Finding the right participants for specific roles in enterprise IT projects is challenging, particularly under time constraints. This pressure often results in compromise, where the urgency to hire leads to the selection of immediately available candidates rather than those best suited to the roles. Understanding engagement options and typical participant traits helps structure project teams to make the best use of each type’s strengths and support informed resource allocation.

• Consultants: Provide expert advice and specialised knowledge for strategic objectives, employed by consulting firms.
• Contractors: Deliver task-focused skills for specific projects, engaged as self-employed individuals without long-term commitment.
• Permanent employees: Contribute stability and organisational knowledge, seconded from long-term roles. 

The strengths and risks outlined below reflect patterns commonly observed in practice.

Consultants

Consultants are typically engaged for the duration of the project or for specific project phases to provide strategic input, innovative solutions, and external perspectives from broad exposure to diverse IT environments. They serve as flexible resources that can be deployed quickly to address critical project needs. While consultants offer value through experience and specialist knowledge, their engagement introduces specific risks that must be actively managed.

Risks and mitigation strategies include:

• Some consultants hold senior titles that overstate their actual capability, which leads to inaccurate assumptions during resourcing decisions. To address this, organisations should vet individual experience and skills directly, beyond titles or the consultancy’s brand, and hold consultants accountable for delivering work that matches their represented expertise.
• Consulting firms prioritise commercial growth by expanding headcount, which inflates costs and complicates delivery. This can be mitigated by defining a clear statement of work that sets fixed resource limits and outlines specific role contributions.
• Some consultants limit transparency by putting a positive spin on progress updates to protect the perceived value of their engagement. To maintain control, organisations should maintain visibility into day-to-day project activity and avoid relying solely on firm-led status reporting. Although listed under consultants, similar behaviours are common in internal and contractor management roles. 

Contractors

Contractors are engaged on a short-term basis to provide specialised skills that may not exist within the organisation. They offer flexibility and task-specific delivery without requiring a long-term commitment. However, their engagement introduces risks that may affect delivery quality and team capability.

Risks and mitigation strategies include:

• Some contractors have outdated skills due to inconsistent professional development. To reduce this risk, organisations should assess candidates for current knowledge and evidence of active learning.
• A task-oriented mindset leads contractors to focus on isolated delivery rather than overall outcomes. This risk can be reduced by providing contractors with an understanding of how their work fits into the broader project and reinforcing shared responsibility for overall delivery.
• Contractors who do not transfer knowledge during their engagement leave the business with critical knowledge gaps that undermine post-implementation support and service continuity. Introducing structured knowledge transfer protocols helps the organisation keep critical knowledge in-house. 

Permanent Employees

Permanent employees are seconded to IT projects to contribute knowledge of business operations, systems, and organisational standards. They provide continuity and alignment with the organisation’s long-term objectives. Although their engagement supports project integration, there are known risks that must be addressed.

Risks and mitigation strategies include:

• Permanent employees in non-leadership roles view external resources as rivals for desirable project roles. In contrast, permanent employees in leadership roles, who are responsible for bringing in external support, usually recognise the need for specialist capability. To reduce this risk, organisations should communicate the purpose of external engagement and clarify roles to support collaboration rather than competition.
• Limited exposure to external project practices can reduce adaptability to unfamiliar delivery methods. This risk can be mitigated by providing project-specific training and aligning the full team around a shared delivery approach.
• Balancing project responsibilities with operational duties commonly leads to burnout unless managed proactively. Organisations can address this by setting clear work priorities early and providing additional support to internal staff, so they remain productive without becoming overloaded. 

Comparing Participant Traits

Understanding the distinct traits of consultants, contractors, and permanent employees is essential for a high-functioning team composition in enterprise IT projects. Table 21 compares the typical characteristics observed across these participant types. It is important to note that these traits are generalised, and individual characteristics may vary.

This comparison supports participant alignment with project needs by:

• Matching roles to strengths, such as consultants for strategy and contractors for implementation.
• Informing engagement decisions based on team composition and project demands.
• Combining diverse strengths, like contractors’ practical skills with permanent employees’ organisational knowledge, to enhance project outcomes.