Into the Lion’s Den:

Managing Expectations David Boersen, Senior Planner, Babbage Consultants Ltd

Managing Expectations: Overview

• Introductions– Into the Lion’s Den

• About managing expectations• Case studies

– Political decisions– Private clients – paying for experts

• Lessons learnt

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Managing Expectations: Expectations eh?

• Question: What are expectations?

Answer: Expectations are your client's vision of a future result or action, usually unstated but which is critical to your success…. a resource consent, a new policy, a specific outcome…

• Q: Whose expectations? A: Clients• Q: Who are clients? A: Everybody

– Clients (the ones paying the $$)– Processing planners at council– Councillors making decisions– Consultants, Architects, Project managers– General Public– Affected parties

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Managing Expectations: Why?

• Q: Why are expectations important?• A: They are the measure of our success and they drive your

client’s actions and decisions

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Managing Expectations: Ok I’m listening

• Q: How do we manage expectations? • A: S-M-I Set – Monitor – Influence

– Set – establish what are the expectations– Monitor – work out whether you are

meeting/still meeting expectations– Influence – alter/ help set realistic

expectations

• This is an ongoing process – subject to continued re-evaluation – requires sensitivity and judgement

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Managing Expectation: Putting it into practice

• Q: How do you work out expectations?• A: Ask – be up front ask – what do you want to achieve? By

when? Why? etc but also listen to what they say and what they don't say. Listen to the context in which it is being said.

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Managing Expectation: Putting it into practice

• Q: How do you influence?• A: Be proactive – do it sooner rather than later

Establish trust

Educate / explain why

Show them, and then sell them

Balance the give and take

Use a bit of tacit – be discrete when necessary

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Case Study 1

• Political decisions – Context: Working for council advising councilors– Set the expectations

• Clearly defined the scope of the decision they were making – legal principles

– Monitored expectations• “Harped back” to scope of decision

– Influenced• Council had set buffers without mapping buffers

• Mapped them explained ludicracy of buffers being suggested

– Discrete – did this behind closed doors “legally privileged’

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Case Study 2a

• Private client– Context preparing resource consent applications

Job 1: Retirement Village – Discretionary activity - complied with majority of

development controls including height– Landscape architecture firm were commissioned to

prepare visual impact assessment (VIA) report suggest some aspects of bulk be revisited!

– Client wasn't happy with report – Asked why they were paying big fees for advice which

didn’t unanimously support the proposal• Lesson: failed to set expectations about what report might

say, failed to set expectations about what landscape architect would be willing to say (ie consultants can not take a pure advocacy role), failed to educate client about process

– Result: report was not used

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Case Study 2b

• Private client– Context preparing resource consent applications

Job 2: Industrial Activity– Discretionary activity– Ecologist commissioned to prepare ecological

assessment - report “slammed” proposal– Again client wasn't happy with conclusion. In this

case though it probably wasn't the finding that was the problem, but the way it was expressed.

• Lesson: consultants, whilst needing to maintain professional integrity, also need to be conscious of the way they frame their findings. In particular if possible a negative finding should offer some constructive solutions, mitigation or alternatives, rather than just giving a "slamming“ to help meet

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Lesson learnt

• Learn from your mistakes• Hindsight is amazing• Be upfront as possible• Listen to what is being said and

not said• Document ‘expectations’ • Get confirmation of expectations

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