Internal Consulting Skills Workshops for HR

Traditionally, HR specialists have followed a reactive, transactional model of serving their internal clients, but times are now demanding a more entrepreneurial style of proactive problem-solving. We understand this, and we deliver an Internal Consulting Skills workshop specially designed to help HR professionals prepare for, and then successfully execute their consulting projects.

We deliver the key how-to’s in brief, but clear modules, which will give participants an immediate understanding of both the attitude and the actual steps required to consult successfully and consistently.

The workshop also includes case studies interactive exercise material.

Attendees will also receive a detailed handbook.

Topics Include

• The Role of the Internal Consultant: Improving the client’s condition; Questioning the status quo; Leading client towards transformation.
• Primary Drivers: Relationship-building & trust; Demonstrating competence; Peer relationship management; Networking; Demonstrating Influence & Credibility; Becoming a Trusted Advisor.
• Moving from Transactional To Consultative: Developing a proactive mindset; developing an entrepreneurial mindset; understanding strategic HR principles.
• Identifying the key players in your universe – both inside and outside the organization, as well as outside of HR. Connecting with and understanding these players.
• Developing interpersonal dynamics: Dealing with resistance to change & established culture issues; Resistance to your expertise based on process/content distrust; Anticipating roadblocks; Identifying established obstacles such as groupthink and dependency loops.
• Essential Skills of an Internal Consultant: Framing; Diagnostic; Conflict Management; Project Management; Time Management; Active Listening; Socratic questioning; Delivering feedback; Research methods & statistical analysis; Demonstrating leadership; Orderliness; Record keeping & reporting; Marketing; Presentation Skills.
• Identifying current relevant experience (Exercise): Participants list any experience to date in: Coordinating focus groups; Conducting interviews; Conducting surveys; Facilitation; Planning and Project Management; Team building; Coaching; Training; Succession planning; Crisis Management; Interaction with different hierarchical levels up to and including Senior Executive.
• Essential Written Materials: Documentation of consulting project; The project plan; Contracting with clients; High-level analysis; Granular-level analysis including Work Breakdown Structure; Problem-solving/creativity techniques such as mind mapping and grid analysis.
• Defining and clarifying the issue: Organizational change methods; Interviews; Research techniques.
• Self-directed assessment: Stepping away from the client and assessing the issue individually.
• Delivering proposals to lead client towards change.
• Assisting Change: techniques to assist client in choosing to undertake change, and then helping in implementing the steps.
• Implementation: Resolution contracting; Implementation plans; Implementation Support.
• Closure: Evaluation; Benchmarking: Follow-ups; Hand-offs.
• Ethics.