Affecting the Bottom LineStaff positions in many organiza-tions may constitute up to 40percent of the workforce.Among the qualities engineers,personnel, systems analysts, purchasing agents and humanresources professionals have incommon are expertise and thedesire to have some impact.Often, however, they have limited direct authority over theapplication of their expertise.

In the face of dramatic reductions,however, many staff organiza-tions are reevaluating their role.Human resource groups areseeking to move beyond servingas policemen, implementers ofineffective policies, experts withsolutions in hand or pawns available for manipulation bypowerful line managers.

Staff professionals concernedwith an organization’s humanresources want to partner withmanagers as equals, collaborat-ing to discover solutions to thechallenges facing their organiza-tions. They want to help solveproblems and make a differenceto the bottom line.

Playing a Consulting RoleOrganizations need humanresource professionals tobecome consultants who can beliaisons between departments ordivisions, retaining their status as

experts in their field and actingas a channel or broker for thehuman resources function.

In his book, “FlawlessConsulting: A Guide to GettingYour Expertise Used,” PeterBlock describes a consultant as someone who has some influence over an individual, agroup, or an organization, butwho lacks direct power to makechanges or implement programs.Often consultants are thought ofas a “pair of hands” to imple-ment a predetermined solution toan existing problem. At othertimes, they are asked to fixsomething with their expertise.

Consultants often appear assolutions in search of problems.If the solution works, the line person who chose the solution is a hero. If the implementationfails, the staff consultantbecomes the scapegoat.

Frame of ReferenceChangesThe idea of partnership requiresa new frame of reference forboth managers and humanresources staff. Managers needto work with human resourcesconsultants to solve problemswhile continuing to take respon-sibility for their problems andremain involved through to theimplementation of solutions. For human resources staff, new

perspective is more complex.The task is to maintain the posi-tion of technical expert whilekeeping line manager clientsinvolved and responsible forsolutions to their own problems.

Consultants are changing theway they begin to work onassignments. Human resourcesprofessionals are characteristicallypeople who want to serve. Theycommonly delve into assignmentswith good will, expecting management support for theirrecommendations. If support isnot forthcoming, problems willfollow. Consultants must knowhow to establish quickly a foundation of commitment andresponsibility

Being More HelpfulMost human resources practitionerscome from an earnest perspec-tive: “I only want to be helpful.”They are reluctant to articulatetheir own wants and needs.Client managers usually expressclearly their wants and needs;staff people often find it difficultto do the same, even whenwhat they want is rarely selfishor idiosyncratic. They simplywant to enhance the organiza-tion’s effectiveness. Their adviceis provided to make the organization’s work more effective and productive.

Jeff Delanoy of MichiganConsolidated Gas works hand-in-hand with his internal clients,recognizing that his needs andtheirs have a common founda-tion. “Expressing my needs is a new tool I never used in thepast. Before, I thought I had to do whatever they wanted.Now I know they have as muchresponsibility for meeting myneeds as I have to meet theirs.Instead of causing problems, this attitude wins respect.”

Similarly, Althea Duggins, adepartment trainer for HewlettPackard has learned to say,“Here is what I want so I canmake the project successful. I want it! It’s not just what theproject needs to be successful.”

I was never only staff. I wanted to make a contributionand work in a partnership role with my clients. In fact,

some of my clients in production and marketing used to say, ‘Are you sure you are staff? You certainly don’tact like staff,’” says a human resources professionalfrom a large manufacturing organization. Her remarkexemplifies how staff professionals today are reshapingtheir roles by becoming consultants. No longer is theirmindset “I’m only staff.” Now they are contributors who care about the business as well as the soft issues:“I’m a partner.”

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Consulting SkillsStaff resource professionals needto learn to keep clients focusedon their problems. As developedby Peter Block, a clear processcan be established for humanresources professionals to man-age relationships with clients:

■ Contracting for the work.

■ Making an independent diagnosis of the problems.

■ Giving feedback about per-sonal and organizational datato facilitate decision making.

■ Carrying out the plan.

■ Evaluating the main events.

Successful consulting projects —whether they last ten minutes orten months — follow these fivephases in sequence. Skippingone (or assuming it has beentaken care of) can invite trouble.Skillful consultants are competentin the execution of each step.Successfully completing the business of each phase is theconsultant’s challenge.

Contracting is EssentialA contract, written or not, is anexplicit agreement of what thehuman resources consultant andthe client expect from each otherand how they will work together.

“Every project I’ve had that hasgone south, when I analyze itnow, has failed because thecontracting work was not donewell,” says Arnie Winkler, a senior human resources develop-ment consultant for PacificorpElectric Operations. “Now, I getagreement every time on theboundaries and objectives of theproject. We agree on the kindof information we are going toget. We define my role and the client’s. We agree on theproduct I will deliver and whatsupport and involvement theclient will give me. And we seta time frame.”

Consultants must practice askingfor what they need to serve theproject. They need to discoverhow to hold back from offering

solutions, instead concentratingon making sure their clientsretain ownership of the problem.They should learn to identifytheir clients’ concerns aboutexposure and loss of control,and learn to identify all the play-ers. In addition to the primaryclient (typically a manager) andthe people working in the proj-ect or area of operations, thereare workers in other areas whoprovide assistance or information. Higher levels ofmanagement — for the consult-ant and the client — are oftenforces to contend with, as arepeople affected by changes that might occur. All need to be considered and addressedduring the contracting phase.

“I volunteered for an experimen-tal assignment to coach first lineforemen to be better leaders,”recalls Michael Cristiani, a former consultant staff managerwith McDonnell DouglasElectronic Systems. “I had anagreement with the managerwho made the assignment, but I soon realized I did not havethe cooperation of the forementhemselves. When I began todiscuss a contract with them, I realized I also needed to con-tract with the general foremanand even the superintendent. I finally decided to start at thetop, with the program managerof an entire aircraft operation,and work back down to theforemen. Specifying what theyand I needed at every levelyielded the cooperation thatmade the project successful.”

Giving FeedbackA consultant often must reduce a large amount of data into amanageable set of issues tofeed back to the client.Conveying this information effectively requires consultingskills that include providing allrelevant data, even when thisinformation is not a part of theassignment. Consultants need to be able to give descriptiverather than evaluative feedback.This can include data about the

client’s personal behavior in handling the problem with thetargets of change.

One personnel specialist in thesystems division of a high-techconglomerate was empoweredto play a consulting role ratherthan merely offering technicalexpertise. The manager she was supporting complained ofexcessive turnover because ofinadequate pay and proposeda plan to increase pay to about40 people. The personnel specialist recognized that themanager thought compensationwould be the simple solution.She interviewed several formeremployees and concluded thatpay was not the problem.Instead, she found another majordissatisfaction to address. Thecompany solved the problemeffectively and with considerablyless expense.

To manage the business of thefeedback phase, consultantsshould structure and control feedback meetings that elicitclient reactions and involve them in the choice of next steps.Consultants also should learn the importance of being presentat meetings when action stepsare determined.

Dealing With ResistanceNo matter how reasonably data and recommendations are presented, clients resist, areaction that can be puzzlingand frustrating. Consultants must learn to avoid viewing theresisting client as stubborn andirrational. This can deteriorateinto confrontation. Skilled con-sultants understand that clientsneed to express resistancedirectly in order to learn how to handle a difficult problem.Unless resistance is expressedand addressed, there is littlechance the client will genuinelyaccept and use what the consultant has to offer.

The skills to deal with resistanceinclude being able to identify

T H E N E W R O L E F O R H U M A N R E S O U R C E S T A F F

continues