Any snapshot of tfhe role of the consultant is likely to include either project management support, technical operational knowledge, or a third party opinion. However, with so many players in the sector, all having slightly different expertise, employing the right consultant or consultancy to take on the job is not an easy task.
The role of consultancy in the waste and recycling industry has changed immensely over the last ten years. Consultants who were primarily involved in boosting companies' environmental protection and pollution control standards are now helping local authorities meet recycling targets and providing alternatives to landfill.
As Patrick Scott, regional director at White Young Green Environmental, says: “As consultants we continually have to look ahead so we can be prepared for the next big issues.”
Consultants traditionally work for waste management companies and local authorities and they often face a tender process, akin, for example to the appointment of a civil engineer contractor.
There are a number of guides which have been compiled to help local authorities and waste management companies find consultants, including the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management's online directory which lists consultants by area of expertise, ENDS annual consultants' publication and other listings such as letsrecycle.com.
While guides can give you an indication of who is available in the sector, finding someone who will be easy to work with and will provide a valuable service to your company is a bigger challenge.
Joe Short, senior consultant at Enviros explains how important interpersonal skills are for consultants. He says: “A good consultant is someone who listens to the client in terms of what they need as opposed to what you can sell them, and does not force ideas on the client but uses their skills to fit the client's brief.”
Indeed, Gev Eduljee, technical director at SITA UK, reiterates the importance of establishing a good relationship with a company. He says: “It is the “feel” of a consultancy that tends to be the deciding factor.
Consulting is all about creating a personal relationship between the two parties. Rather like that of a doctor to his patient, trust and confidence in the abilities of the consultant forms the bedrock of a successful client-consultant relationship.”
However, it is not always possible to gauge the attributes of the consultants at an early stage in the selection process, as larger consultancies can be unable to present upfront the people who will be working on the project.
Adam Read, principal consultant at Hyder Consulting who has been working in consultancy since 2001 reiterates the importance of the individual. He explains: “Consultancies' expertise is constantly evolving as staff often move on to different jobs. It is important to find out who will be working directly on the job and assess the individuals' experience through following up references to see if they have worked on similar jobs and to ensure that their previous employers were happy with their work.”
Pitfalls
Although it is not cost effective to insist on senior advisers performing routine tasks within a project, having inexperienced advisors performing vital tasks can be risky unless they have a high level of supervision.
Like all business relationships, there is an element of risk associated with relying upon a consultant for a PFI. A Treasury review published in 1997 states: “A number of PFI projects had been hampered by the engagement of advisers who were clearly “learning at the public sector's expense” and incapable of providing the timely advice to the quality required. This added to project costs and created unnecessary delays in the procurement process.”
Local authorities employ a number of consultants and are familiar with the problems associated with tardy consultants. Alan Asbury, sustainability team leader at Aylesbury Vale district council is responsible for appointing consultants and independents to help the council's sustainability and says: “Often, reports from consultants arrive very close to the deadline for completion leaving little or no time for rewrites or amendments of alterations to be made.”
To ensure this does not happen there needs to be continual communication between the client and the consultant and the client needs to set clear boundaries and provide a realistic timescale for the work.
Lack of honesty and openness ranks highly in the list of reasons companies or local authorities do not employ consultants again. Joe Short at Enviros says: “It is really important to establish an open relationship with your clients and feel able to tell them whether they have unrealistic expectations or if their plans cannot be achieved in the timeframe and this is when bad reputations are formed.”
There are a number of other things which companies should take into consideration to protect themselves from “cowboy” consultants such as ensuring the firm has both quality management system ISO9001 and environmental management system ISO 14001 in place or be working towards it. This will ensure there is a system in place to support companies if are not receiving the quality of work they were promised.
In addition to this, companies should seek assurance from the consultant that if anyone working on the project falls ill that there is a contingency plan in place, which will ensure the project is still completed on time.
Independents
While the consultancy sector has traditionally been made up of large firms, there has been an emergence recently of more independent consultants. These independent providers are often formed by individuals who have chosen to start up consultancies on leaving the council or company where they worked. Others are created by consultants who leave larger consultancies to build their own client base.
Using an independent consultant or smaller consultancy with specific expertise in the area you are looking for help with can be a positive move.
Jane Beasley, director of Be Environmental, explains that the advantages of using an independent consultant is that “independents don't have set ideas in the same way as larger companies and there tends to be more innovation. We are also able to build strong relationships with the clients as there are only six of us in the company.”
However despite these advantages, local authorities are often hesitant in employing newly-started up consultants and consultancies and tend to veer towards using the same large consultancies. This hesitancy can mean that councils are often overlooking individuals with many years of experience and expertise, even though the new company which they are trading under has not yet established a reputation for itself.
Ms Beasley explains that smaller consultancies and independents are often forced to make “strategic partnerships” with established organisations to help them bid for projects.
She says: “Capacity is one of the biggest issues for a new consultancy and if we take on a large job we have to ensure we can still go for other jobs to keep business coming in. Therefore working with larger more established companies gives both local authorities a feeling of security that they don't have with smaller companies.”
While independent consultants are often employed for their specific expertise, the HMT Taskforce report warns local authorities of trying to use them for all aspects of the contract to cut corners as it can end up costing them more money to rectify or even delay the project.
This is often the reason why many local authorities opt for larger consultancies as a “one stop shop” for all parts of the contract. While consultants have a clear responsibility to the client, the client also has a responsibility to clearly communicate what they want, to establish what budget they have and to set a realistic timeframe.
Indeed, a common complaint from consultants is that they do not have a clear enough brief. Mr Asbury, at Aylesbury Vale district council explains why this often happens.
He says: “I think authorities sometimes use consultants to solve a problem that they are unable or unwilling to tackle and as a result, they do not make clear the requirements of what they want to see as an end result.
“It is incumbent on both sides to provide detail and advice where there is too much room for ambiguity. This is to ensure a final report that does not come as a great surprise to the client!”
To overcome this, a number of local authorities employ a consultant (who is not bidding for the actual work) to help to develop the brief, to ensure it makes sense. Doing this helps to ensure the council is able to appoint the best consultant for the job.
Cost
The consultancy sector is reliant upon supply and demand and although companies have set charges for specific services, when there are lots of competitors for a bid the consultants cannot be charged out at the normal rate.
The cost of a consultant is often a determining factor for employment. However in HMT's Technical notes on PFI it warns: “beware of relying too much on low hourly rates. The cheapest option is not always best value for money.”
Mistakes from inappropriate or inexperienced advisers can be extremely costly in the long run, perhaps even threatening the success of the project itself.
Independent advisors are also causing the market to shift as not only can they charge more economically because they do not have overheads, but they are also more likely to offer a cheaper price to ensure business in the future. This undercutting affects the pricing of the market place dramatically.
Because of the sheer number of consultants and the massive competition for bids, local authorities and waste management companies have to have their wits about them when procuring a service and must try not to be won over just by low cost or a familiar name.
Consultants aren't magicians and procurers have to realise that they have their own part to play in ensuring their consultant lives up to their expectation by knowing exactly what it is they want. It is after all, a two way relationship.
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