Matching the Right Person to the Right Assignment

Matching the right person to the right assignment involves carefully considering factors such as competence, experience, and attitude. Some aspects are critical for success, while others are more flexible. In this article, we explain how we at Avalon Innovation ensure a good match between consultant and assignment. We also discuss how we define and measure a successful collaboration, how we handle a less successful match, and how we utilize AI and other technologies to streamline the matching process.

En framgångsrik matchning mellan konsult och uppdrag är avgörande för att möta kundens behov och skapa värde under den begränsade tid en konsult ofta är på plats. För att uppnå detta krävs en metodisk och välgenomtänkt process där flera viktiga aspekter spelar in.

Understanding the Client’s Needs

The foundation for a successful match is a deep understanding of the client’s needs, both stated and unstated. In addition to analyzing the requirements specification, it is important to identify any hidden needs that may affect the assignment. The consultant manager’s dialogue with the client plays a critical role in ensuring that all aspects of the assignment are clear.

Right Competence and Experience

One of the most fundamental factors is that the consultant’s skills and experience align with the requirements. It’s not just about technical skills or specific industry experience, but also about the ability to quickly adapt to new situations and deliver value. A consultant who clearly and concretely highlights their strengths in their profile facilitates this part of the process.

Personal and Cultural Compatibility

Beyond formal competence, personal compatibility is a critical success factor. The consultant’s working style, communication approach, and personality need to harmonize with the client’s organization and culture. This is ensured by the consultant manager having close dialogue with the consultant and understanding what drives and motivates the individual.

Ongoing Dialogue and Long-Term Relationships

A close relationship between the consultant manager, the client, and the consultant is essential for creating the conditions for a successful match. Through continuous dialogue, the consultant manager gets to know both parties deeply and can identify opportunities that may not be immediately apparent during an initial review. This enables highlighting the consultant’s relevant strengths and matching them to the client’s actual needs, even if those needs aren’t directly visible in the requirements specification.

Structured Process and Flexibility

A structured matching process is important, but equally crucial is the ability to be flexible and adapt to the unique conditions of each assignment. An experienced business developer or consultant manager has the tools to uncover the consultant’s hidden strengths and connect them to the client’s specific requirements and challenges.

Summary: Keys to Success

To ensure a good match between a consultant and assignment, a holistic approach is needed, where multiple factors work together. A deep understanding of the client’s needs, the right competencies, and personal compatibility are combined with a structured process and close dialogue between all parties. By identifying both clear and hidden values, the consultant manager can ensure that each assignment is successful—something both the consultant and the client benefit from.

A successful collaboration between a client and a consulting firm is evident when consultants deliver according to or exceed expectations while creating clear business value. The client experiences smooth and open communication, where problems are solved quickly and proactively. Consultants integrate well into the client’s team, contributing both to goals and the work culture. Trust between the parties is strengthened, and the client sees the consulting firm as a strategic partner rather than just a vendor. Ongoing assignments and long-term collaborations are a natural result of this. The client provides positive feedback, and consultants feel motivated and supported. Together, a relationship based on mutual success and development is created.

Despite careful steps to create a successful match, situations may still arise where the result is not as planned. In the case of a mismatch, it is crucial to identify what went wrong and act based on the given circumstances. This could involve analyzing the client’s expectations and the consultant’s performance to identify any gaps in communication. Additional support may be required for the consultant to reach the desired level, while the client’s expectations may need to be adjusted. In some cases, it may be necessary to replace the consultant with another who is better suited to the assignment. Regardless of the cause, the most important thing is to focus on meeting the client’s needs and expectations in the best possible way.

To match a consultant to a need, an established relationship is crucial, allowing trust to deliver a potential candidate. Once we receive an inquiry, we may already have a good idea of who in our group could meet the client’s needs. To streamline this process, we use several tools, including a proprietary matching assistant based on an AI service. This helps us find the right consultant for the assignment and provides the tools to help the client understand how the consultant best matches their request. It’s not uncommon for a client’s needs to extend beyond the available consultants’ profiles, and in such cases, we can use our AI service to search for relevant profiles in our partner portal to best match the client’s needs.