As system consultants, our mission is clear: to solve problems and offer expert advice to organizations. But at Covalence Consulting, our consultants believe in more than just meeting expectations; we strive to exceed them. We use many strategies to deliver unparalleled value and an excellent client experience. In this blog post, you’ll discover the characteristics of an exceptional consultant, what to look for when choosing a consulting partner, and how valuable their expertise is to the success of your HCM technology project.
Asking The Right Questions
The first step in any project is understanding the client’s needs. The best way to discover these needs is to have the experience to know which questions to ask. Most systems consultants are familiar with these principles across many organizations in the service industry. However, what is often overlooked and seldom articulated is detecting which additional questions might need to be asked based on subtle nuances only an experienced systems consultant would know to ask. Everyone can follow a formula and ask the questions we learn about in training, but additional investigation and finding what else to offer is an art. We strive to hear that pleasantly surprised tone in a client’s voice during a meeting after we ask a question. “We hadn’t considered that, but it sounds great!”
The questions often prompt the need to offer unique solutions. By offering solutions such as gender identity fields or custom name fields that accommodate non-western names, informational third-party benefit pages, and resources for wellness programs, we empower our clients to make informed decisions and tailor their systems to their specific needs. We do our utmost to give clients the ability to make informed decisions about their base system and to provide them with ideas to make custom requests to further their system’s utility and versatility.
Automating For Success
Fulfilling all the client’s base needs and addressing their main pain points is why they hired us; it’s the default, but we don’t stop there. We go above and beyond by automating as many things as possible for the client’s human capital management needs. There’s functional, and then there’s efficient and exceptional. As consultants, we strive to understand the unspoken desires.
To accomplish this, we proactively future-proof systems to accommodate anticipated or planned organizational changes. For example, if an organization plans to open a new location in another state with different benefits, we would implement plans with the required benefits set up to prepare to automate their benefit needs as well. Similarly, if a company operates on a plan year period different from the fiscal year, we can configure enrollment and benefit plans to align with their specific timeline.
Testing 1,2,3
Excellent consultants turn problems into opportunities. Sometimes, issues may arise, and this is normal within any implementation. We ask the client to test their system to ensure it behaves exactly as expected. At Covalence, testing for clients goes beyond ensuring our processes run smoothly; we prioritize guiding and supporting our clients through their testing phase. We understand that clients may only sometimes be familiar with the testing process or what to look for, so we provide comprehensive assistance. From offering guidance on conducting thorough tests to giving clear instructions on what to be mindful of during testing, this guidance empowers our clients every step of the way. At the same time, we also do our share of testing on the consultant side. Through this extensive testing, any potential problems that arise will cause new needs to become apparent. When new needs are found during testing, we can implement a solution to resolve them and deliver an even better result than initially anticipated. Thorough testing can effectively turn a negative experience into a positive one.
Simplify The Complex
Our ultimate goal as consultants is to simplify the complex for our clients. We recognize that change within a company can be stressful, and having a smooth transition and properly informing the client of any nuances of the new system is essential. An informed client is a reassured client. As the project marches on, any potential bumps in the road can elevate stress levels. This point is where a good consultant will shine by providing extra communication, putting everything into perspective with a timeline, and breaking down tasks by order of importance. At every project stage, the client should have tangible steps and tasks written down in the meeting recaps. At the same time, the consultant should always communicate what they are working on. A consulting experience that goes above and beyond is one in which the consultant’s main objective is to eliminate any worries or concerns surrounding your organization’s pain points or apprehension regarding change.
Traits Of Exceptional Consultants
Consulting is an art, with all communication converging to build client trust and reassurance. Consultants who genuinely stand out will do the following:
- They craft relevance in every task, ensuring it aligns with the project roadmap and goals.
- They have the goal of maximum impact in the shortest time window with every meeting, recap, and task completed.
- They consistently show results and progress to maintain the client’s trust and confidence.
- They celebrate milestone completions, which provide a vital morale boost for any problematic project.
- They conduct live demonstrations of the system, and the testing phase combines to form a steady base for implementation.
Ultimately, the mark of an exceptional consultant is that they make their clients feel well informed, reassured, relieved, and pleasantly surprised. At Covalence Consulting, our consultants strive for a customer-centric culture that thrives on building trust, empathy, and innovation. Don’t just take our word for it—check out why our clients have rated us as a five-star-rated UKG services partner on the customer review site Raven Intelligence. Ready to experience the difference an exceptional consultant can make? Connect with our team today to learn more.