Analyze this! Diagnosing the relationships of clients and consultants

Abstract

Purpose

Everyone has a client. Too often clients complain about their service providers and yearn for people who are just like them. This paper focuses on understanding the differences between clients and consultants, and applying methods for bridging the differences.

Design/methodology/approach

Why do end‐user representatives, facility managers, corporate real estate executives, architects and interior designers have difficulty working together? Do factors like education, experience, role and behavior explain conflicts? Focus groups, interviews, case studies, and published research/literature review lead to personality type and role to articulate and ameliorate differences.

Findings

Specific roles for the end‐user representative (internal client), the facility manager/corporate real estate executive (both service provider and client), and the design consultant (outside service provider) are described, along with each “point of view.” The Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI), based upon Carl Jung's personality type theory, provides a vocabulary for explaining obstacles to teamwork. There are large differences between many service providers and internal clients in the S (sensing) – N (intuitive) dichotomy.

Research limitations/implications

Available MBTI data is limited by sample size and date. Larger scale studies of each role should be conducted.

Practical implications

Role and personality differences create obstacles to effective team work. Multi‐level (individual, team and organizational) intervention with structured information exchange and shared experiences can provide a foundation for building constructive relationships.

Originality/value

Few stakeholders in the client/consultant relationship know why there are difficulties, what the difficulties are … or, how to fix them. This paper provides insight into why the problems occur, along with specific methods for solving the problems.

Citation

Rayle, M.G. (2005), "Analyze this! Diagnosing the relationships of clients and consultants", Journal of Facilities Management, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 51-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/14725960610644221