In an informal survey, TechRepublic asked members of its CIO and Manager communities about their level of satisfaction with the last consultant they’d hired. A series of eight questions collected information such as what kind of consultant was hired, how long they were contracted for, and what they charged for their services. Respondents to the survey also answered questions regarding the consultants’ level of knowledge and their responses to problems, and then they were asked to give their consultant an overall rating.

The results were scattered, although over 70% of those who answered the survey said they’d hire the same consultant again. Here are the results:

Who was hired?
Respondents hired primarily networking/system administrators and e-commerce and custom-development consultants.

How much time and money was spent?
The majority of those surveyed hired consultants for one- to six-month contracts at a cost of $26,000 to $100,000.

Was the consultant educated and responsive to problems?
The majority of those surveyed said their consultant “demonstrated adequate knowledge,” while 35.8% said the consultant offered “new information about the project/problem.” The majority, 72.8%, reported that their consultant listened to feedback and responded to problems. In a related question, 49% reported that the consultant provided satisfactory solutions to problems, while 23% reported that no problems had occurred.

How did consultants rate?
A majority (71.6%) of respondents rated their consultant “excellent” or “good.” The number of respondents who rated their most recently hired consultant “poor” (16.1%) exceeded those who rated theirs “fair” (12.4%).

If your clients took this survey, do you know how you’d rank? How do you gauge the level of your customer’s satisfaction? Do you conduct surveys? Interviews? Write to us and let us know, or post your comments below.