by Alnisa Allgood of the Nonprofit Tech Association

Today's nonprofit organizations exist in an environment of technology convergence. From errant fax machines to network computers, printers and copiers, even the most knowledgeable nonprofit requires assistance with everyday technology.

To answer this call, a variety of consultants have stepped forward. All kinds of consultants are available for hire, from generic computer consultants to specific network consultants. But finding affordable, personable, knowledgeable consultants who can work with you to solve your problems and—one hopes—ward off future problems can be trying. Let's face it: Hiring an expert in a field about which you may know almost nothing is not the easiest task.

This article will familiarize you with qualities you should look for, concerns you should address and other aspects of hiring a technical support consultant.

Finding a Technical Consultant

If you live in a major city, finding potential consultants is easy. You can use both local and national lists, such as Opportunity Nocs, Craig's List, Consultants OnTap, Idealist.org, and other national, regional and local Web sites. Nonprofits in small towns or rural areas have to work smarter to obtain a good list of consultants.

Remember, the key is to work smarter, not harder: Don't overlook great resources such as word of mouth, foundations, circuit rider associations and nonprofit technical organizations as well as the same local and national resources listed above. Word of mouth is a common and easy way to hear about good consultants. The likelihood that you are the first agency in your region to look for technical support is small. Contact organizations of similar size to yours, and find out who their technical support providers are (or who they are not!)

Foundations often are overlooked as an information resource, but many foundations spend a significant amount of time compiling resources for their grantees. So contact one or more of your funders and ask for referrals. This step not only will keep your funders apprised of your ongoing efforts to meet the goals of your organization but also will allow them to help you in ways that do not involve grant applications.

A somewhat new but widely growing phenomenon in the nonprofit world is that of "circuit riders." Circuit riders are groups of technical support consultants that split their time across multiple nonprofits to provide ongoing support. Many foundations have created "circuit rider associations" for their grantees.

Nonprofit technical organizations are another resource to explore. Nonprofit Tech Association ("Nonprofit Tech") is just one of a quickly growing group of nonprofits whose purpose includes providing technical services to the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit Tech currently has offices in the San Francisco Bay area and Ann Arbor, MI. Other agencies, such as Compumentor of San Francisco, CA; NPower of Seattle, WA; NetCorps of Eugene, OR; Technology Works for Good in Washington, DC; and the Center for Management Assistance in Kansas City, MO offer an array of technical services for nonprofits.

Now that you know where to start looking, you need to define your technical assistance needs.

Defining Your Technical Needs

The most valuable piece of advice that we can give is to be clear about what you want before you start the hiring process. The truth of consultant-client relationships is that most fail when evaluated based on answering the questions "Did the client organization get what it wanted?" and "Did the client organization understand what it got?" Both consultants and organizations have a role in ensuring that appropriate services are provided.

Quite a few consultant-client relationships fail because the nonprofit never had a clear picture of what it wanted or needed in the first place. Without a clear vision of what you want, you could be sold the neighbor's barn or a mansion on Main Street and be unable to distinguish between the two.

The key to any good relationship, particularly for consultant relationships, is communication. A primary component of good communication is being able to state what it is that you want or need. You do not need to learn the entire lexicon of technical terminology, but if you want all your computers to be able to share files and folders as fast as possible, you should be able to say, "I want to set up a system that will allow all the computers to share files and folders, and I'd like it to be fast."

Evaluating Potential Technical Consultants

You don't understand bits from bytes, so how do you hire someone with more knowledge than you? First, interview at least three consultants. Second, ask the candidates to bid on the project or tasks by providing you with a formal written proposal for the work. Project proposals give you many advantages:

• Project rates are generally cheaper than hourly rates.
• Reviewing the proposal gives you time to research components of the proposed work until you have a general understanding of what is being offered. Unfortunately, interviews don't offer that luxury.
• Proposals give you a glimpse of the working process of your consultant. Proposals that are well written and well organized reflect consultants who value their business and the services they provide. Hastily thrown together proposals often indicate work style.
• A proposal allows you to see in writing whether the consultant can translate technical information into a common language that you and your staff can understand.

Proposals do not replace face-to-face or telephone interviews, which give you additional measures for evaluating potential consultants, from listening skills to the ability to translate "technobabble" into English. Consultants should be willing to speak about their strengths and weaknesses in the course of the interview. Beware of consultants who are unable or unwilling to spend as much time as is needed to ensure that you and key staff understand technical information.

A written proposal and a face-to-face interview therefore should be important factors in making your final decision.

Making the Hiring Decision

Consultants who provide expert advice, hands-on technical assistance and a willingness to apprentice staff and volunteers when they run into difficulty provide the best support. Ultimately, getting expert technical support should accomplish two goals: solving the problem at hand and teaching the user to solve the same problem should it occur in the future. A consultant who does everything for you or who only works after hours or off-site will not be able to work with your agency to accomplish the second part of the support goal.

When choosing among consultants, communication skills often are a determining factor. Did the consultant seem to understand you? Did you understand the consultant? Was the consultant patient? Did he or she listen to you and understand what your organization does? Will he or she fit in with your organizational working style? How available will the consultant be for providing assistance?

Other Thoughts

After you have made your choice, keep the consultant-client relationship open and honest. If you do not like the level of service you are receiving, discuss the matter with the consultant. If you do like the service and quality of work, discuss this as well. Feedback for the consultant allows him or her to better gauge how the work is being perceived.

If the relationship with the consultant is unproductive, END IT. Many agencies spend years in unproductive client-consultant relationships before seeking other assistance. If you have a three-month, six-month, year-long, or multiyear project for a consultant, establish an evaluation period. Thirty to ninety days generally is more than enough time to get a sense of how well your staff and the consultant work together.

The evaluation period benefits the consultant as well. You may be ecstatic about the consultant's work, but the consultant may be one step shy of pulling his or her hair out. Scheduling a "time out" at the beginning of the contract allows you both to step back and evaluate the process before continuing.