How to Use a Consultant in Your Company

Obtain the Best Consulting Services for Your Business

In this chaotic age of new technologies, downsizing, andreengineering, managers and executives are relying more and more onthe consultant. Hiring the right consultants for your company andmaking effective use of them is a vital skill, and yet there hasbeen a lack of guidance on this topic-until now.

How to Use a Consultant in Your Company delivers expert advice andpractical guidelines on how to successfully create and manage theclient/consultant relationship-to your advantage. John McGonagleand Carolyn Vella provide up-to-the-minute information on:
* Defining your consulting needs
* Finding and selecting the right consultants
* Managing the paper trail-corporate policies, contractingissues
* Working with an individual consultant or an entire firm
* Handling disputes, lawsuits, and complaints
* Evaluating consultants

Including forms and other materials for help in developing formalpolicies, billing procedures, and more that you can adapt to fityour own situation, How to Use a Consultant in Your Company is theone-book-fits-all solution for anyone responsible for getting themost out of their company's consultant. Introduction.

Consulting: The Big Picture.

The Paper Trail: Corporate Policies.

The Paper Trail: Contracting Issues.

What Are Your Consulting Needs?

Budget and Financial Issues.

Finding and Selecting the Right Consultants.

Beginning the Consulting Relationship.

Keeping the Relationship Moving.

Winding Up the Relationship.

Disputes, Lawsuits, and Complaints.

Appendix A: Glossary.

Appendix B: Extracts from Sections 1 and 2, IRS PublicationNumber 15a, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide (1999).

Index. JOHN J. McGONAGLE, JD, LLM, is a consultant and the author orcoauthor of eleven business books, including Business Agreementsand The Internet Age of Competitive Intelligence. He previouslyserved with the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control,providing expert advice on managing consultants. McGonagle has alsoheld senior staff and officer positions for major financialservices corporations.
CAROLYN M. VELLA is the Founding Partner of The Helicon Group andthe author or coauthor of eight business books, including ImprovedBusiness Planning Using Competitive Intelligence and Master Guideto Control of Corporations. Her global consulting practiceencompasses clients from Australia to South Africa and from Canadato Switzerland. HOW TO USE A CONSULTANT IN YOUR COMPANY

Today’s consulting industry is immense. Consultants can be found in virtually every conceivable field, from accounting to advertising, from human resources to politics. They advise the world’s great corporations on the creation of new products; set up computer systems; provide guidance in managing cash flow and data; and even sit at the right hand of policymakers in government. In this chaotic age of new technologies, downsizing, and reengineering, chances are your company will require the services of a consultant–and to remain competitive, managers must become skilled in getting the most from the client/consultant relationship.

How to Use a Consultant in Your Company steps in where the consulting literature leaves off, giving you expert, real-world guidance in finding the right consultants and making effective use of them. John McGonagle and Carolyn Vella offer a no-nonsense look at the big picture of consulting, helping you decide whether or not you need a consultant and navigate all the policy decisions, management issues, and legalities involved.

You get hands-on advice on controlling the entire process, from establishing your needs to the necessary paper trail, with answers for every question–from what a company policy on consultants should cover to what makes up the written contract. McGonagle and Vella also tackle one of the most difficult–and therefore most ignored–areas in dealing with consultants: budgeting for them.

No other guide helps you manage the client/consultant relationship from beginning to end, with clear, experienced know-how on:

• Determining services to be performed
• Fostering cooperation and coordination
• Keeping the consultant focused
• Preparing for your results
• Handling appraisals and reviews
• Addressing confidentiality issues and conflicts of interest

Plus, you’ll see how to effectively deal with disputes and lawsuits, as well as adapt the included forms and other policy-and-procedure materials to your company’s situation.

Don’t be caught unprepared when your company must reach for outside help. Read How to Use a Consultant in Your Company and give yourself the advantage from the get-go.

Obtain the Best Consulting Services for Your Business

In this chaotic age of new technologies, downsizing, and reengineering, managers and executives are relying more and more on the consultant. Hiring the right consultants for your company and making effective use of them is a vital skill, and yet there has been a lack of guidance on this topic–until now.

How to Use a Consultant in Your Company delivers expert advice and practical guidelines on how to successfully create and manage the client/consultant relationship–to your advantage. John McGonagle and Carolyn Vella provide up-to-the-minute information on:

• Defining your consulting needs
• Finding and selecting the right consultants
• Managing the paper trail–corporate policies, contracting issues
• Working with an individual consultant or an entire firm
• Handling disputes, lawsuits, and complaints
• Evaluating consultants

Including forms and other materials for help in developing formal policies, billing procedures, and more that you can adapt to fit your own situation, How to Use a Consultant in Your Company is the one-book-fits-all solution for anyone responsible for getting the most out of their company’s consultant.