{"id":56570,"date":"2022-03-05T04:51:16","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T09:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consource.io\/?p=56570"},"modified":"2026-04-15T04:53:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:53:23","slug":"consultoria-em-gerenciamento-de-despesas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consource.io\/pt-br\/consulting-spend-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Como dominar o gerenciamento de despesas de consultoria com autodiagn\u00f3stico?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Attention top executives, decision-makers, and CFOs! Get ready to uncover the secrets of effective consulting spend management. Whether you’re already working with consultants or considering it, this could be a game-changer for your company’s success. Let’s dive in!<\/p>\n

Perhaps you consider consultants a negligible part of your budget and overall business strategy\u2014they are for small, niche projects when you need them and are gone as soon as that business is concluded.<\/p>\n

However, from our experience, consulting spend can represent millions of dollars for companies, and if not properly managed (or managed at all), you\u2019ll miss out on the strategic opportunities a consultant can provide.<\/p>\n

Today, we’ll explore a self-diagnostic to enhance your consulting spend management. Assess four key areas: project scope<\/a>, panel management, performance, and sourcing. Let’s refine your current approaches for better results!<\/p>\n

1. Project Scope Assessment is the Key to Efficient Consulting Spend Management<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When considering the scope of consultants in your day-to-day and annual business, ask yourself these questions.<\/p>\n

Do you know the amount your company is spending on consulting on a yearly basis?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The first step toward improving your consulting spend management is to be sure you know just how much you are spending, on average, each year. Knowing this number will put in perspective for you the part consultants play in your business and allow you to better evaluate whether or not you\u2019re seeing a strong return on your current investments.<\/p>\n

What special skills do the consultants you employ possess?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

More importantly, what skills do your consultants provide that add value to your business and various projects? Look at the areas in which you are seeking the help of a consultant. What activities could be done in-house? What about out of the house? Are you hiring consultants that fill important skill gaps in your current personnel?<\/p>\n

Consultants should fulfill a specific need within your company, whether that be a new perspective, special expertise, or greater authority. Understanding this will help establish the scope of consultants you are currently working with.<\/p>\n

How does the work of your consultants align with your key strategic needs?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

What are your needs this year and from year to year? In order to manage your consulting spend, you need to understand how your consultants\u2019 skills align with your business\u2019s needs. When looking at your consulting spend through a strategic lens, does your resource allocation align with your strategic intent<\/p>\n

Are there areas where you could reduce costs? Areas where you should invest further? Too many companies tend to allocate their consulting budget in the same way, every year when a dynamic resource allocation would be better suited.<\/p>\n

What is the rationale for using consultants?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There are many valid reasons for hiring and maintaining ongoing relationships with consultants. Be sure you understand your own. Maintain a clear perspective and encourage (or even demand) that departments keep you apprised of their rationale behind hiring a new consultant.<\/p>\n

You should always be able to answer these two questions before bringing a consultant on board: \u201cdo we need this person?\u201d and \u201cwhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Manage Your Panel to Always Work with the Right Consultants<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When evaluating consultant panels and their usefulness, ask yourself these key questions.<\/p>\n

Do you know how to qualify a supplier for a specific project?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Ideally, you should have a process in mind to evaluate a prospective supplier for each project. Less than ideal, perhaps, you have a list of prospective consultant suppliers and tend to go to one or two of your favorites without weighing specific specialties and strengths but simply trusting their reliability.<\/p>\n

Be sure you understand what each of your potential suppliers is bringing to the table and how that might complement a specific project.<\/p>\n

Are you using a panel of qualified suppliers?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Do you have a ready-made panel of suppliers who you know to be experts in fields you need for your business? Perhaps you do not. Check-in with your departments and find out how they access qualified services, and make sure that they have a predictable, responsible source of talent. Vet your suppliers to ensure that you are getting reliable and highly qualified consultants.<\/p>\n

Do you easily find the expertise you need?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

When the need for a consultant arises, are you able to quickly and easily find the best consultant or consultants for the job? Ideally, for any highly technical requirements, you should have a trusted advisor you can turn to for guidance that will have a selection of candidates on hand. With the right partner, it should be simple to access qualified consultants with the expertise you need.<\/p>\n

Are your usual vendors always available to provide the necessary expertise?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Consider this question carefully. Review past projects and times you needed third-party expertise from your trusted vendors. How did it go? Were your suppliers there when you needed them?<\/p>\n

