February 20, 2025 • 19 mins
Not all consultants are created equal—and choosing the wrong one can cost you everything.
In this episode, Angela Connell-Richards reveals the hidden dangers of hiring cheap, inexperienced consultants—and why “you get what you pay for” is more true than ever in RTO land.
You’ll hear real stories (including one facing a tribunal 😱), learn how to spot red flags 🚩, and discover the must-ask questions before trusting someone with your compliance.
🎯 Key Takeaways:
- Why cutting corners = costly audits + legal drama
- Red flags to avoid at all costs
- What a real compliance partner looks like
🎧 Press play and protect your RTO before it’s too late!
Join host Angela Connell-Richards as she opens each episode with a burst of insight and inspiration. Discover why compliance is your launchpad to success, not a limitation.
Wrap up with gratitude and guidance. Subscribe, leave a review, and join our community as we continue supporting your compliance journey in vocational education.
Thank you for tuning in to the RTO Superhero Podcast!
We’re excited to have you join us as we focus on the Revised Standards for RTOs in 2025. Together, we’ll explore key changes, compliance strategies, and actionable insights to help your RTO thrive under the new standards.
Stay connected with the RTO Community:
📌 Don’t forget to:
✔ Subscribe to the RTO Superhero Podcast so you never miss an episode!
✔ Share this episode with your RTO network—compliance is a team effort!
🎙 Listen now and get ahead of the compliance changes before it’s too late!
📢 Want even more compliance insights? Subscribe to our EduStream YouTube Channel for our FAQ series on the New Standards for RTOs 2025! 🎥
🔗 Subscribe now: EduStream by Vivacity Coaching
✉️ Email us at hello@vivacity.com.au
📞 Call us on 1300 729 455
🖥️ Visit us at vivacity.com.au
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Angela Connell-Richards (00:01):
Welcome , superheroes, to another
episode of the RTO SuperheroPodcast.
I'm your host, AngelaConnell-Richards, and today
we're diving into the crucialtopic that could mean the
difference between success andfailure in your RTO journey
choosing the right RTOconsultant.
I've seen firsthand whathappens when RTOs put their
(00:26):
trust in the wrong consultants.
Recently, a potential clientcame to us after their initial
registration audit with Theyhad.
been working with a consultantfor over two years and during
that they had never, ever, beento the ASQA website or read the
(00:47):
user guide from ASQA.
they are facing a tribunalhearing just to try and get her
RTO across the line.
This is a very hard lesson inthe phrase buyer beware, because
in the world of compliance youtruly pay for what you get.
So I've seen this time and timeagain where a client has come
(01:10):
to us because they've hired aconsultant.
They've thought they were goingwith the cheaper option and
then ended up paying a lot morebecause either they were
non-compliant so they needed todo rectifications or the
consultant just kept adding moreonto their bill.
So we need to be aware of, andit really annoys me, when RTO
(01:33):
consultants are not servingtheir customers.
They're not looking after them,they're just there to take
their money, and that'sdefinitely not what we do here
at Vivacity.
So what are the risks ofchoosing the wrong consultant?
Well, not all consultants arecreated equally.
Some promise the world butdeliver a disaster, and we've
(01:56):
seen many of those.
And the last thing I want to dois work with a client that's
gone through a disaster.
But we'll do it if we've gottime, if we've got time to get
them prepared.
In the case of this client, arecent client, we actually
recommended that they withdrawtheir registration and start
again because there were so manycritical non-compliances that
(02:18):
they it was just irreparable,like there's so much work that
they've got to do, and the bigpart was with this consultant
that they hired.
They only saw the consultanttwice in that two-year period
and they were only provided theforms and documentation, the
policies and procedures, the daybefore the ASQA audit, so they
(02:42):
weren't even trained on how touse all the materials before
they went to audit.
Now the big thing is, whenyou're audited by ASQA, you are
audited not the RTO consultant.
It is the CEO, the fit andproper person, the director of
the organisation, it is not theRTO consultant.
(03:02):
They need to ensure that you'reready to be able to run an RTO
or continue to run an RTO ifyou're going for re-registration
.
So what are the risks ofchoosing the wrong consultant?
Not all consultants are createdequally.
Some promise the world butdeliver disaster.
Many RTO owners don't realisethat poor advice can cost them
(03:26):
their business, their investmentand their peace of mind.
