A terms of reference (ToR) explains a consultancy’s scope – in theory. Often it’s more a game of chance: the ToR may or may not tell you what the client wants, and if you get the job, the work may or may not resemble what the ToR promised. Join me on a lighthearted tour of my five most dreaded ToR types.
I read hundreds of ToRs each year; some excellent, some dire, many mediocre. Here are the sorts of ToRs that stick in my memory, for all the wrong reasons!
At number 5 we have:
The Weightlifter
This ToR needs a consultant to carry a burden that the existing staff team can’t handle. In itself, that’s not a problem. Most of the time consultants are hired to do something staff can’t do, maybe because they lack the time or skills. But the Weightlifter takes this ask to the next level. The to-do list in this ToR is so heavy it’s probably already flattened three staff members. Rather than figure out how to reduce the project burden, some bright spark in management decided to dump it all on an unsuspecting chirpy consultant instead.
Only apply for this type of consultancy if you can metaphorically deadlift twice your own body weight.
Coming in at number 4 is:
The Jack of All Trades
Why go to the hassle and expense of hiring 5 people, when you could just release a ToR for one consultant with multiple identities to do 5 jobs at once? Of course, there are consultants whose expertise spans evaluation, training, research, editing and event organising (that’ll be me, she said modestly). But it’s generally not a good idea for us to try doing all these things simultaneously in one short assignment. We do a much higher quality job if we can wear one hat (or maybe two) at a time.
Only apply for this type of consultancy if you’re feeling super confident or were actually born with 5 heads.
[By the way, I googled ‘Jack of All Trades’ while searching for alternative terms to use, and several lists actually gave ‘consultant’ as a synonym!]
Next, my number 3 most dreaded ToR type is:
The Diplomat
As consultants, we constantly test our diplomacy skills, biting our tongue until the right moment in a meeting to say, “have you considered…”. But one of the most fearsome ToRs will – explicitly or between the lines – ask the consultant to mediate a relationship that everyone else has given up trying to fix. Maybe you’ll be a punchbag between management and advisory staff, or miraculously bring harmony to a consortium that has spent the last year arguing itself into a sulky, silent stalemate.
Only apply for this type of consultancy if you have skin thicker than an elephant’s or are working your way up to mediating world peace.
My runner-up is:
The Time Traveller
This ToR almost always ends up in the recycle bin. It generally lulls me into a false sense of security. Everything looks great. Organisation’s ethics – tick. Logical project – tick. Innovative methodology – tick. Reasonable task list – tick. Estimated number of days and budget – oh, surprisingly sufficient. That’s nice. Timeline. Timeline…. Wait, what?! You want me to work 50 consultancy days within 50 calendar days. You know they invented something called ‘the weekend’ right? And you know even a workaholic consultant needs to sleep and occasionally have a personal life?
Only apply for this type of consultancy if you have the stamina of an ox or access to a TARDIS.
And my top spot for the most dreaded ToR is:
The Code Breaker
This ToR is always such ‘fun’. It’s packed with jargon, acronyms and internal organisational references to test the decoding (or maybe mindreading) skills of any potential consultant. If you’re lucky, you’re reading the ToR as a team of consultants. You can each suggest an interpretation of the many and varied ambiguities, and if two people guess the same, you can declare that to be the meaning of the ToR and base your proposal around it. You probably still only have a 25% chance of being right.
Only apply for this type of consultancy if you’re feeling super lucky about cracking the code (although you might want to channel that luck into a lottery ticket instead so that you can retire from being a consultant).
- As a consultant, what do you most dread seeing in a ToR?
- As someone who hires consultants, what do you find most difficult about writing a ToR?
Creating terrific ToRs
The ToR is more important than some people think. It can make or break a consultancy.
Did you know, I offer a ToR sense-checking service? I don’t provide legal or HR advice, but I bring the consultant’s perspective to the table to help ensure your ToR feels clear, realistic, humane and logical to other consultants.
What are some of the benefits of getting your consultancy ToRs sense-checked by a consultant?
- A good ToR attracts the best consultants. Many good consultants will skip past a poorly written ToR because they don’t have time to decode it, or (based on experience) they fear it signals a disorganised client or messy assignment.
- A good ToR helps consultants self-select. Many consultants end up applying for assignments that are not a good fit for their skills and experience (wasting their and your time) simply because the ToR doesn’t give them the necessary information to realise it’s not the right job for them.
- A good ToR helps you get the output or result you want. It sounds obvious, but even good consultants can end up not delivering what you wanted simply because the ToR did not accurately convey your expectations, preferences or boundaries.
With budgets increasingly squeezed, it’s more important than ever that you get the right consultant for the job first time.
Get in touch if you’d like to have your next education/development consultancy ToR sense-checked. Investing in a few hours of input from a critical friend at the start of the process could save money further down the line.