When an independent engagement wraps up, its mission lives on. It’s up to you—and your team—to determine how to build upon the success you’ve achieved. Before your consultant moves on, take time to gather the information you need to maximize the value of both your current and future engagements.

Prepare for the post-game

Ideally, you and your independent talent have been working throughout the project to define what happens next. If not, don’t be shy about tacking on a few extra days to get it right.

You might also take advantage of the flexibility that independents offer and redefine their roles to support your team moving forward. Could one or more talent stay on as part-time advisors to address any questions that come up? Could they come back at a later date to support project execution? Discuss these options with your talent to find a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Get smarter for future engagements

An open conversation as you wrap up an engagement is a great way to uncover opportunities for improvement and help ensure success for future projects. Invite talent to offer feedback on the project, your process, and your company.

Ask questions like:

• Were you given clear goals and objectives? If you don't define the mission, you'll never know whether or not your engagement was a success—or be able to troubleshoot what went wrong.
• Did you have what you needed to succeed? A successful project outcome often depends on key inputs from you, from access to data and systems to time with project stakeholders. Make sure your organization is set up to maximize the value they are able to deliver.
• Did you feel like you were able to make an impact? By the end of an engagement, your talent should be able to give you a succinct, persuasive statement of the ROI they’ve delivered. They may also have a clear-eyed perspective on improvements you should make to internal processes.
• What can we do to make the best use of your work going forward? The breadth of experience top talent have often gives them a good view of the best way forward, whether it’s effective execution methods for a strategy or further analysis that would help you refine a promising idea.
• Would you recommend our company to other independent consultants? If you want to attract top interim talent, it helps to get an honest perspective on why people would—or wouldn’t—recommend you to their colleagues.

A strong close to a project helps set the stage for next steps, and the transparency it provides allows everyone to take ownership of improvements next time. Also, the relationship doesn’t need to end when the project does. Most of our talent stay in touch with clients post-project, and often, continued conversations lead to additional project work. By staying in contact with your independents, you can build on work that’s already been done—together.