The consequences of badconsulting is you could fail
your audit, like that is thebiggest, like we won't take
anybody to audit if we don'tthink that they're ready.
Now.
We may get some minornon-compliances because you have
the idiosyncrasies of differentauditors who have their own
(03:50):
opinion on how things should bedone.
But we are prepared for theworst case scenario when it
comes to working with ourclients and going to audit.
The other one is havingnon-compliant systems and
documentation that you then needto rectify, expensive rework
and legal battles.
Like this client has ended upgoing to tribunal and now
(04:10):
they've had to hire a lawyer andthey haven't even got their
ASQA bill yet.
So there's a lot more to comewhen they've even got to
consider the bill that they'regoing to get from ASQA.
So possible ASQA sanctionswhereby, yes, we're going to
(04:33):
approve you, but you're onlyallowed to have two units of
competency for the first twoyears and we're not going to let
you deliver training online orsomething like that, so they
could restrict different thingsthat you could do.
Also, you could get rejectionof your registration or even
cancellation of yourregistration due to not being
prepared for re-registration.
Okay, what are the red flagswhen hiring an RTO consultant?
(04:57):
So before you sign thatcontract, look for these warning
signs Lack of transparency.
If they can't clearly explaintheir methodology or avoid
answering direct questions, bewary.
Like they really should knowtheir process.
Just to start with Number two,no emphasis on compliance
(05:20):
education.
A good consultant teaches youthe standards, not just hands
you over the templates and say,bye off you go, you can go do
your audit now.
Like you should know how toimplement those documents into
your organization not just you,but your whole team.
They promise quick fixes.
If it sounds too good to betrue, it probably is.
(05:45):
There is no quick fixes when itcomes to RTO compliance.
There is so much involved withcompliance and your RTO and
there's so many variances.
It all depends on where are youlocated.
What training products do youhave in your scope?
Who are your learner cohort?
Do they have disabilities?
(06:10):
Are they from a non-Englishspeaking background?
Are they international students?
There are so many variablesthat you need to take into
consideration.
There is never a quick fix.
Number four no references orproven track record.
Always ask for clienttestimonials and check for real
world results.
Do they have any testimonials?
If they don't, that's anothervery scary, weary thing that you
(06:35):
should be concerned about.
Number five they do everythingfor you.
A consultant should work withyou, not just hand over all of
the documents and disappear Likewhen ASQA.
As I said earlier, when ASQAcome to audit you, they're
auditing you, not your RTOconsultant.
(06:57):
They want to make sure that youknow what you are doing within
your RTO.
You understand your trainingand assessment strategies.
You understand your policies,procedures, forms and
documentation and how toimplement them within your RTO.
Number six check their LinkedInprofile First of all.
(07:17):
Do they have a LinkedIn profile?
If they don't have a LinkedInprofile, what are they hiding
Like?
Why don't they have a profilethat clearly explains who they
are?
Look at their experiences,endorsements and professional
connections.
A well-connected and respectedconsultant is a very good sign.
(07:40):
Number seven is their websitecompliant?
So this client who came to us,we checked out the consultant
that they used previously.
I went to their website and thewebsite was unsecure.
They didn't even have a secureURL, so I had to take the risk
(08:01):
to go through this unsecuredwebsite to see what they were.
I couldn't even find anythingon the website about who owns
the organisation or who are theconsultants, and they talked
about that they have a team ofconsultants, but there was no
evidence in there of a team ofconsultants.
The other thing that was on thewebsite there was no photos of
(08:22):
them.
There were stock photos thatthey used across the website.
There was no photos of them.
There were stock photos thatthey used across the website and
there was no photos of them.
Who are you working with?
When it comes to working with aconsultant, you want to know
who it is that you're workingwith, so ensure their website
meets privacy and securitystandards, including having a
visible privacy policy andsecure contact forms on their
(08:45):
website.
You want to make sure that yourdetails, any data that you're
entering, is going to be secureand you're not going to be
hacked later on.
Okay, number eight check forGoogle, facebook and LinkedIn
reviews.
Look for consistent positivefeedback and beware of multiple
negative reviews or complaintsabout poor service.
If they don't have any reviews?
(09:07):
Why not?
Are they hiding something?
You should have your reviews onyour website, so any good
consultant would have theirreviews on their website through
, like.
