What is The Expertise Exchange?
The Expertise Exchange (ExEx) is a platform through which individuals, businesses and organisations can find and engage experienced people for consultancy, projects, interim and fractional roles, mentoring, advisory work and other assignments.
It also provides routes for people wishing to develop ideas, buy or sell businesses, explore business opportunities or offer specialist expertise.
What is an Expertise Partner?
An Expertise Partner is an experienced individual registered with ExEx who wishes to make their knowledge, skills and experience available to others.
They may be retired, semi-retired, independently employed, between roles or simply looking for a different way to use their expertise.
Is ExEx a recruitment agency?
Not simply.
Recruitment may form part of the service, but ExEx is designed to facilitate a much wider range of relationships — from a few hours of specialist advice to an ongoing fractional role, interim appointment, project or permanent position.
Why doesn't ExEx simply introduce the two parties?
Because an introduction alone provides relatively little value or protection.
ExEx is intended to provide a managed framework covering the opportunity, agreed scope, commercial terms, payment arrangements and appropriate documentation.
This allows both parties to know where they stand before work begins.
Why does ExEx handle the financial transaction?
To provide a clear, secure and auditable payment process for both parties.
The Client knows what has been agreed and what payment is required. The Expertise Partner has confidence that appropriate payment arrangements are in place before undertaking the work.
ExEx manages the transaction in accordance with the agreed terms and maintains the appropriate records.
This also means that Expertise Partners should not normally have to chase Clients for payment.
Who decides what an Expertise Partner should charge?
The commercial terms of an engagement are agreed before work begins.
ExEx may provide a framework to help the parties reach an agreement, but the appropriate fee will depend upon the nature of the expertise required, the work involved, its duration and the level of responsibility.
How does ExEx get paid?
ExEx earns revenue from the services it provides.
Depending upon the type of opportunity, this may include membership, search, engagement, recruitment, transaction or other clearly identified fees.
The applicable charges will be made clear before a Client or Expertise Partner enters into a chargeable transaction.
Is an Expertise Partner employed by ExEx?
Normally, no.
ExEx facilitates and manages the engagement between the parties. The precise contractual and employment status will depend upon the nature of the particular engagement and will be established before work begins.
What is Fractional Employment?
Fractional Employment enables an organisation to access experienced senior or specialist expertise for only the proportion of time it actually requires.
For example, a growing company might need an experienced Finance Director, Marketing Director or Operations Director one or two days each week rather than employing someone full-time.
It allows the organisation to access high-level expertise economically while enabling experienced professionals to work flexibly, potentially with more than one organisation.
What happens if the scope of the work changes?
The parties should agree any material change to the scope, timescale or cost before the additional work is undertaken.
Where appropriate, the ExEx engagement record can then be updated so that both parties have a clear record of what has been agreed.
What happens if something goes wrong?
ExEx provides a defined route through which either party can raise a concern.
The first objective will normally be to establish what was agreed, identify the problem and help the parties reach a sensible resolution.
The contractual documentation will set out the formal position where an issue cannot be resolved informally.
Does ExEx guarantee the work of an Expertise Partner?
No individual or organisation can sensibly guarantee the outcome of every professional engagement.
ExEx can undertake appropriate checks, provide a structured engagement process and maintain records of what has been agreed.
The Expertise Partner remains responsible for performing the work they have agreed to undertake.
How are Expertise Partners verified?
The level of verification will depend upon the nature of the work.
Where appropriate this may include identity, qualifications, professional standing, references, insurance or other relevant checks.
ExEx may coordinate independent verification services where specialist checking is required.
Can an Expertise Partner work for several Clients?
Yes.
Indeed, this is an important part of the ExEx concept, particularly for fractional, advisory and project work.
Any engagement remains subject to the Expertise Partner's availability and appropriate confidentiality and conflict-of-interest requirements.
How is confidential information protected?
Clients and Expertise Partners may need to exchange commercially sensitive information.
The ExEx contractual framework will therefore include appropriate confidentiality provisions, with additional Non-Disclosure Agreements available where the circumstances require them.
Who owns intellectual property created during an engagement?
That will depend upon the nature of the engagement.
Where intellectual property may be created, ownership and permitted use should be agreed before substantive work begins rather than left to assumption.
Can a Client and Expertise Partner simply deal directly with each other after meeting through ExEx?
ExEx invests in finding, matching and bringing the parties together and in providing the framework within which the relationship operates.
The agreements will therefore set out when an engagement introduced through ExEx should continue to be managed through ExEx and the circumstances in which the parties may subsequently deal directly.
Does everything have to become a formal engagement?
No.
An initial conversation may establish that the parties are not suited to each other or that the proposed opportunity should not proceed.
The purpose of ExEx is to help worthwhile relationships develop — not to force every introduction into a transaction.
Why use ExEx rather than simply search online?
Because finding a name is relatively easy. Finding the right expertise, establishing the relationship and managing the engagement is harder.
ExEx is intended to combine search and matching with verification, engagement management and payment administration in one place.
Its purpose is simple: to make valuable expertise easier to find, engage and use.