Consultancies and systems integrators are widely used by social housing organisations for both business transformation projects and tactical IT initiatives. Housing Technology interviewed a panel of experts from organisations specialising in the housing sector about the merits of consultants and systems integrators, and how best to use them.
First of all, it is instructive to get the panel’s view of how housing associations and RSLs are using technology and running their business processes, as they are one step removed from the day-to-day operations.
Matching IT and business
The overall view is that the industry has finally understood the importance of technology and is now increasing the pace of its new IT programmes, but social housing is still significantly behind the private/commercial sector as well as many public sector organisations. Mark Faint, senior consultant, NCC Group, said, “Tenants see that supermarkets and other organisations can give exact time slots for deliveries and expect the same from their housing provider. However, most fall a long way short of this expectation.”
The adoption of new technology needs to be carried out within a framework of good business processes, rather than as a series of isolated ‘point solutions’. Jacqui Stoggall, head of housing and public sector consultancy, Sovereign Business Integration, said, “It is still fairly common to meet organisations which do not have a well-documented IT strategy, resulting in a misfit between the business plan and the ensuing IT requirements necessary to support these future objectives. And even organisations that do have a comprehensive IT strategy can get caught up in aspirational ‘designer IT’ solutions put together without a clear understanding of how these will help the organisation achieve its strategic objectives.”
This view was shared by Claire Bayliss, assistant director of IS consultancy, Tribal Consulting, who said, “There seems to be two approaches to business processes. The first is a DIY approach which simply checks whether people are following a process laid down in a manual somewhere, regardless of whether that process is efficient, effective or relevant to the business plan. The second approach is to employ a specialist in Six Sigma or Lean Thinking who will make your processes look like a car production line, rather than ensuring that the processes are appropriate to both housing legislation and the inspection regime.”
The proliferation of spreadsheets was a particular cause for concern. David Shelton, chief executive, Shelton Development Services, said, “The biggest scourge of many RSLs is the plethora of home-grown spreadsheets. As business practices change, the ‘homespun’ spreadsheet becomes corrupted and the integrity of the data is compromised. However, moving from the comfort blanket of a flawed spreadsheet to something more reliable and useful is often considered too painful – the old adage of ‘that’s what we’ve always done’ is usually the stock reply.”
Keith Simpson, consultancy director, JustHousing, was uncompromising in his analysis, saying, “I see little evidence of good practice and the only way to improve it is for housing associations to become better clients, demand providers deliver open systems and to stop pretending that their system does everything. A classic example we have seen recently is a major supplier being uncommitted to the appropriate integration of intelligent scheduling because they were trying to develop their own. It is criminal and a waste of the taxes that support the sector via housing benefit.”
Who’s driving?
The business demands driving technology decisions centre on efficiency and information consistency across the organisation. These manifest themselves in the adoption of technologies such as mobile working and dynamic workforce scheduling, two-way text/SMS systems, and workflow and electronic document management solutions. However, Shelton cautioned, “The trend is towards the integration of business processes and integrated software systems. But an over-reliance on systems to do everything without user intervention is dangerous as there is a likelihood of managers becoming dissociated from the business.”
Never forget the tenants is the advice from Sovereign. Stoggall said, “Tenants will become increasingly influential in shaping the delivery of front-line services. Tenant involvement at all levels is a noticeable and welcome trend, and we are encouraging our clients to consider the influence of tenant participation when putting their IT plans together.”
The continuing consolidation between technology suppliers is seen as a mixed blessing, leading to either more product investment and better-integrated ‘whole company’ systems, or removing competition and driving small specialist suppliers out of business. Stoggall said, “It is still early days, but this consolidation [between suppliers] should lead to increased product investment, more flexible and robust solutions, and greater integration between systems. On the downside there’s the potential for reduced competition and choice.” Simpson agreed with the last point, saying, “I see a trend towards three or four major suppliers, with the small specialist suppliers either bought or driven out of business, resulting in a ‘dumbing down’ of the quality of the systems. I always recommend clients that they get the best software available and compel the IT providers to integrate correctly and refuse to pay the exorbitant costs for integration that are usually levied.”
The right skills
Consultants and systems integrators can used for a variety of projects, but how and when should they be brought in? The main reasons appear to be specialist expertise and the independence that comes from being removed from day-to-day issues. Bayliss from Tribal said, “RSLs should use consultants where there is a problem or issue for which there is a need for specialist knowledge or an external, independent view. However, when using consultants RSLs should be clear about the value that a consultant would bring.”