We have a plugin on our websitethat has Google reviews and
Facebook reviews that go intothe website and they're actually
from all of our real clientsthat we have been working with.
(09:31):
So you should be looking at,like, what sort of feedback
they've got.
Before we go and audit a client, an RTO, we will actually check
out their Google reviews andsee what sort of feedback
they've got on their RTO.
And I tell you, I've seen somereally bad Google reviews on
RTOs and that makes me very wary.
(09:52):
Asqa do the same thing.
Asqa auditors will check yourreviews out as well, because
they want to know what's goingon and whether students have
been not treated right when itcomes to their training.
So you want to know who you'reworking with.
Number nine beware of cheapupfront pricing with hidden
(10:12):
costs.
Some consultants offer a lowinitial price and later add
extra fees for essentialservices, saying things like
well, now you need to pay extrafor that.
If you want the icing on top,now you need to pay extra for
that.
If you want the icing on top.
You need to pay extra for that.
They're not clear andtransparent, upfront about what
(10:33):
are all the costs involved withstarting an RTO or
re-registration.
What are all the processes inthere?
Number 10, clients returningfor fixes.
If clients are frequentlyreturning to redo their initial
registration because ofconsultant errors, that's a
(10:53):
major red flag.
Okay, now that we've talkedabout the red flags, let's look
at how to choose the right RTOconsultant.
First of all, do your homework.
Visit the Asgore website andread the user guide for RTOs
yourself.
Make sure that you're wellprepared.
(11:14):
Now the problem is with thisclient that came to us, which
spurred on.
The reason why I'm doing thispodcast is because I hate it
when I see people who have justbeen used by a consultant and
just to get money out of them,like they're not actually there
to ensure that they're beinglooked after, like that's.
(11:36):
Our core values is above andbeyond, and ethical integrity is
another one and we want to makesure that.
Open and honest.
We want our clients to be openand honest, but we are also open
and honest and we'll bebrutally honest if we think
you're not ready to go to audit.
We want to make sure thatyou're fully prepared.
We also want to make sure thatyou actually understand what are
(12:00):
the ASQA requirements and whatare the requirements of the
legislation.
The thing is with this client,the consultant they hired didn't
train them in anything and wasmade it easy.
They were so naive and didn'tunderstand what their rights
were and what were therequirements of the standards,
that they just believed anythingthat the consultant said, okay.
(12:23):
Number two look for industryexperience.
Work with someone whounderstands compliance inside
and out.
They've got experience inrunning RTOs.
They've had experience inauditing.
They've had assessor, an RTOsorry a training manager, a CEO,
(12:47):
a training coordinator, an RTOmanager like.
I've worked in all of thoseareas.
I've worked as a trainerassessor.
I delivered cert two to diplomain business, so I've got a lot
of experience in the trainingsector over 30 years.
So you want to look at how muchexperience do they have and
have they actually got relevantcompliance experience and are
(13:10):
they passionate about that?
Do they have a podcast?
Do they have a blog?
Do they talk about what they dofor a living?
Is it clear on their website?
You want to know who you'reworking with.
Number three ask for casestudies.
Have they successfully helpedRTOs pass audits before.
(13:32):
Ask for case studies.
What are they?
Who have they worked for before?
What were the scenarios?
Where were they when they beganwith the consultant and where
were they when they completedwith the consultant?
Are they there?
Are they still clients like?
We have an ongoing membership inour part of our process is we
really want to look after ourclients ongoing, so we have a
(13:54):
membership program where we lookafter our clients with all of
their training.
We deliver four webinars amonth.
One's trainers, pd.
We have vet compliance, pd.
We also have the eight criticaldrivers to RTO success.
And number five we actuallyhave a workshop that we deliver
every month on the at the momentis the revised standards.
(14:15):
So we're teaching you how toimplement into your RTO.
So, yeah, ask for case studies.
Number four ensure they alignwith your business goals.
They should help you build asustainable and compliant RTO,
not just get you across the line.
They should be there to helpyou build this business.
(14:37):
And that's for initial orre-registration.
It's like, let's face it, wecannot survive on compliance
alone.
We need to have a successfulbusiness.
So you should be looking at aconsultant that can also coach
you in the business side ofrunning your RTO, and that's
where we go back to industryexperience.
