Where can you find experienced HE consultants?
Dealing with the breadth and complexity of a modern university is already a major challenge for any senior executive – and the magnitude and pace of change is
accelerating. There is simply not enough time available for busy executives to focus sufficient attention on all of the important issues which crop up every day. It is also
increasingly difficult to pass many of these problems on to over-worked colleagues – and adding to the headcount is unpalatable!
Universities find it very difficult to access cost-effective, independent and impartial advice to help them to realise their strategic objectives or to provide operational support to meet day-to-day challenges. The major professional services companies have very few staff with a detailed understanding of how an institution really works.
The ideal solution would be for senior university executives to have access to a group of trustworthy, experienced people who could investigate some of their issues – but without paying the huge daily fee-rates of the management consultancies.
Such a pool of individuals does exist! Many former senior university executives have chosen to take early retirement and/or become independent consultants. A group of them have come together under an umbrella organisation, HE Associates, to offer their services to the sector.
The HE Associates network extends to dozens of former senior executives from all areas of University life - Registry, Finance, IT, Library, Academics, Human Resources etc. If we don't have a relevant person already within our network, we can easily bring in a suitably experienced person quickly.