How To Hire an Innovation Management Consultant

When it comes to the corporate world, there is no dearth of fancy jargon or terminology meant to titillate the end-user and make them hire the services of the consultant spouting all those fancy words! One such concept is that of innovation management. As an experienced business professional that has been around the block, you understand that the continued success of your business lies in constant tweaking of your product or service to ensure greater visibility and increased customer demand. That, in a nutshell, is innovation management!

However, one of the realities of running your own business is that you’re required to wear many hats at the same time, or juggle with several balls in the air, to borrow a cliché or two! Additionally, an impartial third party looking in from the outside may have a better perspective about your business and provide sensible guidance on ways to innovate and improve your business. Hence, the need for this article, which tells you how to hire an innovation management consultant!

Some important considerations…

• Has your business reached the point where it will definitely benefit from the paid expertise of an innovation management consultant?
• How much are you willing or able to spend on hiring an outside consultant?
• How do you ensure that the consultant you eventually choose is the right fit for you and your business?
• What are the end goals you envision by bringing in an innovation management consultant?

Searching for innovation management (IM) consultants
Once you have determined that your business definitely needs an innovation management consultant, you can begin to search for professionals who will meet your requirements. This involves quite a bit of research, but it is not a complex task. Some of the resources you can check for locating potential IM consultants are:

• B2B directories and Yellow Pages
• Internet
• Recommendations from business colleagues or peers
• Your lawyer, business accountant, local chambers of commerce or any trade association to which you are affiliated
• The Institute of Management Consultants USA (http://www.imcusa.org)
• The International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (http://www.icmci.com)

The last two aforementioned resources provide you with access to qualified and accredited consultants, within the US and across the world respectively.

Selecting an IM consultant
Once you’ve shortlisted about 2-3 consultants or more, who fit into your framework of requirements, initiate a thorough review-and-selection process. Check for:

• References from clients who had similar requirements
• Consultants’ depth of knowledge and familiarity with innovation management
• Overall experience and previous successes in completing projects as per schedule and under budget
• People management skills and the ability to engage with people at different levels in the organization
• Practical approach and the ability to recommend simple solutions which can be easily implemented

Ask each of your shortlisted candidates to present a complete business proposal, review it keeping the above-mentioned factors in mind, and then make your selection accordingly. This is all you need to do to hire an innovation management consultant.