(14:58):
Do they actually know how torun an RTO and do they
understand all of that Now?
Next one is ongoing support.
Compliance isn't a set andforget process.
Your consultant should offercontinuous guidance and training
and coaching and mentoring toensure that you are maintaining
(15:20):
your compliance requirements andprofessional development as
well, and that you have updatedpolicies, procedures and
documentation that is compliantwith the standards, and they're
continually updated so that theyare always compliant.
Okay, now let's talk about costcutting.
(15:41):
You know, if you're looking fora cheap consultant, that could
be the most expensive mistakeyou ever make, because it could
end up costing you way more thanit would have if you just hired
the good consultant, the onethat's going to provide you with
all of that training andsupport.
Then the consultant who's justgoing to go.
(16:03):
Oh, now I just go, I've got youon my line.
I'm going to now add more tothe bill and sell more to you.
And now you're stuck becauseyou're working with me.
So don't cut corners.
Really think about theconsultant and who you're
working with, and whether theyare going to suit you and your
organization and your team, andare they going to support you.
(16:27):
Rework, legal fees and appealscan cost tens of thousands of
dollars.
It's not little.
Your ASQA fees alone can be,I've heard, like $50,000 just
for your audit.
So you want to make sure thatyou've got the right person
who's not going to waste Asqua'stime and you end up paying for
(16:50):
a very expensive audit becauseyou've had to go back and forth
with all of your non-compliancesto get them rectified.
Now the stress, time andreputation damage are not worth.
The initial savings you reallyneed to think about well are not
worth the initial savings.
You really need to think aboutwell.
Who's going to best support youthrough this process, whether
(17:12):
it's initial or re-registration.
Who's going to best support youand your team, train them on
what they need to do and makesure that they're fully aware of
what they need to know in orderto be prepared for an audit.
Many RTO owners who choose acheaper consultant end up paying
(17:34):
far more when they return to areputable consultant to fix
their registration application.
We've seen that many, manytimes.
You've already paid out allthis money to your consultant
and then you need to findanother consultant who can now
fix everything, and sometimes itis more work for us to fix
(17:55):
everything than it would be foryou to just start again.
And case in point is the reasonwhy I'm doing this podcast this
client that came to us recently.
So, when it comes to setting upyour RTO, choosing the right
consultant is one of the mostimportant decisions you will
make.
If you don't do your duediligence, you could end up in a
(18:17):
situation like our potentialclient stuck in tribunal
hearings and trying to fix twoyears of mistakes.
Don't gamble with your future.
Invest in quality, invest incompliance and invest in the
right consultant for you andyour team.
If you want to work with anexperienced team that knows what
(18:40):
it takes to succeed, reach outto Vivacity.
We've helped hundreds of RTOsand we get it right the first
time.
We also guarantee our policies,procedures, forms and
documentation.
If there's any non-complianceswith our docs, we will rectify
them no additional cost, and wewill make sure that you are
(19:04):
prepared for audit.
So thanks for tuning in to theRTO Superhero Podcast.
If you found this episodevaluable, please subscribe,
share and let's make complianceyour superpower.
Welcome , superheroes, to another
episode of the RTO SuperheroPodcast.
I'm your host, AngelaConnell-Richards, and today
we're diving into the crucialtopic that could mean the
difference between success andfailure in your RTO journey
choosing the right RTOconsultant.
I've seen firsthand whathappens when RTOs put their
(00:26):
trust in the wrong consultants.
Recently, a potential clientcame to us after their initial
registration audit with Theyhad.
been working with a consultantfor over two years and during
that they had never, ever, beento the ASQA website or read the
(00:47):
user guide from ASQA.
they are facing a tribunalhearing just to try and get her
RTO across the line.
This is a very hard lesson inthe phrase buyer beware, because
in the world of compliance youtruly pay for what you get.
So I've seen this time and timeagain where a client has come
(01:10):
to us because they've hired aconsultant.
They've thought they were goingwith the cheaper option and
then ended up paying a lot morebecause either they were
non-compliant so they needed todo rectifications or the
consultant just kept adding moreonto their bill.
So we need to be aware of, andit really annoys me, when RTO
(01:33):
consultants are not servingtheir customers.
They're not looking after them,they're just there to take
their money, and that'sdefinitely not what we do here
at Vivacity.
So what are the risks ofchoosing the wrong consultant?
