Working with an implementation partner can seem attractive. Isn't it great: let yourself be completely unburdened and achieve results quickly? But is it also always the best choice? In this article, Dolf L'Ortye and Lidia Swinkels, co-founders of Summiteers, share their insights into the pitfalls and opportunities of working with major external partners.

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Trust is good, but a little bit of control doesn't hurt

Dolf: “There are situations where an organization has a certain file that just won't get off the ground. The team can't get it done themselves and they want to speed up. Or the file is so large that it is simply not possible with interns alone. For motivating reasons, you can then decide to work with a (global) implementation partner or accelerator, or whatever you want to call it. The concept of such a party is: we take over the whole thing for you and solve it. Then a battery of consultants comes around — quickly think of ten to fifteen people or a whole lot more. There are quite a few parties in the market that really make a proposition out of this, who more or less have that as their business model. Working with such an implementation partner is risky because the interests of such a party are not in line with those of you as a client. If you don't control that very well, it quickly leads to loss of direction, high costs and a negative atmosphere. Employees are on the sidelines and cannot contribute ideas, because support decreases.”

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Think before you start

Lidia: “The name partner suggests otherwise, but this is what happens. Such a 'partner' has an interest in looking for the free space and filling it in as much as possible yourself. Because that leads to turnover and that is what these parties aim for. A lot of research has already been done and written about this. Think of books like The Big Con and When McKinsey Comes to Town, a great read, not just for under the Christmas tree, but also on the beach or in the garden chair. What you, as a customer, hear is: we are doing this, we are doing that, we have discovered more complexity, we need another team, we still need to look at that, et cetera, et cetera. Of course, there are situations where it may be necessary to work with large teams of external parties. So we don't say never do this, but we do say: it's up to you to know very well what you're getting into and to take a number of measures to make sure you stay 'in control'.”

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The problem remains your problem

“We get it,” adds Dolf. “Companies like these have a pitch from you there, the solution is already on the shelf, just implement it, so you think your problem will disappear like snow in the sun as soon as they come in. But trust us, you can't give your problem to someone else. The problem is yours and will always be yours, and you need to make a minimal effort to solve it. And the minimum is not to leave someone's few hours a week and the rest to the consultant; that just doesn't work, especially when it comes to large-scale cases. The consultant shouldn't accept that either. Especially when it comes to these types of processes, the implementation of commissioning is crucial.”

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First, get the plan in focus

“First, take a look at the nature of the work,” Dolf continues. “Is it 'what'and the'how'isn't quite clear about your plan yet? Then simply don't start bringing large teams on board with external parties. Of course, it feels nice when someone says they can unburden you, but you simply can't outsource the file at this point. Make sure you get your plan really sharp first. It is best to have a small team of external advisors supervise the entire process, but above all, involve your own people. Make sure you know exactly what you want to achieve before you call in large-scale help.”

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Two flavors of performing work

“If your plan is clear and you go to the implementation phase, you have two tastes,” Lidia continues. “The first is that the work is fairly easy to describe in instructions and is essentially a role that needs to be fulfilled. This includes checking files related to the benefits affair, dealing with earthquake damage in Groningen or making customer files with banks complete and in order. This type of work actually falls under secondment, although in practice it is often referred to as consulting. You can capture it well in instructions, it does require some thought, but it is not of a nature that it can get completely out of hand. It is sufficiently defined for that, if properly managed, of course. The second taste is transformative work, such as unifying the structure, work processes and roles in different locations. Here, too, you can work with external parties, but this requires significantly more involvement from yourself. Once again: together is the key word here, with an important role for your own people. You can't just staff this with external parties. That doesn't work; you can't completely 'outsource' this.”

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The right way to manage

Lidia: “This also has a bit to do with the fact that in these changing situations, the focus is on process and behavior. However, you can still frame content in a clear way, which is mainly about the extra hands. But when it comes to change, there is a heavier emphasis on the importance of process and behavior, which is where knowing the specific context of an organization is so incredibly important. As an external person, you can't do that in isolation.”

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Head and tail

“Exactly,” Dolf agrees. “Very black and white: dealing with an allowance file has a head and a tail. You pick it up, do all kinds of substantive things, for example, that amount X must be paid out and then it's done. In the other case, it has an impact on the way an employee works, which continues, even if it is the external route. You are changing the nature of the organization. It has no head and a tail, but is permanently part of the organization. You have to do a lot of that yourself. You can bring in external parties, but it is very important that you are on top of it yourself.”

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Quality Assurance

“If you do decide to bring such a large party on board, at least make sure that whoever manages that project is not someone who also works for that club,” concludes Lidia. “You have to do that yourself. If you really don't have the time for that, at least hire another external person whose job is very clear: make sure she/he keeps that party under control. It's also important to make sure you control the work that those parties do. So set up a quality assurance process. If I may sum it up, working with major external partners can be effective, provided you do it in the right way. Make sure you keep your own control, have your plan in focus and that your own people are involved. This is the only way to find the right balance between unburdening and being in control.”

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