Struggling with vendor issues? A consultant’s sharp insight and unbiased advice can turn things around, as Andrew Jacobs explains
You know that awkward moment when you’re in a restaurant and you see a couple at another table having a difficult conversation? You can tell by their body language; they’re detached and not really listening to each other. You’ll see one of them (usually a man) trying to impress the other with grandiose statements about the future. All the while, the other party is looking away, wondering how long they have to wait before they can leave. It’s a breakup in slow motion and, no matter how hard they try, you can tell it’s a relationship on the rocks… it’s not you it’s me.
Consultants are talking to organisations all the time. People are constantly picking our brains and asking: What’s new? What’s innovative? What’s working?
As a learning strategist and consultant, I’ve seen this happen regularly. The promises made on the first few dates – the discovery sessions – weren’t kept and the early flush of excitement disappears, and the nature of the commitment shows itself.
This can be for a host of reasons, most commonly when the vendor’s solution doesn’t quite fit in the way it’s suggested, or when organisation expectations shift after a purchase. The difficult conversations between reality and expectations are where people like me fit in.
Finding the right fit
For organisations, there is a quest for growth, development, efficiency and innovation. The L&D function translates this into finding the right solutions which will reskill and upskill their workforce. Their context is their organisation, but the market is flooded with vendors, each promising technology, tools and training programmes. The solutions are out there; the challenge isn’t finding a solution but finding the right solution.
The consultant comes into play here as one who helps an organisation cut through the noise. The consultant will have a finger on the pulse of the market, know what’s hot, what’s sustainable, what’s coming and what’s been successful. The consultant won’t understand your needs better than your organisation, but is able to frame them in a wider context, and explain how they fit into the sector, industry and economy you work in.
The vendor’s perspective
On the other side of the coin, we have vendors. They live and breathe their products and services, and their goals will be various and diverse but will, ultimately, come back to sales. In the past we’ve seen so many silver bullets we could mint our own currency, but things have changed – organisations are warier of being sold to. They’ve seen it all before; overpromise and underdeliver.
Vendors are no longer just in the business of selling solutions – they’re aiming to develop relationships – and that goes beyond a transaction. In a crowded market, every competitor is offering the next big thing, and vendors must do more than simply showcase a new technology or training programme.
I often talk about how CAPABILITY = CAPacity + ABILITY and vendors need to have a deeper understanding of the capacity issues within the organisation. It isn’t about having a great product; it’s about demonstrating that their solution is more than just skills development and has to be right for the organisation’s culture and long-term strategy.
The consultant holds position to be able to explain this context and the vendor-consultant relationship becomes important.
The consultant’s advantage
Consultants are talking to organisations all the time. People are constantly picking our brains and asking:
- What’s new?
- What’s innovative?
- What’s working?
We get an insight into the organisational context in a way many vendors don’t see, and become trusted partners and confidantes. Being independent is the key to the consultant’s value. Independence from vendors is essential; if someone believes I’m in bed with the vendor, whose interests are truly being served? How objective is the consultant getting commissions or introduction fees? Navigating the market is tough enough without our trust being compromised.
The integrity of my role as a consultant – the third wheel – is crucial.
Navigating complex relationships
Acting independently – yet also interdependently – we operate on behalf of everyone and are focused on developing the relationships which the vendor and organisations crave. If we’re brought in early enough into a process, we help matchmake and mediate, moving a relationship from a co-ordinated dance, through co-operative activity to collaborated success.
The value we can add is in the extras we bring. My focus is on learning strategy and the engagement of modern learning practice, particularly proving the impact of the people and learning functions. Others will be focused on specific technologies and niche areas of expertise.
But regardless of the focus, the key is that we bring an outside perspective, grounded in experience across various sectors and industries. We see the patterns, the pitfalls and the successes that others might miss. This broad perspective allows us to guide organisations and vendors through the complexities of L&D partnerships.
Ongoing communication
A critical part of this process is ongoing communication. It’s not enough to create a new partnership and then walk away. We work best when we’re involved throughout the life of the project, checking in regularly with both the organisation and the vendor, and have clear end and exit timetables. This is something people forget about a third wheel; like bike stabilisers we’re not needed forever.
What we do is help keep the relationship together, mediating so everyone is heard, and keeping the partnership on track. While it may sometimes feel like we’re the ones sitting awkwardly at the table, watching a relationship on the rocks, the reality is that we’re there to make sure it doesn’t end in a messy split.
Turning potential breakups into success
With the right approach, consultants can turn a potential breakup into a renewed commitment, ensuring that both the organisation and the vendor walk away satisfied, and maybe even looking forward to their next date.
Andrew Jacobs is CEO at Llarn Learning Services