If things did not go well, then that is a sign that you need to look at panel management and revise your approach, perhaps your panel list, and, almost definitely, your process for soliciting the expertise you need when you need it.<\/p>\n

\"Enhance<\/p>\n

3. Measure the Performance to Key Only the Best<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once you have the consultants you want doing the work you need, you still need to monitor their performance. Here are some questions to ask regarding the performance management process.<\/p>\n

Do you manage the performance of your suppliers?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Ideally, you should be, but the reality is that such performance management may be slack, especially in long-term business relationships. If you are not managing performance, or if that management is ill-defined, here is where you need to start.<\/p>\n

Set up benchmarks for the performance of your suppliers and be sure that they are meeting those expectations.<\/p>\n

Are you usually satisfied with the ROI of assignments?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Another key indicator of a good or bad business relationship is whether or not you are seeing a strong return on your investment. If you are keeping an eye on costs and scope, here is where you can follow up by making sure that your consultants are justifying their costs.<\/p>\n

If you are not consistently satisfied with the ROI of consulting assignments (and how can you know unless you are monitoring), then you are not properly managing your consulting spend.<\/p>\n

Have you benchmarked consulting costs with your peers?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Once you know the costs of your consultants and what you are getting for your investment, it is important to make sure that you are still running lean and staying competitive. As with any expenditure you make, compare your spending to that of your peers.<\/p>\n

If you are spending more than others in your industry on consulting services, take a look at your process and see where it might be improved. Also, if you buy large amounts from the same vendors, are you getting the rebates you should?<\/p>\n

Do you provide detailed feedback to your consultants?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Communication works best both ways. Whether for good or for bad, a reputable consultant will appreciate the honest feedback.<\/p>\n

Clear communication allows you to improve your business\u2019s bottom line and the overall business-consultant relationship.<\/p>\n

It may be easier to provide a list of requirements and say nothing until the work is done, but detailed, regular feedback can go a long way toward ensuring the project gets done right the first time around.<\/p>\n

Do you discuss feedback to improve your relationship with your consultants?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Once you have provided feedback, to maximize the effect, consider setting aside time to discuss what you have found.<\/p>\n

Give time for the consultant to ask his or her own questions. Again, good communication goes both ways.<\/p>\n

With solid metrics and a plan in mind, you have what you need to improve your relationship for this project and for future projects to come.<\/p>\n

4. Implement a Best-in-class Sourcing Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The last area of concern for consulting is how you are managing the sourcing process. To diagnose the effectiveness of your current sourcing process, ask yourself these questions.<\/p>\n

Do you have a process for acquiring consulting services?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Having a clear plan in place for how you acquire consultants is imperative to improving your consulting spend management. This process should be in writing and followed by all departments involved with the hiring of consultants.<\/p>\n

If you have gone through all of the above self-diagnostic questions, consider formalizing your process in writing if you have not already. Also, make sure a professional buyer is involved in the process.<\/p>\n

Do you have frame contracts set up with your major suppliers?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Once you have everything else in place, you should have general frame contracts with consultant suppliers with whom you do regular business.<\/p>\n

In this way, you can set up general fees with understood benchmarks, generate volume and loyalty-based rebates,\u00a0 and minimize your procurement time later.<\/p>\n

Do you include performance in your criteria of choice?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

When discussing with your suppliers the criteria you have for consultants, be sure that they are taking performance on past projects into account.<\/p>\n

A good supplier should be thoroughly vetting their candidates and checking references from previous employers to ensure that their consultants have the experience and positive track record they say they do.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let other, seemingly more important criteria push aside performance results.<\/p>\n

Do you systematically use Confidentiality Agreements when discussing your needs with consultants?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Even before you hire a consultant, in the course of discussing your needs, you may need to divulge privileged proprietary information. Make sure that your sourcing process includes a confidentiality clause so that your competitors \u2013 and others \u2013 will not know what you are doing and why.<\/p>\n

Suppose you have answered \u201cyes\u201d to most of the questions in this self-assessment; congratulations! You are among the 7 percent of buyers who consider themselves fully equipped to manage their consulting spend.<\/p>\n

However, more likely, you have probably just realized that you now have a blueprint for improving your performance, generating tremendous savings, and getting more value from your consultants.<\/p>\n

