Management Consultancy

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Thanks for having read my email to participate in this Henley MBA survey on buying management consultancy services in Malta, and progressing to this point. Approximately 900 companies are being requested to participate and answer a few questions on their experience and opinion in buying consultancy, and this will generate valuable information on professional services procurement in Malta by the private sector. This research is not affiliated with or sponsored by any organisation.

The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. Some questions feature an open response - this allows you to note your experience with hindsight or your observations. These generate important information contributing to a rich academic survey. Other questions are rank-type, enabling statistical analysis.

Your participation in this study is highly appreciated and it is important for me to understand your past experience and your opinions. You can withdraw from the survey at any point if you feel uncomfortable answering any question. I would like to assure you that all your survey responses will remain non-identifiable and confidential. Any questions asking you to identify your organisation will only serve to validate your response and put it into context and all information will be destroyed as soon as the research is approved by Henley Business School, University of Reading.

Should you be interested in obtaining a copy of this research, please leave your email address at the end of the survey. A PDF copy will be sent to you upon completion, as a token of appreciation for your time.

If you have any questions at any time about the survey or the procedures, you may contact me, Morgan Azzopardi on 7929 5055 or on my email [email protected]. Thank you very much for your time and support.

Please start with the survey now by ticking off the acceptance checkbox below and clicking on the Continue button.

I understand that participation is voluntary and that I can withdraw from the survey at any time. Any answers identifying my company will be kept in confidence and will not be published in the final research.

Did your organisation buy a management consultancy service in the past 3 years?

Yes

Can you indicate in which field of expertise did you procure consultancy services?

Was the consultancy firm from which you bought consultancy services a previous supplier or was it a new supplier?

It was a previous supplier

It was a new supplier

Do you consider your company as having an ongoing relationship with this consultancy firm? Is this a good or bad thing in your opinion?

Do you think that buying a consultancy service or selecting one proposal out of several for a management consultancy service, has an element of risk for an organisation?

Would being loyal to a management consultancy firm, have an impact on the risk that exists with buying consultancy services, as opposed to buying a consultancy service from a provider you had never worked with?

Think back to the time when your organisation bought a consultancy service. Was there a buying committee/group involved to evaluate the proposal or was it the responsibility of one person only?

Does your organisation have procurement thresholds that determine whether it is an individual or a committee that should buy?

Yes

Other

Does your organisation have detailed procurement processes and policies in place?

Yes

Did your organisation offer procurement training in the past 3 years?

Yes

What level of experience do you consider to have in buying, and particularly buying professional services?

Think back to the time when your organisation bought a consultancy service. Did your organisation put out a formal request to submit a proposal, shortlist companies, and then call them in for an interview? Or was it a more informal process? Feel free to describe in your own words.

Is this experience that you have just described a standard approach to selecting a consultant, or does the approach differ depending on the value/strategic nature of the consultancy purchase?

This is the standard approach to buying consultancy in my organisation.

The approach differs depending on how important the purchase of this consultancy is to the organisation.

Not applicable

In your last consultancy purchase, what were the criteria used to evaluate the management consultant, before giving him the job?

In your opinion, what are the important criteria for evaluating a management consultant, before giving him the job?

Please rank the following criteria for evaluating a management consultant in order of importance. Ranking 1 is the most important, followed by 2, 3 etc. You can assign the same ranking to different criteria. The distinction between consultant and the company is made since some firms employ a number of consultants and other consultants could work on their own.

Technical qualifications
Competence and expertise of the consultancy firm
Reputation with clients
Company's experience in similar projects
Consultant is available when we need him
Consultant's experience
Trust and openness
Client's previous experience of the firm or of the consultant
Quality of consultant's backup resources
Consultant shows an understanding of client needs
Good relationship skills
Price
Reputation in a specific sector or industry
Consultant's professionalism
Consultant's quality attitude
Consultant's current clients
Consultant conforms to contractual and administrative requirements
Previous client referrals in work portfolio
Recommendations through word of mouth (from within and outside my organisation)
Personal chemistry with consultant
Solution offered meets my requirements (if requirements were clearly known)
Consultant's project management approach
Consultant meets my psychological expectations

Please indicate which of the following criteria were required, which were desirable and which did not apply to your last consultancy purchase.

How difficult it is to evaluate each of the following criteria in choosing a consultant?

To what extent was the cost of the service a good indication of its quality, before the consultancy service was bought?

Was the consultant interviewed at some stage of the process before his services were bought?

Yes

What was the purpose of the interview?