Well, not all consultants arecreated equally.
Some promise the world butdeliver a disaster, and we've
(01:56):
seen many of those.
And the last thing I want to dois work with a client that's
gone through a disaster.
But we'll do it if we've gottime, if we've got time to get
them prepared.
In the case of this client, arecent client, we actually
recommended that they withdrawtheir registration and start
again because there were so manycritical non-compliances that
(02:18):
they it was just irreparable,like there's so much work that
they've got to do, and the bigpart was with this consultant
that they hired.
They only saw the consultanttwice in that two-year period
and they were only provided theforms and documentation, the
policies and procedures, the daybefore the ASQA audit, so they
(02:42):
weren't even trained on how touse all the materials before
they went to audit.
Now the big thing is, whenyou're audited by ASQA, you are
audited not the RTO consultant.
It is the CEO, the fit andproper person, the director of
the organisation, it is not theRTO consultant.
(03:02):
They need to ensure that you'reready to be able to run an RTO
or continue to run an RTO ifyou're going for re-registration
.
So what are the risks ofchoosing the wrong consultant?
Not all consultants are createdequally.
Some promise the world butdeliver disaster.
Many RTO owners don't realisethat poor advice can cost them
(03:26):
their business, their investmentand their peace of mind.
The consequences of badconsulting is you could fail
your audit, like that is thebiggest, like we won't take
anybody to audit if we don'tthink that they're ready.
Now.
We may get some minornon-compliances because you have
the idiosyncrasies of differentauditors who have their own
(03:50):
opinion on how things should bedone.
But we are prepared for theworst case scenario when it
comes to working with ourclients and going to audit.
The other one is havingnon-compliant systems and
documentation that you then needto rectify, expensive rework
and legal battles.
Like this client has ended upgoing to tribunal and now
(04:10):
they've had to hire a lawyer andthey haven't even got their
ASQA bill yet.
So there's a lot more to comewhen they've even got to
consider the bill that they'regoing to get from ASQA.
So possible ASQA sanctionswhereby, yes, we're going to
(04:33):
approve you, but you're onlyallowed to have two units of
competency for the first twoyears and we're not going to let
you deliver training online orsomething like that, so they
could restrict different thingsthat you could do.
Also, you could get rejectionof your registration or even
cancellation of yourregistration due to not being
prepared for re-registration.
Okay, what are the red flagswhen hiring an RTO consultant?
(04:57):
So before you sign thatcontract, look for these warning
signs Lack of transparency.
If they can't clearly explaintheir methodology or avoid
answering direct questions, bewary.
Like they really should knowtheir process.
Just to start with Number two,no emphasis on compliance
(05:20):
education.
A good consultant teaches youthe standards, not just hands
you over the templates and say,bye off you go, you can go do
your audit now.
Like you should know how toimplement those documents into
your organization not just you,but your whole team.
They promise quick fixes.
If it sounds too good to betrue, it probably is.
(05:45):
There is no quick fixes when itcomes to RTO compliance.
There is so much involved withcompliance and your RTO and
there's so many variances.
It all depends on where are youlocated.
What training products do youhave in your scope?
Who are your learner cohort?
Do they have disabilities?
(06:10):
Are they from a non-Englishspeaking background?
Are they international students?
There are so many variablesthat you need to take into
consideration.
There is never a quick fix.
Number four no references orproven track record.
Always ask for clienttestimonials and check for real
world results.
Do they have any testimonials?
If they don't, that's anothervery scary, weary thing that you
(06:35):
should be concerned about.
Number five they do everythingfor you.
A consultant should work withyou, not just hand over all of
the documents and disappear Likewhen ASQA.
As I said earlier, when ASQAcome to audit you, they're
auditing you, not your RTOconsultant.
(06:57):
They want to make sure that youknow what you are doing within
your RTO.
You understand your trainingand assessment strategies.
You understand your policies,procedures, forms and
documentation and how toimplement them within your RTO.
Number six check their LinkedInprofile First of all.
(07:17):
Do they have a LinkedIn profile?
If they don't have a LinkedInprofile, what are they hiding
Like?
Why don't they have a profilethat clearly explains who they
are?
Look at their experiences,endorsements and professional
connections.
A well-connected and respectedconsultant is a very good sign.
(07:40):
Number seven is their websitecompliant?