Rounding-Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As consulting sourcing innovators, we aim to improve the overall performance of the consulting industry by carefully vetting our consultants and working closely with both consultants and businesses to facilitate more positive working relationships.<\/p>\n

We understand that there are many moving parts when it comes to effective consulting spend management. We would love to hear your feedback on this self-diagnostic tool.<\/p>\n

If you found it helpful, please share how it has benefited you and what actions you’ve taken based on its insights. Your input is valuable to us!<\/p>\n

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consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management\u00a0<\/p>\n

consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management\u00a0<\/p>\n

consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management consulting spend management\u00a0<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row module_class=”how-conpulse” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#e1e1e1″ custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb title=”How Consource Can Help?” image=”https:\/\/consource.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/lightbulb.png” image_icon_width=”60px” module_class=”b3_blurb_3″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|||on|||||” background_color=”#e1e1e1″ custom_padding=”40px|40px||40px|false|false” border_color_right=”#ff7700″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

With Consource<\/a>, start treating consulting as a strategic investment. Choose the right consulting projects that align with your company’s strategy, implement demand management, budget adherence, and spend analysis. Ensure optimal results and maximize ROI.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_button button_text=”Book a demo” button_alignment=”center” admin_label=”Book a demo” module_class=”btn-primary btn-icon” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” button_use_icon=”on” button_icon=”||fa||400″ button_icon_color=”#FFFFFF” button_icon_placement=”left” custom_margin=”||40px||false|false” custom_padding=”10px|10px||10px|false|false” custom_css_main_element=”width:280px;” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Descubra a arte de dominar o gerenciamento de despesas de consultoria por meio do poder das ferramentas de autodiagn\u00f3stico. Explore estrat\u00e9gias eficazes e abordagens perspicazes para melhorar sua tomada de decis\u00f5es financeiras, impulsionar a utiliza\u00e7\u00e3o de recursos e obter maior sucesso em seus empreendimentos de consultoria.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":56764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

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\u201cAn organisation\u2019s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.\u201d \u2013 Jack Welch<\/p><\/blockquote>

Analyzing your consulting spend is an excellent place to start putting your expenses under control. Besides, it is a mandatory step if you implement category management for the consulting services category.<\/p>

You now know how you spend and with whom, how you make decisions, how you buy, and how your consulting providers perform on your projects.<\/p>

However, it is the way you utilize this data that distinguishes champions from average players...<\/p>

Your first move? Capture Quick Gains at an Early Stage<\/p>

Most organizations, even structured and monitored, will, at some point in time, create outliers. Human nature leads us to play the system and find workarounds. That is why regular analyses are so important to identify these outliers and nudge<\/p>

Leverage Your Data \u2013 Slice, Dice, See Patterns<\/h2>

You are now ready to define several corrective actions that will get you immediate results and savings.<\/p>

Take advantage of your data to make informed decisions about your consulting spend. Slice, dice, find patterns, and identify outliers. For example, is there a Function or a Business Unit spending way more money on consulting?<\/p>

You might also find that some Consulting Providers are two times more expensive than others on similar projects or that the same Consulting Firm is charging more in Europe than in North America.<\/p>

Understanding your portfolio of projects gives you the cards to define the basis for improving your sourcing. You can identify segments and thresholds.<\/p>

For example, if you have an Internal Consulting Group, you can explore how your teams work with this group. Why do your teams work with them (or not)? How is their pricing compared to External Providers? Do they collaborate properly?<\/p>

Know Your Panel of Consulting Firms Well<\/h2>

When it comes to optimizing your consulting spend, it\u2019s essential to look at both the Demographic and the Performance Components. You can improve this panel by getting rid of the low-performers, bringing in new blood, playing on supplier diversity, and identifying potential synergies across groups and business units.<\/p>

Next, Buy Better<\/h2>

Among the critical success factors for a project, being outsourced or not is the clarity of the scope and objectives and the team\u2019s talent.<\/p>

To maximize the chances of success of your project, you need to make sure that you have a great RFP that clearly states the project\u2019s context, goals, and deliverables of the project. Be careful to describe the results you are expecting and not necessarily the means to get them.<\/p>

Another important aspect is to put your consultants in competition when it is relevant (hint: most of the time). For example, one Consulting Firm can be great on a project but not the best choice for the next project. Besides, you might want to look at new ideas or compare other approaches.<\/p>

