September 24, 2007September 24, 2007

Consulting Skills Update

Presenter: Alex Mackenzie, MA, MFT, CEAPDirector, Health and Performance Solutions

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Presenter Bio

Alex Mackenzie has worked for ValueOptions for four years as an Advisor, Account Manager, and HPS Director.

Prior to ValueOptions, Alex held positions as an HR Director, specializing in Organizational Effectiveness in a Fortune 100 Financial Services Firm, as a Senior Consultant for a large, international HR consulting firm; and Manager of Organizational Services for an internal Employee Assistance Program.

Little known fact: Alex’s first professional career was as a FORTRAN computer programmer

A fan of continuous learning, Alex has taught MBA and masters-level Organizational Psychology classes through UC Berkeley Extension, and Golden Gate University, and is coauthor of a textbook chapter on Group Therapy for Domestic Violence Offenders.

Alex is an avid reader, and a rabid skier.

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Presentation OutlinePresentation Outline

• Advantages of employing good consulting skills

• Differences between consultant role versus vendor role

• Consulting skill: contracting to solve a business problem Using SPIN approach

• Consulting skill: Establishing needs

and mutual expectations

• Additional Skills

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Advantages of Employing Consulting Skills

Advantages of Employing Consulting Skills

ConsultantSuccess based on pre-agreed

measuresPart of a joint effort to produce

resultsValued for impact on organization’s

performanceEyes and ears, provides honest

feedback to the clientRelationship-basedCreative

VendorUnclear whether successful or notDoes all the workLacks accessFeels like a “hired gun”Lacks buy-inOften deploys the wrong “solution”“Order”-basedReactive

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Good News, Bad News

• Good News: Human factors interventions are among the most highly leveraged investments organizational leaders can choose.

• Bad News: The perception is that human factors interventions and expenditures are “nice to have,” as opposed to key strategic contributions

Your partnership can help your clients connect the dots,articulating the contribution to the bottom line.

Consulting Skill: Start with the Problem…

Consulting Skill: Start with the Problem…

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SPIN Your way to Problem-solving Partnership

• Situation Questions

• Problem Questions

• Implication Questions

• Need-Payoff Questions

Situation Problem Implication Need

Increased commitment to:Solution, partnership, relationship

Concept by:Neil Rackham

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Situation QuestionsSituation Questions

• The purpose of situation questions is to uncover problems or opportunities the client is experiencing from his/her point of view.

• Do your homework first– consider alternative sources

• Well-used situation questions help determine what problems/opportunities to pursue.

• These questions build the relationship by conveying your interest in the client’s world

Examples of situation questions:How is success or performance measured in your

function/group?What keeps you awake at night?What is your vision for next year?What measurements do you use?What do your customers– internal and external value

most?What would people have to do to meet that goal?What is changing?What barriers do you see?What is your team hitting home runs on, and what do

they need to improve upon?What is the impact of <technology, legal, market,

strategic> changes?How are you meeting those changes?How do your numbers compare to <goals, the

industry, last year>?What have you tried so far?Tell me about yourself and how this relates to your

business and career goals

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Problem QuestionsProblem Questions

Problem questions ask about difficulties, dissatisfactions, or barriers to opportunities within the situation you just learned about. The purpose of problem questions is to reveal implied needs, and build shared

understanding.

Examples of Problem Questions:Examples of Problem Questions:

How satisfied are you with_______

Are there specific areas you think could improve?

Are you worried about what will happen now that _____?

Where are breakdowns likely to occur?

Do you have the right people with the right skills?

Are you concerned about whether people will change fast enough?

How often does <this problem> arise?

How quickly do you need to respond?

How are the costs and schedule looking, compared to the plans?

I can see how that might be a problem for <function-1>, but how might it also effect <function-2>?Situation Problem

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Implication Questions Implication Questions

Problem Implication

Implication questions ask about consequences, effects, or impacts.

The purpose of asking is to • Focus on results• Link problems• Build motivation and

commitment to mutual expectations

• Prioritize to maximize the value you add!

Examples of Implication questions:Could that development lead to

greater risk of ________How might that effect cost, quality,

competitiveness, turnover?What would growth look like

with/without our intervention?Could that lead to increased _______Would that lead to higher/lower

speed to___________How does that effect your workload?

Hours? Stress level? Career? How you’re seen?

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Need-Payoff Questions

Need-Payoff questions ask about value, importance, and usefulness of a solution. The purpose is to focus on the payoff, probe for explicit needs, and to get the client to tell you the benefits of the solution. You can see how this builds commitment and perceived value.

Examples of Need-Payoff Questions:

How much of a savings would this mean?

What other opportunities would this allow you to pursue that you can’t now?

How important is that?Where would that put you

relative to the competition?How would that help provide

the infrastructure for growth?Implication Need/Payoff

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Case Vignette

You are in an elevator, rapidly descending from the 34th floor, where you work as an EAP consultant in a financial services firm. With you is the Co-CEO. It is 1995, and the stock market is tanking, and cost cutting is the order of the day. You already know that the organization’s revenue comes from two places: Commissions on trades, and profit on investments held. Both are down due to stock market conditions. There is much concern about layoffs.

• Situation Question_______________________________________________________________________________________________

• Problem Question_______________________________________________________________________________________________

• Implication Question_______________________________________________________________________________________________

• Need Question_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Mutual Expectations(To Meet the expressed need,…)

Consultant will

Conduct further assessment

Deploy interventions includingtraining resources

promotion

health/wellness activities

facilitation

Serve as an expert resource

Provide means of assessing results

Provide honest feedback

Client will

Provide access

Publicize

Administer satisfaction surveys

Administer pre and post tests

Take additional measures

Preview and provide feedback on materials

Provide honest feedback

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Additional Skills

In this session, we’ve identified and demonstrated a technique for gaining agreement and partnership

• Research/Assessment• Action Planning• Facilitation (including

telephonic/Webex)• Customization and

selection of training content

• Choosing a presenter• Measuring impact

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Nuts and Bolts:Providing Subject Matter Expertise

• Poor Employee Performance

• Critical Incident Response

• Drug Free Workplace Cases

• Fitness for Duty• Employee Threat of

Violence

• Don’t be afraid to be directive

• Act in concert with HR and company policy

• Help manager focus by asking open ended questions

• Remember to ask how the manager is doing

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Additional Resources

• Flawless Consulting by Peter Block

• SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham

• Organization Development by William Rothwell

• The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge

• The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge

• HPS Policy and Procedure

• The Team Handbook by Peter Scholtes

• Organizational Behavior, an Experiential Approach by David Kolb (or anything by Kolb, really)

• On Organizational Learning by Chris Argyris (or anything by Argyris!)

• See also, anything on Competencies on Lominger or DDIWORLD websites