The Top Three Lessons I Have Learned From My First Year as a Consultant

I have been an independent consultant for just over a year now. And it has been quite a year I must say! Despite the vast experience I already had under my belt when going into consultancy, there has still been many lessons to take from this new venture.

In light of this, I wanted to celebrate my professional milestone with an article all about just some of the trials and tribulations I've been through and learned from in this first year of consultancy.

Here are the three lessons that stand out for me.

Lesson 1: Experience matters

Sometimes as a reinsurance consultant (or CEO or business manager or any other client of a consultant, for that matter) what it takes to really understand what the company needs in terms of digitisation is to actually experience the situation in its entirety. What I mean by this is that it is no good for some consultant or external support to come in and dictate the project with no context or experience of the company.

Likewise, managers who are too far removed from the day-to-day workings of the company will not provide value here either. They are far more likely to exacerbate inefficiencies and annoy their staff by providing them with tech solutions they did not ask for or need. Take the examples given by LoginRadius in their article '7 Mistakes Companies Make During Digitisation And Their Fixes' - unrealistic expectations and misinterpretation are top of the list, while not preparing employees and ignoring automation closely follow.

There is a pattern emerging here and it always involves parties making decisions about things they are not involved in or in the know about. Thus, I have learned as a consultant dealing with a company's digital transformations that firstly, it is important to talk with the correct people within the company about the requirements and secondly, I, myself, must become somewhat emerged and involved in the company to truly understand it's workings and therefore what it needs from digitising and automating in order to improve outcomes. Because that's what it's about. Adding tech to operations should never be just for show.

Lesson 2: Things take time

Haven't we been here before? Ah yes, if we refer back to one of my previous articles 'Miracles Happen Elsewhere: Why Digitisation and Automation in Reinsurance are not Overnight Endeavours', we can find some just reasons why digital transformations require time for careful planning and implementation, not least due to the fact that rushing significantly increases the chances of project failure.

Believe me, I get it. Business leaders want instant results. And why wouldn't they? The re/insurance landscape is a competitive one. Working with certain technological solutions is becoming a necessity these days rather than a choice in order to stay competitive. However, if there's one thing I've learned from being involved in the choosing and implementation of tech in reinsurance companies it is that rushing is not the answer. Especially when trying to deliver a project as big as a company-wide digitisation and automation overhaul.

Digitisation is, as Harvard Business Review calls it, a journey after all. Not a destination. It is rarely linear and always dynamic. You can never 'complete' digitisation, but you can continue along the right path.

Lesson 3: If you are going to digitise, have it done properly

Now, I've overseen many projects throughout my time as a consultant and can therefore vouch for the fact that management support is key to properly executing any digitision project. This is just one aspect I find is crucial for getting digitisation and automation 'right'.

Achieving support from management triggers a snowball effect whereby employees are more likely to feel secure and supported through digital change. Spiceworks advocates that by being a strong leader, offering training and getting employee input throughout the transformation, companies are more likely to get buy-in from their employees. Thus, they will fear the change less and therefore not feel the need to fight against it/not use the new processes, as is often reported by companies who have tried and failed to digitally transform.

So how can senior leaders in reinsurance work to support their business towards successful digitisation? From my experience, the most valuable thing a company can do is to ensure they work with people who know what they are doing and can help support the change. According to a survey by Fujitsu, businesses think the most challenging part of digitisation is the complexity of implementation. That's where consultancy can provide additional support.

If you're a reinsurance leader struggling through the uncertainties of digitising and automating your company, don't hesitate to consult a consultant! It really can be the make or break of your digitisation journey. Contact me today.