Tame Your Expenses<\/h2>

You will need to control your expenses, particularly when you have a decentralized procurement process for Consulting Services.<\/p>

Loud statements of intent are very rarely efficient. Instead, you need to have a clearly defined, objective decision-making process to ensure you spend your budget for consulting on your priorities.<\/p>

Demand Management will help you balance and strategically align demand with your consulting budget. The trick is to set the right thresholds to ensure the system remains flexible and business units have enough room to hire consultants for urgent, less strategic projects.<\/p>

Define What Performance Looks Like<\/h2>

You now have more efficient buying and decision-making processes. Yet, you are not managing the performance of your providers, which can be particularly pregnant if you handle a large volume of expenses.<\/p>

Making a post-mortem analysis of your projects gave you a sense of your priorities and the strengths and weaknesses of your providers. Your next step is to measure the performance longitudinally to enter a virtuous circle of continuous improvement. But what is success for a consulting project?<\/p>

Knowledge and experience in the field<\/h5>

Most complaints about consultants come from lacking expertise or experience. When you look at your projects, do your consulting providers have enough relevant expertise to solve your specific issues? Or do they lack such expertise? How do you rate their ability to adapt knowledge and experience to the assignments in your case? Do they complete all tasks as per your standards and satisfactorily?<\/p>

Initiative and Proactivity<\/h5>

Working with consultants can bring you out-of-the-box thinking and focus on the project. Do they propose any valuable innovations? Are they proactive in solving issues?<\/p>

Productivity and Efficiency<\/h5>

Another critical element is the ability to deliver on time and quality. Do your consultants complete all the terms and the deadlines set out in the agreement?<\/p>

Cooperation and Teamwork Attitude<\/h5>

It\u2019s essential to establish a positive and cohesive work environment for all team members, to set the tone for a smooth and productive process. Do your consulting providers build trust with your teams and your leadership?<\/p>

Quality of Work and Services delivered<\/h5>

Carefully and honestly assess the quality of work performed by the Consultants. You should have a clear, objective basis for evaluating growth, benefits, and improvement they provide and are responsible for. If there is any area or aspect of the performance you are not happy about, communicate that in a constructive manner beneficial to both parties.<\/p>

Don\u2019t Work With Just Anybody - Work With the Right Consultant<\/h2>

Make sure that the consulting firms you are hiring have the qualifications for your project. First, collect information on their structure, particularly the partner and\/or the project manager in charge. Next, check references from former clients. Here are a few questions that you can use to build your reference-checking process.<\/p>

Are they qualified to do the job?<\/h5>

A qualified consultant for a project has the right functional expertise \u2013 also called capability \u2013 and has led or participated in several projects with a similar scope. S\/he also has the right experience: similar industry and management levels involved, \u2026<\/p>

Do they understand the problem you are trying to solve?<\/h5>

One major cause of failure in consulting projects is the lack of clarity of the objectives and requirements. And the issues can come from clients that do not explicitly define their needs and from consultants who do not admit they don\u2019t understand or lack expertise.<\/p>

Can they work well with your teams?<\/h5>

Again, the human element of consulting success is crucial and nonetheless the most overlooked. Project managers know the importance of harmony and alignment within their teams. However, bringing an outsider is often complicated, and you need to make sure to put the consulting teams in the best conditions to deliver.<\/p>

Are you confident they can deliver the impact and ROI you expect?<\/h5>

Impact and ROI must stay front and center in your evaluation. After all, the reason you hire them is to solve an issue. Ask their former clients if they were satisfied with the impact delivered. The value for money is often a good proxy for the ROI, especially for projects when the value is more difficult to measure.<\/p>

Master Your Consulting Spend to Achieve Long-Term Saving<\/h2>

As you can see, it is not that complex to be on top of your Consulting spend. Once you have understood it and assessed the performance of your Consulting suppliers, you can start generating Quick gains.<\/p>

Last, you can refine your analysis and focus on the elements that are crucial for your Company. And this regular analysis can become long-term monitoring of your Consulting Expenses.<\/p>

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With Consource<\/a>, start treating consulting as a strategic investment. Choose the right consulting projects that align with your company's strategy, implement demand management, budget adherence, and spend analysis. Ensure optimal results and maximize ROI.<\/p>

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