Christopher Harper CMC, ICMCI Americas Hub Leader, Senior Director Digital Advisory Services with Online Business Systems.
The changes in the manner of work driven by technology were in the spotlight of an online discussion on Tech Innovation in Consulting on 22 June 2022 as part of the ICMCI Future of Management Consultancy initiative. The roundtable brought together Christopher Harper CMC, Dr. Stephen Louis CMC, Hadis Nazari, Mohammadreza Mahmoodi and Bob Hruska and was moderated by ICMCI Chair Robert Bodenstein CMC.
Christopher Harper CMC, Senior Director Digital Advisory Services with Online Business Systems, discussed the path and overall impact of digitisation on consulting services. As part of a consulting firm advising clients on their digital journey, he noted that, in 2020, due to the pandemic the company he worked for was in the position of most clients and needed to fully provide services digitally.
The use of digital tools allows the consulting firm to deliver workshops anywhere, regardless of the constraints of space and time. They are thus able to work across Europe, America and Canada, engaging in hybrid sessions where some participants are physically together and others online.
The digitisation of services has enabled the company to do things with a greater efficiency and impact, without the barrier of travel costs. This is essential to success as the competitive differentiation of how services are delivered, in consulting in particular, is becoming more important.
The matter of how to build trust in a fully online interaction is resolved based on the culture of an organisation. A positive and “can do” attitude helps to build rapport and this is conveyed to the client to reach the point of trust. This is especially important in digital interactions where the smaller signals one person sends to another may not be a clearly visible.
Overall, going digital-first with services in advisory has allowed the company to connect with clients in new markets, build strong relationships, and reduce the burden of frequent travel on the consulting team.
At the same time, there are still open questions such as: When we become a digital-first consulting organisation, how do we create knowledge sharing? How do we take knowledge from our practitioners to client organisations and build that capability for them to support the value that we create with them during our engagements? Exchange with consultants around the world can help to resolve them over time.
For more from Christopher Harper CMC® please check out this video
For more highlights of the event, please visit the ICMCI YouTube channel
About Christopher Harper CMC®
Christopher Harper CMC® is the Senior Director Digital Advisory Services with Online Business Systems, working with a global team to bring about a more secure and effective enterprises through the definition of strategies that enable organizations to realize their full digital potential. Through his graduate research on digital transformation and strategy, and as an instructor at the University of Calgary and Lakehead University, he helps clients optimally achieve their desired outcomes from technological investments. Christopher Harper is also ICMCI Americas Hub Leader.
About the Future of Management Consultancy
Combining a series of events, discussions and publications, the ICMCI Future of Management Consultancy initiative strives to promote the global conversation about the future of the profession towards developing a common vision to help and inspire consultants all over the world.
Designed as an “open source” and inclusive platform, the Future of Management Consultancy is an opportunity to seek answers to pressing questions and to encourage interactive communication and joint idea generation.