I read a blog post this week titled "...and then the consultants leave" by Andrew Crow.  It really caused me to pause and think about what I leave behind for my clients after an engagement is finished.

My manager from a previous life was perplexed in why I was continuing to ask for more resources to help end users in extracting and reporting information from our Oracle ERP.  We had provided an end-user reporting tool as part of the ERP rollout so that our end users could do their own reports to meet needs that weren't part of the standard reporting package.  I told him we were constantly being asked to assist users in creating reports and needed additional resources to satisfy the demand.  He asked me "Are we teaching our end users to fish or fishing for them?"  My answer was that we were doing it for them because that was easier than teaching them how to do it.  He said we would never get out of that business if we didn't teach some of the more experienced end users how to do it themselves.  It was a simple concept, but one of those ah-ha moments for me.  I was so busy trying to meet the demand that I couldn't see a more supportable, long-term solution for the problem.

Since I've moved to the consulting world, I wonder sometimes if consultants in general are teaching their clients how to fish or in the case of the above referenced blog post, how to be successful after you move on.  We have been engaged with clients where we've followed other consulting firms and found deliverables such as policies, procedures and other items in formats where the client couldn't easily modify them.  Everyone expects environments are going to change and policies need to change accordingly.  We've also seen technical environments that have been so customized that the client or another consultant couldn't modify it without substantial time and expense involved.  While clients may be tempted to accept a highly customized solution, they should have a plan for how such a custom environment can be maintained after the consultant leaves.

Certainly every consultant has items that they consider their own intellectual property and want to take steps to protect it.  The process they follow to create a deliverable is not necessarily something that the client would receive as part of an engagement.  But if you have worked collaboratively through a process in developing a procedure or policy, the client should expect delivery in a format where they can modify it as situations change.  We've seen too many items delivered in a format such as PDF where the client either has to call back the same consultant for changes or recreate the work in another format.

I know this same thing can happen with internal resources at a company where people feel like they need to protect their turf, so they make it hard for people to modify something unless they come through them (see previous post on Knowledge Hoarders and Knowledge Leaders).

I really like the final thought at the end of the blog post -

“As a consultant, you’re their sword and shield. In-house teams are filled with fantastic and talented people, but you are in a unique position.  Don’t do them a disservice by not setting up an environment where success can happen.”

Whether you are a consultant or an internal resource, make sure the environment you leave for your client or team is set up to ensure their success after your departure.  They will appreciate it.