HR consulting

cg

Someone recommended me to do an HR consulting project. I work fulltime and my employer has
no objection.

What are the pitfalls I should watch out for?

Gillian

Feel free to contact me by E- Mail - [email]shugh@westernu.edu[/email] I was a consultant for 13 years before going to work for one of my clients two years ago.

Margaret Morford

I'm not sure what type of project you are consulting on so my advice is pretty general. First and foremost, to be an effective consultant, the client has to be able to share business problems with you. This means you have to be absolutely trustworthy with confidential information. Many consultants get into trouble because they talk about their clients (or in your case your current employer), their clients' projects or problems or they share what one person in the company told them with another person in the company. Never give a client as a reference or list them as a client without talking with them first. Some of my clients do not wish for any one to know they have used a consultant or that they have had problems they needed help with.

Another temptation is to go in and tell the client everything that's wrong in their operation. Unless you stumble over something unethical or illegal, be careful to stay within the scope of the project. You don't want the client to feel like inviting you in only creates more problems.

Ask lots of questions in the beginning and listen more than you talk. Do not make snap decisions about what the client needs. You will need to learn a great deal about the business quickly. Every company is different and what they need is diffirent. What works at one company is not what works at another. You will have to learn about the company, the management and the employees in order to tailor make a solution that is specifc to that client. Effective consultants are not "one size fits all."

Be sensitive to the fact that people will be suspicious of what you are doing there and some will feel threatened. Communicate well what you are there to do and ask for input. Especially seek out the HR people. They usually have some very incisive things to say about the organization and you will learn a lot about the business quickly. That will help on the buy in for the final product or solution you fashion for the client.

And last, but not least, do not take an assignment where you really cannot help the client, not matter what it pays. For example, do not agree to do team building for a company that has an autocratic senior management group that doesn't wish to change or agree to do an employee feedback project when it is clear the client is not in a position to implement changes or is unwilling to implement changes. You will injure your reputation, injure the company and its employees and you will have accepted the client's money when you really did nothing for them.

Hope this helps. Good luck! If you have any questions about my answer, do not hesitate to call me at 615-371-8200.

Margaret Morford

cg

Thank you so much for your kind offer. I
will be contacting you.

cg

Thank you so much for your good advice.
And I will take you up on the offer to
contact you if I have any further questions.