To gain more knowledge of the problem

To see if I missed out anything in my terms of reference

To assess his/her competence for the job

To see who he/she is and how well he/she is to work with

To discuss the bid into more detail

To discuss aspects of the problem in more detail

There was no particular purpose - but we won't hire on the strength of a document without at least knowing who the consultant is

Other

Did any other characteristics of the selected firm emerge in the interview that were important in awarding it the project?

It is our understanding that the selection of a consultancy involves soft factors such as trust, openness, personal chemistry during a presentation or interview. Is this assumption valid?

If interviews were held with other consultants, what did you not like about the presentations made or interviews attended by the consultants, that caused them to be rejected for the project? If this was not the case, state 'Not applicable'.

How important is personal chemistry in the process of selecting a consultant during an interview?

In response to your previous question, can you explain why you think this is the case?

What indicates good chemistry between the interviewer or buying company representative, and the consultant, in your opinion?

Did the consultant 'go the extra mile' in his/her assignment, and how would this affect his/her chances of securing another project with your organisation?

Is there anything else you might consider important in selecting a management consultancy for a project?

In your particular case, did you use any sources of information (to check, verify, confirm your information) in the run-up to choosing the consultant for the project? What sources of information were these?

Please rank the following sources of information used during the evaluation of a management consultancy, in order of importance. Ranking 1 is the most important, followed by 2, 3 etc. You can assign the same ranking to different criteria:

Interview or Meeting at Consultant's Office
Other Firms' Experience or Referrals
Buyers' Own Experience of the consultant
Personal Sources - Internal Network
Word of Mouth
Personal Sources - External Network
Tender Submission or Proposal
Impersonal Advertising
Approved Supplier Lists
Other Sources

Do you think that buying a consultancy service or selecting one proposal out of several for a management consultancy service, has an element of risk for an organisation?

Can you give your reasons why?

Would you prefer or want your company to have an ongoing relationship with your consultancy service provider?

Yes

Does your organisation have procurement thresholds that determine whether it is an individual or a committee that should buy?

Yes

Other

Does your organisation have detailed procurement processes and policies in place?

Yes

Does your organisation offer procurement training?

Yes

What level of experience do you consider to have in buying, and particularly buying professional services?

If it were to need to buy consultancy services, would your organisation put out a formal request to submit a proposal, shortlist companies, and then call them in for an interview? Or would it be more informal? Feel free to describe in your own words.

In your opinion, what are the important criteria for evaluating a management consultant, before giving him the job?

Technical qualifications
Competence and expertise of the consultancy firm
Reputation with clients
Company's experience in similar projects
Consultant is available when we need him
Consultant's experience
I feel comfortable trusting and being open with the consultant
Client's previous experience of the firm or of the consultant
Quality of consultant's backup resources
Consultant shows an understanding of client needs
Good relationship skills
Price
Reputation in a specific sector or industry
Consultant's professionalism
Consultant's quality attitude
Consultant's current clients
Consultant conforms to contractual and administrative requirements
Previous client referrals in work portfolio
Recommendations through word of mouth (from within and outside my organisation) __________
Personal chemistry with consultant __________
Solution offered __________
Consultant's project management approach __________
Consultant meets my psychological expectations __________

How difficult is it to evaluate each of the following criteria in choosing a consultant?

Do you think that the cost of the consultancy is a good indicator of its quality, before buying it?

Would you want to interview the consultant before choosing him or her?

Yes

What would be your objective in the interview?

If you were in a position to conduct an interview or attend a presentation given by a consultant for a project, what would you not like that would influence your decision not to award them the project?

It is our understanding that the selection of a consultancy involves soft factors such as trust, openness, personal chemistry during a presentation or interview. Is this assumption valid?

How important is personal chemistry in the process of selecting a consultant during an interview?

In response to your previous questions, can you explain why you think this is the case?

What indicates good chemistry between the interviewer or buying company representative, and the consultant, in your opinion?

Is there anything else you might consider important in selecting a management consultancy for a project?

Interview or Meeting at Consultant's Office
Other Firms' Experience or Referrals
Buyers' Own Experience of the consultant
Personal Sources - Internal Network
Word of Mouth
Personal Sources - External Network
Tender Submission or Proposal
Impersonal Advertising
Approved Supplier Lists
Other Sources

What is the name of your organisation? This will remain completely confidential and will not be published in the research.

Which industry do you operate in?

Do you have core buying/selection responsibilities in your organisation?

How many employees does your organisation employ?

Between 1 and 10

Between 11 and 50

Between 51 and 100

More than 100

Do you want to obtain a copy of the dissertation results at the end of the study? If so, please write your email address.