What works: Role-playing exercises

Clients do not want indecision on a project when dealing with management consultants. They want practical outcomes; they look for predictability in construction programmes, solutions that reduce the overall customer bill or reduce delays on a project.

The staff that join Arcadis often have to be effective with our clients immediately; you require more than just technical and business acumen to succeed in this respect, which is why development training is so vital.

Everyone recalls that time when you initially had an hour-long steering meeting, but other factors mean you now have just 15 minutes to get your points across – how do you prioritise? 

Or when a client is able to chat their way through a meeting where you don’t get as much out of it as you had hoped? Or when a client is demanding a figure that you don’t immediately have to hand? Or when you have several stakeholders, all with differing and misaligned views. How do you carefully manage the politics of the room, while seeking the best solution for the project and client?

Included in the consulting training that we provide for all our new starters, role playing real-world examples of problems on projects is a big part. All of the practical skills that people in the industry have acquired have been gathered through learning from past experiences over the course of several decades. Here, we are seeing some very talented individuals begin to make their way in the built environment but without that nous that can often make or break a relationship with a client. 

Dealing with that behaviour under pressure is part of a communication and practical skillset that those in the industry without that experience will need to learn, either on the job or via another method. We have chosen to go down the latter route.

How it works

We run large, formal role-play events every couple of months, using real-life example projects where we have our own data and information. The team then gets given scenarios, such as the aforementioned last-minute changes of plan or a difficult client is thrown into the mix. The training runs for between one and three days, uninterrupted, so that staff have the opportunity to focus on the project as if it were real.

The end goal for the programme is to ensure our consultants are up to speed and can deal with any situation that might present itself to them. On some of our larger projects, we are often managing relationships not just with individuals but between multiple organisations. The role requires people to think on their feet in a calm and measured manner to find the right solution. 

All of our management consultant team goes through it. Aside from delivering good work for our clients, regular training like this builds an internal bond for our staff too. There is a good team spirit and buzz that you may not get with larger firms, where internal relationships can be very virtual.

For our international colleagues, we have conducted feedback sessions through recording some of the exercises and sharing them in podcast-form. It also allows staff to review what they have worked on.

My advice for anyone looking to roll out a role-playing method would be to ensure that it is proportionate to what you do and how you work with your clients. I would also note that we designed this whole programme with the idea of acceleration in mind for our staff, so figure out what is effective for you and your wider training programme. 

Greg Bradley is a partner and managing director – business transformation at Arcadis