Calif. If you have the in-house expertise, but it s tied up doing something else or biased toward one solution, then you need to go outside for help. Determining whether a consultant has a bias toward a particular product, vendor or outsourcing strategy is relatively easy. You ll be checking references on the consultant candidates anyway. During those reference checks, talk to a lot of different companies that have used the consultants you re considering and find out what solution they discovered. If you keep hearing about the same product, vendor or outsourcing strategy, be cautious.
Most strategic consultants pride themselves on being vendor neutral.
Vince Ceriello of VRC Consulting Group Inc., San Anselmo, Calif., excludes himself from any implementation work for two reasons. He says he can t possibly learn enough about all the HR systems to credibly implement them, and he can t play the gadfly for his clients. That way he has no vested interest in which solution is chosen. Or, if you re looking for a consultant to help you design a benefits or compensation program, many people have track records in these areas. Well, there might not be more than a couple dozen of those in the entire country.