One question we get all the time is who is the best consultant for this? Of course, the answer isn't so simple, but we know how important it is to be able to vet consultants and figure out who is the best fit. The truth is that your ability to pick a consultant is almost as important ask the skills they are offering. So let's dive in on what we do at Keylime to vet consultants and figure out who are our stars.
Isn't it subjective?
There is some subjectivity, but what we see working with hundreds of consultants, and more than 130 clients across thousands of consultant assignments is that there are people who consistently perform well, no matter what the assignment is and who the client is. Part of their success is their ability to give you an accurate description of their skills, without embellishment. And that includes turning down assignments that are not a good fit for them. If you are vetting and selecting consultants for your organization my advice to you is to filter out the magicians and look for a sage. Magicians are charming and you might be tempted by what they promise, but it's all a sleight of hand! A good consultant is like a sage who understands their challenge and brings wisdom to solve it. When a consultant is onboarded to Keylime we work with them to make sure their profile is an accurate and illuminating reflection of their experience including meaningful details and without grandiose claims.
How we pick our stars
Every time a consultant completes and assignment we send a brief survey to the client and to the consultant. Both sides reflect on their assignment, rate their experience, and share words of gratitude or advice to the other party. If their responses are aligned then we know the client and consultant were aligned on the experience. If there is divergence in their answers then we know that there was a misunderstanding and we dig a level deeper with 1:1 follow up discussions.
So who is designated as a star consultant? We are looking for consultants who are active enough with Keylime that assures we have an adequate base of evidence. And of course the evidence must show they consistently deliver great results for clients. Empirically, this is a consultant who has completed three or more assignments with Keylime in the past two years, all with clients who said they would hire them again. Our marketplace, with all of its data, automatically detects who meets those criteria and marks star consultants profiles' with a badge.
Lining up the stars
Knowing who the stars are is just the first step. Next you want to lock them in to work with you! Finding and selecting the right consultant is an art in itself. Verifying alignment on skills, values, and expectations is critical and there's a big role for you to play in attracting the right consultants to your organization. We work with our consultants and clients every day to find alignment and line up the stars for USAID projects and proposals. Stay tuned for more on what you can do to attract star consultants to your work.