So this client who came to us,we checked out the consultant
that they used previously.
I went to their website and thewebsite was unsecure.
They didn't even have a secureURL, so I had to take the risk
(08:01):
to go through this unsecuredwebsite to see what they were.
I couldn't even find anythingon the website about who owns
the organisation or who are theconsultants, and they talked
about that they have a team ofconsultants, but there was no
evidence in there of a team ofconsultants.
The other thing that was on thewebsite there was no photos of
(08:22):
them.
There were stock photos thatthey used across the website.
There was no photos of them.
There were stock photos thatthey used across the website and
there was no photos of them.
Who are you working with?
When it comes to working with aconsultant, you want to know
who it is that you're workingwith, so ensure their website
meets privacy and securitystandards, including having a
visible privacy policy andsecure contact forms on their
(08:45):
website.
You want to make sure that yourdetails, any data that you're
entering, is going to be secureand you're not going to be
hacked later on.
Okay, number eight check forGoogle, facebook and LinkedIn
reviews.
Look for consistent positivefeedback and beware of multiple
negative reviews or complaintsabout poor service.
If they don't have any reviews?
(09:07):
Why not?
Are they hiding something?
You should have your reviews onyour website, so any good
consultant would have theirreviews on their website through
, like.
We have a plugin on our websitethat has Google reviews and
Facebook reviews that go intothe website and they're actually
from all of our real clientsthat we have been working with.
(09:31):
So you should be looking at,like, what sort of feedback
they've got.
Before we go and audit a client, an RTO, we will actually check
out their Google reviews andsee what sort of feedback
they've got on their RTO.
And I tell you, I've seen somereally bad Google reviews on
RTOs and that makes me very wary.
(09:52):
Asqa do the same thing.
Asqa auditors will check yourreviews out as well, because
they want to know what's goingon and whether students have
been not treated right when itcomes to their training.
So you want to know who you'reworking with.
Number nine beware of cheapupfront pricing with hidden
(10:12):
costs.
Some consultants offer a lowinitial price and later add
extra fees for essentialservices, saying things like
well, now you need to pay extrafor that.
If you want the icing on top,now you need to pay extra for
that.
If you want the icing on top.
You need to pay extra for that.
They're not clear andtransparent, upfront about what
(10:33):
are all the costs involved withstarting an RTO or
re-registration.
What are all the processes inthere?
Number 10, clients returningfor fixes.
If clients are frequentlyreturning to redo their initial
registration because ofconsultant errors, that's a
(10:53):
major red flag.
Okay, now that we've talkedabout the red flags, let's look
at how to choose the right RTOconsultant.
First of all, do your homework.
Visit the Asgore website andread the user guide for RTOs
yourself.
Make sure that you're wellprepared.
(11:14):
Now the problem is with thisclient that came to us, which
spurred on.
The reason why I'm doing thispodcast is because I hate it
when I see people who have justbeen used by a consultant and
just to get money out of them,like they're not actually there
to ensure that they're beinglooked after, like that's.
(11:36):
Our core values is above andbeyond, and ethical integrity is
another one and we want to makesure that.
Open and honest.
We want our clients to be openand honest, but we are also open
and honest and we'll bebrutally honest if we think
you're not ready to go to audit.
We want to make sure thatyou're fully prepared.
We also want to make sure thatyou actually understand what are
(12:00):
the ASQA requirements and whatare the requirements of the
legislation.
The thing is with this client,the consultant they hired didn't
train them in anything and wasmade it easy.
They were so naive and didn'tunderstand what their rights
were and what were therequirements of the standards,
that they just believed anythingthat the consultant said, okay.
(12:23):
Number two look for industryexperience.
Work with someone whounderstands compliance inside
and out.
They've got experience inrunning RTOs.
They've had experience inauditing.
They've had assessor, an RTOsorry a training manager, a CEO,
(12:47):
a training coordinator, an RTOmanager like.
I've worked in all of thoseareas.
I've worked as a trainerassessor.
I delivered cert two to diplomain business, so I've got a lot
of experience in the trainingsector over 30 years.
So you want to look at how muchexperience do they have and
have they actually got relevantcompliance experience and are
(13:10):
they passionate about that?
Do they have a podcast?
Do they have a blog?
Do they talk about what they dofor a living?
Is it clear on their website?
