Introduction
Eight Ninety Consulting focuses on strategic planning and organizational development, so this post focuses on great reasons to hire a consultant in those domains. This is the second post in a series about reasons to hire a consultant (like me), and this one focuses on several projects for values-based organizations (my ideal clients) that they often don't realize could be beneficial.
For each, I will share the rationale of why the project might be beneficial and why that work is sometimes overlooked. Each of the three will also include a quick activity to help you determine whether that type of project might be relevant to your organization.
Number One: Stakeholder Analysis
Rationale:
Staff and boards of values based organizations (VBOs) tend to believe that they know who their stakeholders are and what they need. In my experience, organizations are not wrong, but their understanding is often not as specific as they might wish.
VBOs who provide services tend to be very familiar with the nature and needs of the stakeholders they interact with. But that core group might be a small percentage of all stakeholders - sometimes an organization receives input from only 10% to 15% of their stakeholders. It's not an ideal practice to make decisions based on such a small amount of input; it is a better practice to periodically do a formal stakeholder analysis to make sure programming and services are likely to fulfill their intended purposes.
It is often beneficial to engage an outside consultant for stakeholder analysis to make sure the process is optimally objective and that input is received from a wide group of stakeholders. Consultants like Eight Ninety Consulting consist of social scientists who have the training and experience to employ methods such as focus groups and surveys, and who are experienced in analyzing and interpreting the information that is collected. Consultants like this will also be familiar with software tools needed to streamline the process.
Could this apply to your organization?
Here is a 15 minute exercise to help demonstrate whether your organization could benefit from a stakeholder analysis project.
Make a quick list of the programs or services that your organization offers (if that list is long, you need not name every single one but instead could list categories or domains). Now think about the primary stakeholders of each program or service area and turn that into a simple list of primary stakeholders for your programs and services. Estimate the number of stakeholders in each group. Rough estimates are fine; your estimates might be about 50, about 500, about 3000 etc. and they only need to be in the right ballpark.
Now consider how input is gathered from each of those stakeholder groups. When is the last time you or your department/unit gathered input from each of those stakeholder groups? If you can, list the number of stakeholders you got input from.
Now talk to several other members of your organization to do the same. For each stakeholder group ask them when they last gathered input and roughly how many stakeholders provided that input.
Add up the totals from everyone you spoke to (it's okay if there is duplication). Divide that number by the rough estimate of total stakeholders. What scope of stakeholders has provided input in the last year or two years? Is it more like 10% or getting near 50%? In many cases direct input is gathered from less than 5% of stakeholders.
Whatever percent you estimate, are you satisfied with that? How would you feel about that number if you needed to share it with a board member, donor, or grant organization?
Number Two: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work
Rationale:
Many people in values-based organizations are enthusiastic about incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion work in their organizations. But having the motivation isn't enough - finding concrete ways to do DEI work is really challenging.
In many organizations, not just VBOs, people don't know where to start with DEI work. DEI work requires skill and training, and it helps to be connected to experts and best practices. One common way to get started is to develop aspects of equity into existing processes. Experts suggest that equity work is more likely to be meaningful and effective when it runs through the work of an organization rather than trying to create new "other" ways of conducting business. For example, strategic planning processes are very flexible and easily adapted to initiatives with an equity focus. Another example - many organizations begin by reviewing their practices for recruiting, hiring, and evaluating or promoting employees.
It can be useful to have a skilled consultant with an outside perspective to help an organization add substantial DEI work to their existing practices and policies.
Could this apply to your organization?
Here is a 10 minute exercise to help determine whether your organization might benefit from a consultant to help you instill effective, meaningful equity practices. Start by thinking of the last 3 times you heard someone talk about DEI work (using any terminology you think counts) at your organization.
What was the setting? (for example, informal water cooler or in a meeting)
Who talked about DEI and what was their level within the organization (senior manager, middle manager, etc)?
Did everyone who was present participate in the conversation?
Were there action items relating to DEI efforts at the organization?
Were there metrics or other ways of tracking progress?
Now give each experience a high/medium/low rating. Use your judgment, but the more often, the more thorough, the more everyone is included in the process, and the more there are stated actions and metrics the more your score should move towards high.
After thinking about all of this, regardless of the high/medium/low rating, would you say that DEI work in your organization is making change? Is that change on a timeline that matches the perceived urgency of this social justice movement? If this was about solutions to solve a serious budget deficit would you be satisfied with the approach and the timeline?
If you are left with lower ratings or a sense of not being totally satisfied with the practices at your organization, it might be useful to talk to a consultant who does work in this area.
Number Three: Evidence of Mission Fulfillment
Rationale:
Organizational members, board members, stakeholders, and others may be passionate about your organization's mission. But can you quantify how well you are achieving that mission? Is there any evidence of mission fulfillment or do others have to take your word about that?
An organization's mission and related goals are typically found in a few key documents (strategic plan, annual report, etc). It is very common to document the mission and far less common the an organization can demonstrate mission fulfillment with evidence. When I do planning work I say that any statement not supported by evidence is an opinion. As for sources of evidence, they range from not that great to really strong. Having any evidence is better than having none, and when an organization starts measuring success they tend to find stronger sources with a few attempts.
Today there are not many donors or funders who are satisfied with unsubstantiated assertions about mission fulfillment. Finding evidence will be right in the wheelhouse of a consultant with planning experience, and the staff or board members at organizations can be trained by experienced consultants. Values-based organizations care deeply about their mission but may struggle to prove mission fulfillment without some outside expertise.
Could this apply to your organization?
Here is a 15 minute exercise to help determine whether your organization has evidence of mission fulfillment.
First, gather some documents - anything that mentions your mission and also talks about how that mission is fulfilled. This might include annual reports, strategic plans, grant applications, and other documents. If you cannot find many documents you might want to ask a couple other people for input.
Make a simple list of all the sources you have available for this exercise. For each one, give a rating of minus, check, or check-plus based on whether the source includes evidence of meeting the mission. These sources might include quantitative evidence such as data or numbers; or they might include qualitative evidence such as quotes or other text gathered using surveys or focus groups.
Give a minus if there is no evidence to support discussion about the mission.
Give a check if there is evidence focused on what the organization does, offers, or provides.
Give a check-plus if there is evidence measuring the impact, effect, or outcome on stakeholders or clients.
How many sources had evidence? Note the difference between saying what the organization offers (moderately good evidence) and measuring the impact of those services (really good evidence). To what degree would a donor or funder who is not familiar with your organization be convinced to invest based on the evidence about mission fulfillment?
Conclusion
The members of values-based organizations are sometimes skeptical of the kinds of projects discussed in this post. Often they feel that knowledge of stakeholders, DEI work, and mission fulfillment are obvious. They feel those things through the core of themselves and work towards them (or some of them) every day. But feelings are not the same as documented evidence.
If an organization is not satisfied with feeling these things, they can engage a consultant to begin the process of demonstrating and documenting. I say begin the process because demonstrating organizational achievement is always ongoing. But organizations often find that if they give these processes a try (usually for about a year) they become convinced of the value.
Did this post make you think differently about these frequently underestimated projects? If so perhaps you will consider reaching out for an initial conversation with Eight Ninety Consulting or another provider of similar services. The "discovery" phase is typically free and can help you explore the usefulness of projects that you might not have considered previously.
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