INTERVIEW: BLENDED CONSULTING IN TIMES OF CORONA

Blended Consulting is neither a method nor a concrete approach – it is a basic attitude. Blended Consulting is a term to describe the efficient and targeted use of a mix of methods within our intervention architecture in client projects, through which we achieve effective results in a targeted and resource-saving manner.

In practice, Blended Consulting means that we integrate existing technologies and especially online communication tools adequately and purposefully into the intervention architectures of our client projects in order to save resources but also to achieve desired results faster.

With Blended Consulting, we do not only associate the mere use of new technologies in consulting. Rather it is about weighing up exactly when which method will offer the greatest benefit. Processes that can be handled well, purposefully and cost effectively via digital channels are implemented accordingly using the appropriate media. Ideally, this saves us time and resources for processes that require a thematic discussion on site and a personal exchange with the client system and colleagues.

In times of and after Corona, we assume that attendance events need a very good justification in order to gain acceptance.

No, that would lack a lot of substance. Within the framework of Blended Consulting, we use digital media in a targeted manner and have acquired expertise over many years. But we also know when web-based communication is unsuitable. In our client projects, we use a flexible and balanced mix of methods. S&P Consulting always strives to use suitable methods purposefully in order to achieve the desired results in a resource-saving and effective manner. This can mean the integration of modern and innovative elements into our consulting process – but it can also be an innovative and integrative workshop design that does not require any technology at all.

Blended Consulting did not emerge on the drawing board but has grown evolutionary in our consulting practice. In 2014, we reflected and critically examined our consulting processes as a team and created the term “Blended Consulting” for the consulting practice that was already lived at that time.

Corona makes “remote“ a buzzword and working with the customer via digital channels the most important form of communication.

In this respect, S&P Consulting benefits from the fact that, within the framework of Blended Consulting, we have gained years of experience in working with digital means of communication and were immediately able to make effective professional use of this experience once the Corona-related restrictions were implemented. Our projects are continuing, in some cases even with greater intensity than before the Corona pandemic. What I observe is that the communication with our clients takes place in much shorter and more intensive set-ups and that we must make sure that sufficient breaks are planned and taken during and between remote meetings.

“In practice, Blended Consulting means that we integrate existing technologies and especially online communication tools adequately and purposefully into the intervention architectures of our client projects in order to save resources but also to achieve desired results faster.”

No. As I have described, S&P Consulting always strives to select a suitable method and adequate media for corresponding consulting situations in the framework of Blended Consulting. Of course, there are still situations where a personal interaction between key players would be useful. Currently, however, depending on the client’s system, this is not always possible.

Even before the Corona situation, we have already gained experience in working with modern applications and online communication media and know that many processes can be implemented well via online communication channels. But we also know that there are challenges that are difficult to handle over distance or online channels. Here we are working on innovative solutions and have already achieved very good results.