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When your organization is faced with the need to hire an IT consultant, the options can appear endless and the potential for finding the right fit slim. The search can be tedious, and often times a word-of-mouth recommendation proves to be without the expertise and experience your organization requires. Knowing what to look for in a strong IT consultant is half the battle, but being able to convey your own organization's needs are equally as important in order to achieve the desired results.
As a 29-year veteran of the healthcare IT community, I've seen a wide range of consultants and an even wider range of clients whose needs fluctuate drastically between perceived and actual. As we kick off 2012 and you and your organization may be assessing your HIT needs, below are some important tips on what to consider when hiring an IT consultant.
 1. Personality and Fit - The consultant's ability to fit into your organization's culture. This person becomes a member of the team, and therefore, must fit with the established culture at your organization and work well with his/her colleagues. Conversely, he/she must also be able to advise and lead the internal team on sensitive matters if warranted.
2. Ethics - The ability to not only know what's right for the client from a technology standpoint, but also to make decisions that maintain the integrity of the organization and its goals. Give consultant prospects "what if" scenarios to get a feel for how they'd address potentially sticky situations where the best interests of the organization may be at stake.
An example: when hunting for a firm to assist with a specific vendor implementation be sure that the firm brings consultants to the table that are at a minimum trained in that vendor's specific applications. In my opinion, is not acceptable for a firm to charge consulting rates and bring in consultants that have never worked on the application just because they needed to get the consultant off the bench and the client trusts them.
3. Drive - A distinct ability to set oneself apart from the pack and go the extra mile. Keep the end goal(s) in sight, work towards them and keep the organization appropriately updated on progress. The consultant must be able to take on the role of teacher and provide learning moments wherever possible to the rest of the team and the organization.
4. Experience and Expertise - The consultant's ability to easily navigate different technology and professional environments allows him/her to provide sound guidance and leadership to the organization. As an organization, you know what you want in this implementation, and have strong opinions on what the end result must achieve. Experience and expertise allow the consultant to understand your vision fully and keep an eye on the big picture as the individual steps take place throughout the process. Having a strong understanding of the technical details and necessary steps is also invaluable to an organization, as the consultant should be experienced enough to guide those involved through the many steps of an implementation.
5. Ability to adapt quickly - A consultant's flexibility is key to the success of an implementation, especially in a rapidly changing environment like health IT where standards and protocols dictate the end results and new technology is entering the market quickly. This characteristic comes as a result of the Experience and Expertise point above, and is likely one of the key elements to success.
Sheri Stoltenberg is the founder and CEO of Stoltenberg Consulting. She founded Stoltenberg Consulting in 1995 after 6 years' experience as a hospital IT director and 8 years as an implementation leader at Shared Medical Systems, where she helped launch the Invision product.
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