|
From the The Educational Technology: ICT in Education website Articles on e-learning and information & communication technology containing practical advice News & Views
Now I can understand why someone would make such an offer. Indeed, when I heard of it my first thought was: "Why didn't I think of that?" But really it's demeaning to oneself to do such a thing, in my opinion, because a professional service merits a professional fee or salary. Paradoxically, I think that it is perfectly legitimate to do stuff for free, in some circumstances. What I'm objecting to here is the offer of a money back guarantee. We're talking about a professional service, not automobile parts. But let me look at this issue from the client's perspective, and ask: what does it even mean? Under what circumstances would you (a) pay a consultant in advance and (b) deem them to have done such a poor job that you want your money back? In the first place, the only times you would pay in advance is if you put the consultant on a retainer, which is most unusual in education, or if you have been given the go-ahead to pay early because the end of the financial year looms. But in that latter scenario, the consultant would almost certainly be a known quantity anyway, and the money will have been paid for reasons of convenience for work which they have already been contracted to do. In other words, early payment didn't form part of the original arrangement. In the second place, if a consultant has undertaken the work that was agreed, there is no reason to ask them to repay the fee. If the consultant were daft enough to agree to some vague outcome then I suppose you could find yourself in that position, but sensible consultants -- and clients who, as you know, have their own financial and best value rules to abide by -- set out goals that can be measured. Getting back to that offer, it sounds like a no-lose situation, doesn't it? But there are unintended consequences in my opinion. As a general principle, the school ought to be interested in value, not simply cost. If you adopt a penny-pinching attitude that is concerned only with money, it can actually hold up the work. Let me give you an example. For the last few days I have been working
non-stop to try and get a project off the ground, but was running up against a
brick wall at two of the schools involved. In the end, I suggested to the client
who had hired me to work with these schools that we give it till 5 pm last
night, and then call it a day. As far as I was concerned, it was a thankless
task that was actually threatening to prevent me from meeting my other work
commitments. But late yesterday afternoon I managed to have a conversation with a key person at one of the schools, and we scheduled a meeting for 5:45 pm last night. I arrived back home at 8 pm, and at 8 am this morning I worked for another few hours following up from the meeting, because the project was now on track. My point is this: had the client been a penny-pincher concerned solely with money rather than value, I could not have agreed to the extra half-day's work before making sure I would get paid for it. And because of the very short timescale involved, that may well have meant that, because it would have been almost impossible to talk to them in time, the meeting wouldn't have taken place, and the (very exciting) project would have been dropped. As the client you should also focus on value and cost-effectiveness, rather than just cost, for another reason. The only way you will get what you want out of a consultant (or adviser or any other similar professional) is by taking the time to meet with them, discuss the situation, and agree on a list of things to be achieved. As a consultant I always insist on that, for my own peace of mind. Indeed, I won't work for a client who is not prepared to do that, or doesn't have the time to do it, because I don't want to risk having my reputation impugned, or payment withheld, for failing to do something I was not aware I was supposed to do. And this brings me on to why the money-back offer is pointless as well as meaningless. If the two parties conduct themselves in a professional manner, they will have agreed, at the outset, a list of things to be achieved. Then, any consultant or client with an ounce of common sense would make sure that the work was going along the right lines. I can't imagine anything worse, for either side, than to have the client say, after 3 months' work: "Oh, that wasn't what I was expecting." There is another reason why such an offer is unnecessary, and of no value to the school. If you believe a consultant has taken money under false pretences, you can take them to court, or threaten to. It's not a very pleasant prospect, but neither is having to say "We're not going to pay you", or "We want our money back". To avoid unpleasantness, and to get the best value for money from taking on a consultant, you should do the following:
But if, after reading all this, you still think the money-back guarantee sounds good, then I would suggest a better option. If you regard educational consultancy as equivalent to cans of beans on a supermarket shelf, then why not go the whole hog: ask them to give you a "buy one, get one free" deal. If you're lucky, they may even give green stamps! * I am using the term "school" as a synonym for any educational client, such as a college, Local Authority, school board and so on. & © Terry Freedman Fri, 16 May 2008 |