Sovereign’s Stoggall said, “Clients will get the best out of consultants and integrators, both in terms of price and the quality of services they receive, if they engage with them on a long-term basis as a critical friend and IT advisor. This allows the consultant to fully understand the day-to-day operations of the business so they can give advice and assistance to ensure that any investment in IT is fully realised through efficiency gains and improved delivery of front-line services.”
Faint from NCC agreed, saying, “Improving business processes, business case reviews, project and programme management, and procuring and implementing systems are not activities that housing organisations undertake on a regular basis. These require specialist skills and should be undertaken by experienced professionals. Not using professionals may result in poor investment and compromise the success of the project.”
However, the situation works both ways. Simpson from JustHousing said, “The sector is poorly served by both IT suppliers and IT consultants, a situation compounded by the fact that the sector is also a poor client; it doesn’t really understand what it wants or how to specify it. We therefore have a plethora of suppliers on a gravy train because clients frequently change systems in the hope that they can improve the operating environment.”
Clarity of purpose
Having established that a particular project or strategy requires external expertise, housing associations need to select an appropriate consultant or systems integrator. What factors inform the selection process – the requirements of the project itself, the profile of the consultancy or its individual staff? Clarity of purpose is fundamental, says Bayliss: “The first thing is to be clear what you want the consultant to do. Sometimes people simply want a consultant because of resource shortages, in which case sole practitioners are often a better option. If you want strategic advice or access to wide knowledge on a specialist area, then a consultancy practice is best.”
Simpson said, “Clients should stop pretending that big is beautiful when selecting an IT consultancy. The ‘safe pair of hands’ approach is no longer acceptable and CEOs should demand a vigorous strategy from the internal resource before employing consultants as ‘you will always get what you always got’ by using the current providers.”
Shelton from SDS is clear, saying, “Consultancies are just collections of people with particular expertise. It’s the people that should be selected, not the consultancy practice.” Furthermore, a focus on housing should be just part of the equation. Faint said, “Clients should look for access to resources with experience in other sectors as sometimes value can be added to the process when experiences go beyond the housing sector.”
Independent relationships
The relationship between consultants and integrators and the actual technology suppliers is a balancing act. On the one hand, the consultants and integrators must be able to give impartial, independent advice about different suppliers. On the other hand, they also need to work closely with the chosen supplier(s) during the implementation process.
Independence is key for NCC. Faint said, “Consultants should be independent with an ability to help the client choose the right way for their own business. Consultants with links to a specific application or suppliers will always select that route in the end. The golden rule is that the client chooses what is right for their business, not the consultant.”
Equally, the importance of the consultancy’s relationship with the suppliers was highlighted by Sovereign’s Stoggall who said, “Good consultancies will have well-established, long-term relationships with the key technology suppliers. Suppliers will often be more frank with a consultancy than a customer. This intelligence can then be used to advise and support clients.” This view was shared by Simpson from JustHousing, who said, “The role of consultants and integrators is to act on behalf of their clients to ensure that their clients’ plans are supported by good business practice and relevant technology. They provide a necessary check against the hardware suppliers and application vendors, ensuring that the client doesn’t buy a chicken when it needs an egg.”
Shelton commented on the one-size-fits-all approach of some consultants. He said, “RSLs may be surprised to find that we receive statements of requirements from consultants which are duplicates of those received weeks earlier, only the client name has been changed at the top. By reducing the process to nothing more than a standard list of questions gives a very poor impression.”
Substance over size
Of course, consultancies and systems integrators come in all shapes and sizes, which gives housing associations the choice of using a number of niche specialists or committing themselves to a single (usually larger), all-encompassing organisation. Simpson is clear: “It’s a no-brainer. Clients should use a series of specialists who are experts in their particular field. It is not unusual for us to have four or five independent experts working together on a business transformation process, all managed by a qualified project manager.”
Housing associations should also consider the long-term view. Stoggall said, “If you engage an all-encompassing consultancy which you are likely to use for multiple assignments, economies of scale should see a pro-rata reduction in day rates, whether or not the assignments are linked. Commonly-understood business drivers should make the engagement process quicker and the recommendations more beneficial. Of course, that assumes that the different specialist divisions within a consultancy communicate with one another!”
The final words go to Bayliss from Tribal, who said, “If you are getting a consultant in to settle an argument, make a decision on your behalf or take the political flak for a decision, then money is being wasted. These are management issues and if you need a consultant for these things, you should consider a life coach rather than an IS consultant.”
