Retained services and how that might help you

In this article, I explore a model for engaging in work called “Retained Services”, how these might help you and how to have a successful outcome for both of us.

No longer bad value for money

Retained services have, in the past, had a bad name. They were synonymous with bad value for money in the long term, mainly because they were a way for a consultant to tie a client into a long-term commitment. Consultants were coming to the end of a good piece of work and the client was worrying about next steps, not sure if they would complete the project successfully without them. Everybody thought that it might be wasteful to pay for the consultant to stay on full time, so the compromise was reached with a retainer. Everything started well, but the consultant started to get out of touch and they still got paid.

Hybrid working has certainly helped in providing value for money. It is completely possible for me to provide short and focussed help for clients without having to be at their office (and bill) for a whole day.

Tips for success

Here are some things that I’ve found to be helpful:

• Agree the granularity of the tracking time (per hour, per half day, per day) and how that rolls up to the minimum charge per month;
• Be flexible and allow rollover days per month;
• Review the contract regularly (ideally every quarter) to review performance, advice given and whether extra work is required in the next quarter;
• Use hybrid working, online meetings and chat to be efficient for me and the client.

Do you need support on your project? Need someone on your side in your project meetings with your platform integrator? If you need some help on a part-time, on-demand basis then please get in touch.