Cracking the cooperation code: key traits clients appreciate in IT consultants
IT and software consultancies need to understand their clients’ products, needs and technologies. The text was originally published in Itewiki.
What things do clients value when it comes to cooperating with IT consultants? This was the question we posed to three companies using IT consulting services and one consultancy offering software development services.
First of all, IT and software consultancies need to be familiar with their client’s products, needs and technologies in order to be able to provide the client with suitable experts.
“When it comes to cooperation with IT consultants, clients tend to appreciate the consultancy’s ability to get to the bottom of the client’s needs. Once this is done, the company is able to provide the client with relevant talents and personalities that mesh well with the team,” says Marietta Johansson, Sales and Marketing Lead at software consultancy Rakettitiede.
What says the client?
Pauli Salokoski, Software Engineering Manager at GE HealthCare, agrees with Johansson: “I value the effort put into trying to find professionals who are motivated and hit the brief. If the requirements aren’t met, we end up wasting our time and effort in the selection process.”
According to Johansson from Rakettitiede, no one benefits if the client is just sent a pile of CVs at random.
“We want the profiles we introduce to the client to be as good as possible, whether they’re looking for a single consultant or an entire team. A good partner needs to meet the client’s needs and not just sell them a number of extra hands,” Johansson explains.
Janne Kallio, Head of Partner Product Management at Suunto, approves: “We don’t buy ‘resources’ but solutions to problems. At its best, a consultancy is able to offer expertise in an area that is entirely new for the client and requires some in-depth knowledge.”
Kallio stresses that a consultancy should be able to provide references and demonstrate their earlier experience.
“Consultancies often have previous experience with similar projects. If they are able to offer the right kind of package based on those experiences, it can greatly reduce costs and risks,” Kallio says.
The client selects the consultant – and vice versa
Even though buying a consultant is often less painful than hiring for a permanent position, avoiding failures is crucial. Orientation takes time and, at their worst, mistakes can affect the productivity of the entire team.
In typical sales processes, the client gets to choose their preferred consultant. At Rakettitiede, the consultants get a say as well and are able to decide whether to accept the assignment.
This is a purely good thing for the client too.
“If the consultant isn’t motivated, the work won’t progress as planned, which has a bad effect on quality and efficiency. At the same time, the situation results in a need to change consultants, which means wasted training efforts,” says Salokoski from GE HealthCare.
“The best outcome is achieved when the consultant is personally invested in the project”
According to Johansson, it’s important to listen to both parties – the client and the consultant – with a keen ear: “The best outcome is achieved when the consultant is personally invested in the project.”
The consultant’s interest may lie in the product under development, the technology chosen, the industry or even the new team.
“It’s easier and more straightforward to work with consultants who are interested in the topic and who understand how the client company operates,” says Anni Kälkäinen, Technical Product Manager at 020202 Palvelut.
Rakettitiede only employs senior software developers with extensive competence profiles. This means that the client is always highly likely to find the right person to meet their needs.
“Senior developers have seen and experienced a lot and can therefore quickly tackle a variety of challenges. In addition, they can often demonstrate productivity right from the outset,” Johansson explains.
Rakettitiede consultants work as a part of the client’s product development team, and when someone new comes along everyone learns something new.
“Clients have often mentioned that they’d like to see the rocket scientists’ knowledge spread inside their organisation,” Johansson says.
Everything begins with trust
Rocket Accelerator Marietta Johansson thinks it’s important that the software consultant is genuinely interested in the client’s project.
The selection process for an IT consult naturally requires that both parties engage in honest and proactive discussions. After all, it takes two to tango: an open dialogue between the supplier and the client company builds trust.
Kälkäinen at 020202 is a stout supporter of cooperation. “I appreciate it when a consultancy trusts their consultants to do what the client needs them to do. As someone who represents a client, I find it excellent when consultants do their job hassle-free, quickly and autonomously – and without unnecessary red tape slowing things down.”
Kälkäinen stresses the significance of trust for working practices and the outcome.
“The consultant does what they’re asked to do and they do it well in addition to which they’re able to use their insights to make the project their own. When the consultant’s an expert at what they do, it’s easy to trust that the proposed solution is both good and functional,” Kälkäinen summarises.
Open dialogue – the key to effective cooperation
Software consultancies need to make sure that they’re taking care of their consultants’ well-being and ensuring the client’s happiness. Johansson says that having an active dialogue makes it possible to react to ever-changing situations without delay.
“This is why we highlight the importance of regular contact between the client, the consult and Rakettitiede,” she says and adds: “We’re always interested in the well-being of the consultant, which naturally benefits the client as well. This approach plays a significant role in ensuring the success of a project.”
At Rakettitiede, client satisfaction is measured on a monthly basis and status meetings are held regularly to see how everyone is doing.
Salokoski from GE Healthcare considers close contact essential: “I value active discussions with the consultant and the client company as they allow me to anticipate future changes as early on as possible. Additionally, flexibility and being open to negotiation are crucial when it comes to adapting to various changing situations.”
Janne Kallio from Suunto mentions the importance of the consultant’s communication skills: “Extremely challenging project boil down to continuous interaction between people. The old carpenter’s adage ‘measure twice, cut once’ applies to technology as well: the amount of discussion and joint agreement should grow exponentially as the project becomes more challenging. This is also when the consultant’s communication and interpersonal skills take centre stage.”
However, this doesn't imply that differences of opinion aren’t allowed. Quite the contrary: they can and should exist.
“The ability to have open and constructive discussions is crucial. Things tend to sort themselves out when dealing with competent professionals,” Johansson says.
“We know our consultants like the back of our hand”
Seasoned consultants have experience working in various environments and with all kinds of teams and people and therefore know how to blend in with different groups.
Kälkäinen from 020202 values cooperation between consultants. “We have several consultants working on the same project and it’s wonderful to see how well the IT consultants get along and work together. It looks like the consultancy pays attention to who they hire and especially which consultants they recommend to the client.”
Indeed, finding suitable talents is one of the core competencies of software consultancies such as Rakettitiede. HC technical skills are naturally also essential when it comes to software consulting, but personal chemistry plays a role as well.
Johansson gives kudos to Rakettitiede’s recruitment process, which has become something of a legend over the years. Every IT and software consultant goes through the same multi-stage process.
“In addition to technical stages, there’s also a non-technical part, which aims to ensure that the consultant is a good fit personality-wise and charts things like the environments and tasks the consultant excels in, what are their preferred technologies and what would they like to learn moving forward,” Johansson explains.
She says knowing the tech stack isn’t enough. Getting to really know the consultant is crucial to ensure their workflow and to connect the needs of the client with the interests and skills of the consultant.
Rakettitiede’s recruitment process provides valuable insights into the potential clients the consultant might be paired with, and regular discussions with the developers continue even after the initial introduction.
“Clients appreciate the fact that we know our consultants like the back of our hand,” Johansson says and adds: “For there to be a perfect match, we need to know the client well too.”
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