I agree that an expert consultant should be highly involved in situations that require technical knowledge as much as process consultants are involved in higher education. This is because expert consultants can provide expert advice to the managers, thereby assist in arriving at the best solutions. In an institution of higher learning, several departments and functions need information technology (IT) expertise. This involves functions involving data, logistics, and computer software, among others. Managers need expert advice before making decisions related to IT so that they can make good decisions. However, lack of expert advice would make solutions expensive as well as take time to be implemented.
Like you, I believe process consultants are vital in providing insights into various processes undertaken in higher education. Decision making is a process in itself, and managers benefit a lot from having highly educated and experienced process consultants. In case of any initiative in an institution of higher learning, process consultants help the management and all the stakeholders to work out the solutions themselves. The involvement of all the stakeholders is important in achieving credible results as this will avoid any resistance from the unionized faculty members.
I liked your reflection of this week’s takeaway on the importance of process consultants as facilitators of various processes. However, I would like to note that if the processes are technical or require IT expertise, expert consultants are needed to offer technical advice. I believe that combined efforts from expert and process consultants can offer the management of the institution with the best advice to achieve success in implementing an initiative.