You want to know who you'reworking with.
Number three ask for casestudies.
Have they successfully helpedRTOs pass audits before.
(13:32):
Ask for case studies.
What are they?
Who have they worked for before?
What were the scenarios?
Where were they when they beganwith the consultant and where
were they when they completedwith the consultant?
Are they there?
Are they still clients like?
We have an ongoing membership inour part of our process is we
really want to look after ourclients ongoing, so we have a
(13:54):
membership program where we lookafter our clients with all of
their training.
We deliver four webinars amonth.
One's trainers, pd.
We have vet compliance, pd.
We also have the eight criticaldrivers to RTO success.
And number five we actuallyhave a workshop that we deliver
every month on the at the momentis the revised standards.
(14:15):
So we're teaching you how toimplement into your RTO.
So, yeah, ask for case studies.
Number four ensure they alignwith your business goals.
They should help you build asustainable and compliant RTO,
not just get you across the line.
They should be there to helpyou build this business.
(14:37):
And that's for initial orre-registration.
It's like, let's face it, wecannot survive on compliance
alone.
We need to have a successfulbusiness.
So you should be looking at aconsultant that can also coach
you in the business side ofrunning your RTO, and that's
where we go back to industryexperience.
(14:58):
Do they actually know how torun an RTO and do they
understand all of that Now?
Next one is ongoing support.
Compliance isn't a set andforget process.
Your consultant should offercontinuous guidance and training
and coaching and mentoring toensure that you are maintaining
(15:20):
your compliance requirements andprofessional development as
well, and that you have updatedpolicies, procedures and
documentation that is compliantwith the standards, and they're
continually updated so that theyare always compliant.
Okay, now let's talk about costcutting.
(15:41):
You know, if you're looking fora cheap consultant, that could
be the most expensive mistakeyou ever make, because it could
end up costing you way more thanit would have if you just hired
the good consultant, the onethat's going to provide you with
all of that training andsupport.
Then the consultant who's justgoing to go.
(16:03):
Oh, now I just go, I've got youon my line.
I'm going to now add more tothe bill and sell more to you.
And now you're stuck becauseyou're working with me.
So don't cut corners.
Really think about theconsultant and who you're
working with, and whether theyare going to suit you and your
organization and your team, andare they going to support you.
(16:27):
Rework, legal fees and appealscan cost tens of thousands of
dollars.
It's not little.
Your ASQA fees alone can be,I've heard, like $50,000 just
for your audit.
So you want to make sure thatyou've got the right person
who's not going to waste Asqua'stime and you end up paying for
(16:50):
a very expensive audit becauseyou've had to go back and forth
with all of your non-compliancesto get them rectified.
Now the stress, time andreputation damage are not worth.
The initial savings you reallyneed to think about well are not
worth the initial savings.
You really need to think aboutwell.
Who's going to best support youthrough this process, whether
(17:12):
it's initial or re-registration.
Who's going to best support youand your team, train them on
what they need to do and makesure that they're fully aware of
what they need to know in orderto be prepared for an audit.
Many RTO owners who choose acheaper consultant end up paying
(17:34):
far more when they return to areputable consultant to fix
their registration application.
We've seen that many, manytimes.
You've already paid out allthis money to your consultant
and then you need to findanother consultant who can now
fix everything, and sometimes itis more work for us to fix
(17:55):
everything than it would be foryou to just start again.
And case in point is the reasonwhy I'm doing this podcast this
client that came to us recently.
So, when it comes to setting upyour RTO, choosing the right
consultant is one of the mostimportant decisions you will
make.
If you don't do your duediligence, you could end up in a
(18:17):
situation like our potentialclient stuck in tribunal
hearings and trying to fix twoyears of mistakes.
Don't gamble with your future.
Invest in quality, invest incompliance and invest in the
right consultant for you andyour team.
If you want to work with anexperienced team that knows what
(18:40):
it takes to succeed, reach outto Vivacity.
We've helped hundreds of RTOsand we get it right the first
time.
We also guarantee our policies,procedures, forms and
documentation.
If there's any non-complianceswith our docs, we will rectify
them no additional cost, and wewill make sure that you are
(19:04):
prepared for audit.
So thanks for tuning in to theRTO Superhero Podcast.
If you found this episodevaluable, please subscribe,
share and let's make complianceyour superpower.
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