Consulting Culture

As we try to improve our business, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the environmental services business from the viewpoint of the client. If any clients of environmental services are out there who want to respond (because after all you know better than I) please do so by emailing me or posting something to this site.

Environmental consulting firms come in all sorts of corporate cultures. But mostly they are spawned from an engineering or earth science firm. It is difficult for these types of firms to be creative. Oh you will see that they consider themselves creative from the verbage on their websites, but reality is different. So here are some things to watch for. Chargeable hours are very important, especially in larger firms. If you have a larger project billed on a monthly basis, you will note that you have hours charged by principals and seniors that you do not remember speaking with or who contributed to your project. Any open project is fair game within the office to meet chargeability quotas.

Chargeability is also important for lower level employees (as a matter of fact most firms require staff-level employees to be at least 90 percent billable). So if you call to find information for your project from someone who is not otherwise busy, you will find a half hour charged for a five minute phone call. The bottom line on this activity is that the client needs to feel comfortable with the honesty and integrity of the consultant. The activities listed here are not necessarily considered by the consultant to be dishonest. They are just a part of their culture. There are firms with fresh and vibrant cultures where you will be treated honestly. Talk to your consultant before you sign any agreement, feel comfortable with the people who are going to do your work before you even ask for a proposal.

More next time.