You hire a consultant to write a major report but what you get back is not usable—does that sound familiar? Get a better deliverable with these tips from an editor.
In the international development field, it’s common to outsource report writing to consultants. I’ve been on the commissioning side at the UN and have seen how the deliverable that we get isn’t quite what we had in mind. How often have you had to rewrite a report to make it usable?
It’s not that the consultant is not good enough or smart enough. It’s more likely a communication issue: the consultant isn’t given enough details or a thorough-enough brief to have a solid understanding of what they’re being asked for.
So what can you do to make sure you get something usable from your consultant and not waste your time trying to salvage the deliverable? Here are some tips.
1. Have a very clear, concrete idea of what you want—before you start hiring
You may not be writing the document (I’ll call it “report” for this post) yourself, but you still need to have a clear, concrete idea of what you want it to look like. If you don’t know what you want, your consultant certainly won’t.
Things to consider and write into the terms of reference
- Whom is the report for (who is the intended audience)?
- What do you expect the readers to do with it (intended use)?
- What will the report look like? Think for example: content (what does it cover?), length, tone, format (electronic? print? PDF vs. Word vs. ePub vs. PowerPoint, etc.?)
- Will there be components other than the main text, like an executive summary, graphs/charts, references, images? Which do you expect the consultant to create or source? What format should these components be in (e.g., image files, Excel)?
- Are there accessibility components you want, like headings (using built-in styles), alternative text, good links text?
2. Brief the consultant with details: Be specific and offer examples
Be as specific as possible in the terms of reference. Remember that your consultant needs to have enough information to make a realistic proposal.
If some details cannot be publicly shared in the terms of reference, make sure you inform the candidates in the job interview or test. Be sensitive to the fact that a hidden detail may affect the consultant’s workload (and hence their daily rate or number of work days) or ability to complete the work.
Things you can provide
(Some of these can be given after the contract is signed but be prepared to do so.)
- Instructions for all the different types of components (text and non-text): For example:
- Charts, tables, images: What should they look like (e.g., should they follow your organization’s brand colors)? What format should they be submitted in (e.g., embedded? separate files?)? What about copyright?
- References: What referencing format should be followed?
- Executive summary: How long should the executive summary be?
- Your organization’s style guide: The style guide instructs the consultant on what spelling to use, formatting, tone, and other guidelines. If you don’t have one, provide examples and other material that the consultant can refer to. The UN has its Editorial Style; your agency may have its own. Or refer to some publically available guides.
- Examples that you liked and what exactly you liked about it: Examples can be tremendously useful for a consultant. Tell them what specifically you liked about those examples.
- Any other guidance/rules: For example, does your organization have a policy about AI use? What accessibility features or guidelines should the consultant follow?
3. Give concrete feedback
While you don’t want to micromanage your consultant, it does help to make sure you both are aligned. Let your consultant ask you questions if any issue arises.
If the contract includes opportunities for you to review a draft, make sure the feedback you give is concrete and actionable. That means giving examples and specifics of the changes you want made. For example:
Unhelpful ☹️: This part needs more work.
Better feedback ☺️: Add details about our community project in rural Thailand to back up our claim that we work in both rural and urban areas.
Vague feedback is not useful (and I’m sure you know this). It leaves a consultant guessing what you might want. And that guess might be spot-on and give you exactly what you wanted—or it may be completely off the mark, leaving you dissatisfied and with the task of revising the report. The more concrete and actionable your feedback is, the more likely the consultant can meet your expectations and give you something you can use.
If your colleagues are also reviewing the draft and leave vague feedback, you can either
- follow up with them if it’s important
- guess what they may mean and clarify that for the consultant
- delete it
Don’t leave those vague comments for the external consultant to try to figure it out. The consultant is not in a position to make that kind of executive decision.
Ask for an annotated outline first and review it
Another idea is to ask for an annotated outline before the consultant starts writing. Include it as the first deliverable in the contract. The annotated outline should include the sections and a rough indication of what goes in each section. It will let you check that the consultant is on track as they plan the report. It gives you the chance to give specific changes and correct course.
(If you’ve tried generative AI like ChatGPT, you know you need good prompts to get a usable answer. Briefing your consultant needs just as much thought and effort.)
I hope these help you get better results. If you’re planning to hire an editor as a consultant, check out my post 6 things to tell your editor. You can also download a checklist from there.
What else have you found useful, either as the hiring project manager or as a consultant? Please share in the comments.
Get in touch to discuss whether we might be a good fit for your scholarly or international development writing project!
Cover image by Pavel Danilyuk. Documents image by Katrin Bolovtsova.
