5 tips for adapting to new clients as a tech consultant
Engineers at Red Squirrel get the opportunity to work in a variety of environments with clients who utilize different technologies, and may work in completely different ways. While starting with a new client is usually exciting, it can often be a stressful undertaking. Even after thoroughly vetting a client, how their teams work day-to-day is oftentimes not fully apparent. Processes, tooling, code styles, means of communication, along with many other facets of the business can vary wildly from gig to gig.
Here are some things we focus on when starting to work with a new client:
Adapt
We are guests in our clients’ houses. Many times the company we are working with will have defined processes to which we should adapt. Maybe they use a different, unfamiliar planning tool. Perhaps they use code styles we don’t agree with. Their code review or deployment processes could be completely different than what we’re used to.
Flexibility is one of our core values at Red Squirrel, and the ability to adapt to new situations is important when acting as a consultant. Practicing empathy as an engineer will help to set aside opinions we may have formed from previous experiences and open ourselves to our client’s opinions, which will help to establish trust. On top of that, learning how other teams work will only make us stronger engineers.
That’s not to say giving feedback isn’t important. On the contrary, it’s one of the most important parts of our job. But it’s also important to truly learn how our new team works before trying to change the status quo. We’ll talk about feedback later.
Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
Over Communicate
When starting out with a new client, communication is key to understanding how things work at every level. Don’t be afraid to expose ignorances and ask too many questions. Frequent communication shows positive engagement, which is extremely important when building trust as a new team member.
Give too many updates. Our clients should never wonder what we are doing. Keep them current with what you are working on, or even more important, what may be blocking productivity.
Learn the Domain
As engineers, our first instinct many times is to head straight to the code. Though that is important, time is often better spent at first focusing on learning how the business works. Ask questions like: What is their mission? What are their short and long term goals? What are the challenges they have recently faced and overcome? What challenges are on their horizon?
At the end of the day, we are there to make our clients’ businesses better. We already know how to write great software. Learning the domain earlier than later gives us insight on how to solve our clients’ problems using our engineering skills in a more effective manner.
Integrate and Immerse
These are our team members now. Make a concerted effort to meet everyone on the team individually. Try not to be an outsider, especially on long-term projects.
Pair programming with our new team members is an excellent way to get to know them and learn the codebase and business at the same time.
Regularly participating in meetings is a key way to establish ourselves with clients, and is an excellent learning opportunity. Actual, meaningful, participation is important though. Instead of just listening in, it’s crucial to jump right into the conversations.
This can be a challenge when working remotely, but as a remote-first company, Red Squirrel has learned how to effectively work without a physical presence in the office. Tools like Tuple and VS Code Live Share make pair programming remotely fun and easy.
Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
Offer Great Feedback
We are there to improve our clients’ product and processes. As consultants, we can bring in new perspectives, which are generally most welcome.
Our clients look to us to identify opportunities to improve the technical side of their businesses. Of course that includes the code, but also processes like onboarding, project management, estimations, and more.
As consultants, we are in a unique position that allows us to come into a project with a feedback-first perspective. Offer meaningful and actionable feedback on a regular basis.
In Summary
Being flexible and adaptable is core to who we are at Red Squirrel, and is what makes us great consultants. Immersing ourselves in the way our clients work, and being great communicators along the way will set us, and our clients, up for success.
We are there to make things better for our clients. Focusing on these few things helps with just that.