Face-to-Face Consulting

We live in a digital world and remote work has become commonplace. Software consultants and developers can work remotely and many work out of their homes. However, is software consulting or training best done remotely or in person?
The answer to that depends on a lot of factors, but a strong argument can be made in favor of face-to-face consulting. The following work types we prefer to deliver in person:

1. Design - there is no substitute for seeing business processes, manufacturing processes, distribution processes and flows in person. One would be hard-pressed to design a solution without the understanding of the actual physical scene and what occurs. Setting up a warehouse efficiently would be impossible without seeing the spaces, bins, racks and flow throughout the warehouse. Additionally, one meets the key players in the organization and begins to build a rapport with them. This helps smooth over any eventual bumps in the implementation which are sure to occur.

2. Training - while training can be conducted remotely succesfully and we have done so in the past, we prefer to deliver training in person. When training in person, one can see the student’s facial expressions and know if they are grasping the subject or are confused. Students can ask questions and get their questions answered on the spot. One can observe the room and assist students as needed. This is very difficult to do over a Zoom meeting even with video and audio.

3. Go-Live - When we go live with new software, our resources are on the ground. A well-trained professional brings calm to the environment and this is needed during a new software rollout. Issues will occur, employees will forget their training, situations no one thought of will occur. A pro will be able to quickly resolve issues and instill confidence in the users.

Technology is wonderful and it is tempting to dive deep into the latest and greatest communication wizardry, but let us not neglect the tried and true, face-to-face communication. It’s worked for as long as humans have been around and will cotinue working in the future. It is a superior way.