WHAT DOES A DESIGN CONSULTANT DO?
Published: Oct 15, 2024 - The Design Consultant reviews, documents, and manages requests from client team Project Managers, maintaining a project intake model for ongoing and high-priority projects. Develops and updates an AutoCAD and REVIT standards library, providing assets to external teams for UX space design and assisting with sketch layouts and basic 3D models for clarity. Attends meetings to discuss UX layouts, integrating feedback to enhance design quality and process efficiency, and regularly reports on progress and potential improvements.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Design Consultant
1. Design Consultant Duties
- Request Management: Review, document, and manage requests from client team Project Managers
- Project Intake Management: Maintain a project intake model to manage ongoing, project-specific, and high-priority requests
- Standards Library Development: Develop, maintain, and update an AutoCAD and REVIT standards library for all UX space types
- Asset Provision: Provide standard design assets to external design teams for UX space design
- Design Review: Review and comment on ‘test-fits’ of standard UX spaces for larger projects to assist external design teams
- Layout Sketching: Carry out sketch layouts of UX spaces to assist external design teams for specific projects
- 3D Modeling: Create basic 3D models from architectural drawings to illustrate designs for internal team members
- Design Team Collaboration: Attend design team meetings as required to respond to queries around UX space layouts and feedback on approved layouts
- Process Integration Improvement: Identify opportunities for greater integration with the wider design process to improve quality and efficiency of UX space delivery
- Progress Reporting: Regularly report progress, including identifying priorities, ongoing standards projects, suggested improvements, and any challenges
2. Showroom Design Consultant Details
- Sales Achievement: Responsible for achieving sales, product mix, and pricing (average discount) budgets monthly, quarterly, and annually
- Client Communication: Develop and maintain client base via in-house meetings, telephone, and electronic communications
- Customer Acquisition: Execute all necessary customer acquisition plans that lead to sales
- Showroom Promotion: Promote the branch showroom for use as a selection center for B2B and B2C opportunities, including trade events and promotions
- Industry Participation: Active participation in selected industry organizations (ASID, IIDA, NARI, etc.) and events
- Program Introduction: Introduce and successfully initiate company programs and new product introductions
- Sales Coordination: Coordinate sales efforts with the OSR/BCSS sales team via regular meetings, including sharing leads and market information
- Showroom Maintenance: Responsible for maintaining the showroom, ensuring all displayed products are up-to-date, properly identified, and merchandised effectively
3. Design Consultant Responsibilities
- Customer Service: Greeting customers in the store and answering incoming calls
- Needs Assessment: Determining the customer’s needs and how to fit those needs
- Room Planning: Assist customers with room planning to facilitate implementation
- Customer Relationship Management: Creating a customer base with a maintainable follow-up system
- Sales Order Processing: Handwriting sales orders based on builder’s options and customer’s needs
- Customer Communication: Checking over sales orders and maintaining contact with the customer throughout the building process and beyond
- Store Maintenance: Maintain the store appearance and cleanliness
- Home Consultation: Offer home visits and room plans also
4. Design Consultant Job Summary
- Training Program Design: Design and implement training programs that meet business needs and improve performance. Facilitate Service Training Programs that meet the business's needs and ensure global relevance.
- Program Analysis: Develop a comprehensive understanding of the Contact Centre Training Program end-to-end, identifying areas for process improvement.
- International Training Development: Develop training programs for International Frontline staff.
- Process Improvement Facilitation: Facilitate the implementation of new/improved process models to improve overall efficiency.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Partner with Senior Managers and Product owners to ensure member-facing employees are informed before members about any changes.
- Training Management: Manage technologies and employees in key support roles to develop, manage, and deliver training.
- Governance Oversight: Ensure the governance framework and design authority guidelines are maintained, continuously improved, and appropriately followed, raising risks and issues for escalation.
- HR Partnership: Partner across the HR function to ensure that the methodology and governance are aligned with other key HR products and services.
- Impact Evaluation: Evaluate the impact of structures and change within businesses and functions, and across relevant calibration points, to ensure consistency.
- Strategy Contribution: Contribute to the development of the design strategy and plan, collaborating and leading on related topics to develop a point of view or approach.
- Discipline Embedding: Contribute to embedding organization design as a discipline in HR and the bank, through consulting, partnering, transferring of knowledge, and upskilling.
5. Virtual Workshop Design Consultant Accountabilities
- Strategic Collaboration: Collaborate with senior leaders and experts across the organization in strategically designing outcome-based meetings and workshops, building solutions, and facilitating sessions.
- Workshop Leadership: Lead the workshop design and coordinate the end-to-end meeting experience.
- Partner Collaboration: Collaborate and provide direction to key partners and experts across the organization in developing the workshop design, building solutions, and facilitating workshops.
- Resource Forecasting: Forecast and plan resourcing of the working team on the side of the virtual workshop capability team.
- Pipeline Management: Create own pipeline of work to ensure continuous productivity of the workshop capability.
- Strategic Development: Develop strategic approaches to build and influence interactions and liaise with project manager to set timelines, deliverables, and owners.
- Facilitation Training: Provide consultation and advice to train and prepare facilitators, and external speakers and create tools and surveys, including post-session surveys for continuous improvement.
- Outcome Management: Develop and maintain outcomes, actions, and questions, ensuring they are properly recorded and actioned, and appropriately managed afterwards.
- Capability Enhancement: Leverage learnings to continuously improve the virtual workshop capability.
- Thought Leadership: Provide expert thought leadership in the field and work with limited direction, using additional research and interpretation to identify issues or problems.