Guest Post: Dan Roche of Sapient Govt Services on “The Five Year Itch,” Contractor-Client Relationships

(Dan Roche is the Director, General Management for Sapient Government Services)

We, as people, take things for granted. It’s in our nature. It might be our families, our homes, our communities, our paychecks, but it’s always something.

This very human trait doesn’t go away when we go to work. As consultants, regardless of field or industry, we sometimes take our clients or colleagues for granted. And our clients, it’s important to understand, will do it to us as well.

The psychology behind taking things for granted is well known, and it isn’t always a bad thing. Research based on adult relationships reveals that people who feel secure in their relationships don’t worry about losing them, and tend to enjoy happier partnerships with fewer psychological problems. By contrast, those over concerned with being alone tend to suffer psychologically and emotionally.

In some ways, fighting this is useless. People are human, after all. If you work in contracting, you have probably lived through this. You formed great relationships with a client, drove great success, and developed bonds that seemed inseparable. Then one day, perhaps through a contract event, some inexplicable argument or a disagreement things stop. The project ends or a contract changes hands. And you, as a contractor, are left puzzled as to what possibly could have gone wrong. I would say that the tendency you experienced is something I call, in consulting, the “five year itch.”

There are a few common, oft-repeating events that build up to the “five year itch.” Knowing this pattern might help you anticipate this classic chain of events, taking steps to avoid the inevitable or at least preparing you and your business to weather storms before they arrive. In short:

1. If you perform well, you tend to stick around (at least for a few years)

This should go without saying. Good consultants with a good track record can keep a relationship going for at least a few years. This covers the “honeymoon period” of the relationship, usually the base year of a contract, and lasts through the first couple of option years, when ideas are fresh and memories of prior contractor relationships still linger.

2. Inevitably, clients get used to you

Again, it’s human nature to get used to things. Teams that are truly extraordinary become “business as usual.” Gradually, consultants at the high end of the industry bell curve are perceived, often unfairly, as representing the mean of their respective fields. If you’ve been in consulting for more than a few years, you’ve probably already seen this happen. Maybe it’s happened to you. The truth is, if you’ve been dealing with one and only one plumber, electrician, or doctor over several years, you lose perspective of where they stack up against their peers. In most cases you assume they are “average.” And average is often unsatisfactory.

3. Leadership change introduces “action bias”

Let’s say you’ve been with a client for five years. In this time, odds are high your client organization will experience at least one major leadership change. Maybe it’s a new CIO or President. In any case, these new leaders may assume office perceiving everything and everyone, including you, as part of the “as-is” culture. And of course, new leaders hate “as-is.” They may feel the nagging, unshakable urge to make changes. And what’s the easiest change a new leader can make? Switch out the consultants. Attract new blood. Out with the old. This urgency towards action, and disdain for the status quo, is known as “action bias.” It’s everywhere. Now, is this eagerness for change always a bad thing? No, many organizations need and benefit from change. But there is often collateral damage. Two steps back to take three steps forward. And all too often, contractors feel the heat.

4. You’re out the door

Every day, strong incumbents lose their contracts. This has probably already happened to you. You spent years building a client relationship and doing great work. Then one day, you’re gone. The new consultant team might be cheaper, younger, bigger, smaller, or even just the same. The thing to understand is that they’re new. They’re unknown. Their potential to change an organization is limitless, like a lottery ticket, while you have the misfortune of being familiar.

So What Can We Do?

While the “five year itch” effect is often inevitable, you shouldn’t lie down for it. As an account lead, I suggest managers across fields prepare practically and emotionally for the day where their deepest and most established contracts change hands, or evaporate altogether. This includes a constant emphasis on business development, seeking out the next set of replacement contracts, and never putting too much personal or financial investment in the idea that your favored client will love you forever.

Can the itch be scratched? In some circumstances, yes.

For starters, work in “random acts of overdelivery ” wherever possible. Does your client have a problem, bug, or sudden disruption of service? Don’t just enter a trouble ticket, pay them a visit. Bring in your executive leadership. Shake their hands and thank them. Make it a big production. Imagine what you would do were they your only client, and then do that.

Secondly, make sure your more established accounts rotate managers and other leaders on a semi regular basis. This is never convenient, and often difficult, but it forces your client to get to know and trust new people from your company. This small shift also avoids your own people becoming too accustomed to the client’s surroundings, culture, and overall business structure. It keeps things fresh, and introduces new ideas to old problems.

Most importantly, show and remind your client that you serve them as an organization, and not merely a clearing house for staff they happen to feel comfortable around. The trap of becoming a proto-placement firm, as opposed to a services company, is dangerous. If you can produce their favorite specialist at a rate of $150 an hour, who’s to say another firm couldn’t produce them for $125? All too often, contractors in this spot become interchangeable, and the temptation to scratch the “itch” grows stronger.

In Summary

The purpose of this article isn’t to scare you. I don’t want you to stop trusting your clients, nor treat your client portfolio as sand stored in a birdcage. My advice is this: Do not take your clients or projects for granted. Do your best to keep them, through the constant infusion of new people and new ideas. But above all else, be prepared to let them go. Despite your best efforts, it might happen someday due to circumstances outside of your control.

All pages turn, all stories end, and save for a VERY select few, all business relationships run their course. Part of being a successful consultant is accepting this trend lest the “five year itch” leave you shell-shocked. You can’t change human nature, so do your best to plan for it. Make sure your long-term clients feel appreciated. Remind them of your value. But moreover, invest time in new clients. Look outside your portfolios. The long-term viability of your enterprise may depend on it.