Most of us understand that we’re good at some things, and not so good at others. Working with a Business Advisor or Coach will help you clarify what’s working well and what’s not, and where best to focus improvement efforts. 

Being able to step back and work “on the business” can be difficult when you are caught up in the frenzy of day to day business life! Using the right external advisor will help you get your bearings, work out the right direction to take, and support you and your team on the journey. They will also help you and your team remain accountable and assist to deliver the best possible outcomes.

Our Business Advisory team come with many years of business experience spanning small, medium and larger NZ businesses. Many have also been Business Owners in their own right and as such have a deep understanding of the challenges this role presents.

Our philosophy and approach is to keep it as simple as possible and work alongside the Business Owner and senior leaders to first clarify the challenge, opportunity or priority and then assist with the planning and the execution to deliver the required outcomes.

Whilst we can help with just the Plan and then end our involvement, our strong preference is to continue working with you to help you execute the plan as effectively as possible – we really want to see the job done and the result achieved.

While we have a number of tools, “frameworks”, and methodologies in our kit bag, we typically tailor them to ensure they will work for the specific circumstances of your business and operating environment e.g. business maturity/lifecycle stage, industry norms, customer preferences, and team culture.

We most definitely aren’t a one size fits all Business Advisory service. We focus on ensuring we are first and foremost pragmatic and helpful, looking to create capability within the team to improve performance, achieve better outcomes and build value.

Ultimately its about finding someone you are happy to work closely with and that you believe can help you improve your business performance and value.

The key criteria in selecting the right Business Advisor or Coach includes:

• Relevant experience – have they been there and done that? Do they have the Leadership, Industry, lifecycle, specific pain or opportunity related experience?
• Relationship – are they the right “type” of person to help me and my team? Do I need a subject matter expert or mentor who has been there and done that or more of a Coach that will help me and my team find the best answers and approach?
• What are the key qualities you are looking for in the Advisor e.g. flexible, adaptable, ethical , empathetic, non-judgemental, clear communicator, able to build rapport, ability to motivate people etc
• Will they help me and my team to grow our capability and performance and not need their support long term? Help me to self drive?  What is their approach to managing their exit?
• Their willingness to agree clear measures of progress and success.
• Their pricing, engagement and payment terms

There will generally be two or three initial conversations or face to face meetings to start to get to know each other and clarify what the key issues and results being sought are.

We then discuss and document the scope of work in an Engagement Agreement and make sure you understand and agree with the scope, work plan of activities and timeline along with the target outcomes and pricing.

We will also make sure that you remain comfortable with the level of progress along the journey by checking in with you regularly to review progress.

To help with peace of mind around choosing the right Advisor or Coach we also agree a date up to which we will work with you and give you the opportunity to see us in action. If you don’t believe sufficient value has been or will be delivered then you can terminate the agreement by the agreed review date and we will end the engagement, wish you well and not charge for any services delivered up to that point.

The shape and approach for each Engagement is tailored to suit the requirements and outcomes being sought.

Initially there will be some “fact finding” and “getting to know each other” discussions and if you are interested to proceed with an engagement we would agree a plan of action with you covering the scope, work plan and Engagement agreement.

Management Response will also ensure there is another senior manager across the Engagement relationship – this provides coverage and continuity in the event the Advisor is unable to continue or is not available for a given period. 

The Coaching or Advisor meeting cadence (which will be a mix of face to face and remote) will vary depending on the scope and agreed timeline. Advisory engagements will often require a period of more active involvement in the early stages and then gradually reduce over the engagement term. Coaching will more likely involve a two to three hour meeting or call on a monthly basis for an agreed term.

Engagements will typically have a 3, 6 or 12 month term – again depending on the scope and outcomes being sought.

When we decide to work together, we agree:

1. A Client Engagement Agreement, and
2. An engagement plan which includes the activities to be undertaken by you and your team and where, when and how we will be involved.

Based on this plan we will also define a “review” date. If you determine there has been insufficient value delivered as of the review date and there is little or no benefit to you or your business in Management Response continuing its involvement, we will immediately end the engagement. Naturally, we would like to understand your reason whilst accepting your decision, and we will immediately end the engagement with a handshake and not charge for any services provided to that point.