Posted By GeoffB4 Where did you get the information from Lee and are you prepared to show some of the figures?

Posted By Richard Altoft We are consultants and we never charge a retainer nor do we charge for small queries over the phone or email etc. That way we know our clients or anyone else who needs safety advice will not be scared to call us. We also agree up front any fees and the breakdown of them so clients can budget and get comparisons if they like. We have been offered retainers but then would have to watch or limit what we did in return which is not conducive to being professional and supplying a quality service. Fair's fair. R

Posted By Richard Altoft Yes GeoffB4 "in my opinion". My name is there, the item starts "we" and that should be enough to indicate that it is an opinion.Sorry if you have taken offence. R

Posted By Merv Newman Our position is exactly that of Richard Altoft. Except that we don't even offer retainers. Quite a lot of our work is (unbilled) e-mails and phone calls. I think a retainer would be too constraining ; I would feel obliged to deal with/visit that client as a priority over perhaps a more deserving (tongue in cheek there) client. That said, the idea of a retainer is tempting as it would provide a guaranteed (thank you spellchecker) income stream for at least 12 months. As it is, the potential client ask for a quote, we quote, and we wait (and pray) And there is, on average, a 6 month delay between being asked and cashing the cheque. Much more exciting ! Merv

Posted By Ian G Hutchings We work on monthly fees (fixed annual contract) for some SMEs and have clearly defined service level agreements we work from. Based on the fee levels there are differing levels of time/response. When we work on fixed price one-off projects we have clearly defined terms and deliverables against an invoicing schedule, but quite frequently go further to provide a quality service. Our market is split between SMEs and larger clients, so the needs and budgets do differ. We just need to ensure that the client is aware upfront that they hold accountability for certain aspects, as do we for delivering our services. If there is a greater risk to us than may be usual, our fees and terms and conditions will reflect this exposure. However, we don't take monthly fees without delivering something. Some do and take the risk that goes with poor service. Unfortunately some clients don't realise they have gaps until there is a serious event. Often the fees were the only consideration at the point of purchase, not quality or competence. Hope this helps Ian

Posted By Lee Mac Geoff I cannot name names (breaching a few things me thinks!!) But from looking from some of the previous posts the retainer isn't always for old rope. I guess hiring a consultant is like everything else in this challenging economic climate that we are all facing, it pays to shop around. Lee

Posted By Safety officer Geoff, Do you think you are in need of a consultant? I'm interested why companies use them IMO they are more trouble than they are worth. Can you do it yourself? Or am I off the point?

Posted By David Bannister Safety officer, consultants are used by employers for basically two reasons: insufficient internal resource available or they want objective external opinions and guidance. My clients fall in to both categories, with the former including those who want a specific service that they need but don't have the internal competence to do. Whilst most existing H&S teams may be perfectly competent and resourced to do most things needed there may be a specific task that is beyond them e.g. hygiene monitoring or an ergonomic assessment on a planed new production line. I am bound to say that the clients who hire competent consultants rarely see them as a waste of time or they would not keep paying the fees. The many consultants who use this forum are (I believe) still busy, doing great work with their clients who (in my case) are grateful.

Posted By Lee Mac Geoff I am a member of a local committee and it was brought up in passing at once of our meetings by local company MD and he wasn't being offered half of what has been mentioned in previous posts. Without knowing what is the norm for a retainer cost, maybe he was getting value for money, but I personally would have considered a p/t H&S Officer/Manager. Lee