The term ‘HR consultant’ means different things to different people. It elicits a variety of responses based on people’s personal experiences at work. Some might think of recruitment, whilst others think of training, learning and development. It wouldn’t surprise me to see people roll their eyes and allude to a negative experience involving disciplinary action, dismissal or redundancy.
According to Google …
“An HR consultant is an integral asset to any HR team. They are usually responsible for ensuring an organisation’s capital serves the best interests of the company and advising on a number of issues involving a company’s workforce.”
Read that to someone and watch their eyes glaze over!
Let me attempt my own explanation …
As an HR consultant, I get approached by businesses when there’s a problem to be fixed. I act as a troubleshooter, firefighting a problem that has already occurred. Experience has taught me that most staffing/HR problems occur due to ineffective communication. The wrong message is communicated and confusion then follows.
When things go wrong, my role is to advise on a course of action. The advice I provide is designed to resolve the problem and protect your business.
Sounds simple?
In theory it is. Ask a selection of HR professionals and you’ll get similar solutions for resolving a problem. We go through the same training, but the difference is the environment we trained in. I trained in the public sector, understanding bureaucracy and the importance of the audit trail. When I moved to the commercial sector, the issues were similar but the approach was based on the financial impact the action would have on a business. You can approach a problem in the same way, but the outcome depends on the individual organisation.
So, what is an HR consultant?
An HR consultant supports the growth of a business, ensuring your business needs are met by the workforce. HR must meet the needs of an individual business, with its own idiosyncrasies and singular requirements and expectations. This ensures a business operates at its optimum level with minimum distractions.
Want to know more?
Don’t wait for me to blog about it to find out more! Drop me an email at [email protected] or call 0345 095 0139 for an informal, no obligation chat about how Morgan Thomson can support you and your staff.