How do I hire a strategic planning consultant?

Based on what we’ve learned from leading many planning processes, here are some steps you can take to make sure that this process is win-win – that you find a great consultant who supports what you are seeking and gets you what you need!

1. Plan to Plan

In our initial consult meeting with prospective clients, we have a series of questions that we send ahead of time so that clients can prepare.

In that meeting, we ask about their vision for the success of this project. And we always ask about budget. As we’ve written before, a strategic planning process can be small or large. We do customize these processes to our clients – a larger budget would incorporate more data collection (surveys, focus groups, and interviews) by The Ross Collective, a smaller budget might involve fewer meetings and less data collection. We design a scope of work once we understand their budget and capacity – which is one reason we will not quote a strategic planning fee without meeting with a prospective client and fully understanding the scope of their needs.

2. Clarify what you are seeking

A strategic plan includes different components – values, vision, mission, strategies, and implementation.

Some organizations are seeking a compete strategic plan – all of the above including a one-year implementation plan. Others just need to create new strategies or an implementation plan. Not all organizations will need these to be created or recreated by their staff and board team, but this allows them to plan for exactly what they need.

What if you don’t know what you need? Some questions to consider include:

1. Given the current environment, are our values, vision, and mission still relevant?

2. Do staff or board members refer to our most recent strategic plan, or has it been so long that no one remembers what it contains?

3. Designate a staff or board contact person who will “hold” the work, and prepare participants to be involved.

Strategic planning takes time.

When we come in, the organization is committing to an additional project – while still maintaining their current services and offerings. Our contact person at an organization is usually the Executive Director (or sometimes the Board Chair or Strategic Planning Chair also). It is critical that these individuals allocate time in their schedules for planning and design meetings, as well as meeting follow up and preparation.

4. Learn about the consultant’s approach and services.

As you research different consultants, take some time to think about the culture of your organization and what you are seeking.

The Ross Collective designs and leads participatory processes that draw on the wisdom of the group. We are experts at planning and facilitation and we believe that YOU, in collaboration with others who support your organization’s work, are the experts in what your organization should do. This is a philosophy that works for many organizations, but not all. Some leaders are seeking a strategic planning consultant to give them the “answers” based on the consultant’s expertise. We use participatory processes because we believe that people are most invested in the solutions and goals that they have a role in creating. Full disclosure: It may take more time to run participatory processes and conversations! The results speak for themselves.

But you may not believe this! Before you reach out to a consultant, it’s helpful to think about your preferred work and communication style.

5. Nail down deliverables and timeline

If you’ve clarified what you are seeking, you should be able to share which parts of a strategic plan you need, and your anticipated timeline. For The Ross Collective, this information helps us to manage our projects and workflow, and to ensure we can deliver what you need in a timely manner.

6. Clarify communication expectations

Before you sign a contract with a consultant, you should understand how and when communication will take place during the consulting engagement.

The Ross Collective meets with a Design Team throughout the process to support planning; for larger organizations, we usually recommend other communication touchpoints. Because strategic planning includes the product (a plan) as well as the process, the process must be consciously designed to incorporate communication and feedback as needed.

Given the shifts we’ve all encountered, many leaders are doing strategic planning now. We encourage you to speak with a few different consultants to get quotes and with the intention of seeing how well you work together. The process of contracting can tell you a lot about how the consultant will work after they are hired.

Hopefully this post clarified some of your next steps toward strategic planning. Which part was especially useful? What questions do you still have?