying the consultant to other projects. This will help keep teams familiar with the brand keep close to the organisation, and also continue building the relationship.
This will entail a fresh discussion about a scope of work for the new project. Negotiate to keep team members from the previous project involved in the new project. This will help to keep institutional knowledge within the larger team.
Negotiate for an ‘extra’ scope with the consultant to tap on additional resources if needed
This can be done pre-project, or towards the end of the project with the consultant. Negotiate for additional hours or commitment of resources (at the relevant rate) that the in-house team can activate within a fixed time period. The team can choose to activate this option if they are facing challenges in implementing the master plan, or if they find difficulties post take-over and require a longer transition period.
With this option in place, the consultant can also keep the project team assembled in case of the option activating instead of deploying them to other projects.
We are Brand Utility is a business consultancy. We work with brands in the corporate, professional services, retail, travel and technology spaces.
Our principal founder is a registered management consultant, certified and recognised by the Institute of Management Consultants Singapore.
We offer strategy and tactics to support growth outcomes - revenue, scale, regional expansion and market entry – for our clients.
Areas of support include:
· Strategic communications: Approach to market, brand concept and map, positioning, messaging, story and narrative, thought leadership
· Marketing: Campaign/programme planning, story-based marketing execution, digital marketing, community amplification, content planning and production, go-to-market execution
· Lead generation: Digital advertising, social media advertising, social commerce, e-commerce
· Integration of marketing with business operations: We plan and execute as a seconded marketing and/or PR lead for your brand
Discover more about our services at our website or book an exploratory consultation through this link.
Photo by Van Tay Media on Unsplash
Comments