Different Roles of an HR Consultant

Posted by maryparker on September 1st, 2012

A company is forever searching for ways to push itself forward when it tries to evaluate itself internally and publicly. Business people generally observe new trends, avenues and expenditures while ignoring the root of all problems - the company’s own systems. This is where an HR consultant enters and implements policies procedures to unblock the route to new developments of the company and also to solve many problems faced by it. Thus human resource is a relatively new concept but nevertheless a crucial factor in the success of the company since it entails gaining maximum efficiency from its workers.

HR consulting refers to the part of management consulting which facilitates management of human capital. It bridges the gap between the top level management and the work force. The main objective of an HR consultant should be to meet the exact objectives of an organization in such a manner that both the interests of the work force and the organization are adequately met. In addition the professional also implements policies procedures and provides guidance to the management on matters pertaining to the productivity of the company’s employees and how to augment the same. 

There are four broad categories into which HR consulting can be classified namely recruitment, system and policies procedures implementation, business process evaluation and compensation management. An HR consultant is expected to look after aspects like outsourcing human capital, talent management, health benefits of employees, their behavior and attitudes, legal counseling and retirement policies. HR consulting is closely related to general management, accounting, information technology, personnel management and legal laws pertaining to the same which is why it is a must-have.

Presence of an HR consultant can make a huge difference in a company irrespective of whether it is newly formed or an established one. He/she should be focused on successfully establishing policies procedures so as to facilitate the functioning of the human resources in an organization. In case of newly created companies, the role of this professional would be to establish guidelines and ensure that the same is being followed by employees. He is also required to undertake small programs frequently to facilitate smooth functioning and maximum productivity on the part of the employees.

In case of very large organizations or companies having large-scale operations, the HR consultant is required to carry out the duty of putting a grievance mechanism process in place. The consultant should also organize the entire HR department so as to ensure that the same is able to serve the full interest of the company. Thus, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that such a person can either make or break a company’s performance. After all simply laying down policies procedures in a company without employing proper personnel to supervise the adherence of the same would be a futile effort.

One of the primary duties of an HR consultant would be to ensure that the personnel of each and every department of a company have a clear understanding about their responsibilities, duties and what is expected of them. The service of such a consultant is absolutely required for improving the HR department as a whole and also to revamp its functions. In addition to creating policies procedures, the human resource consultant also advises the company on how to cut down expenses through the implementation of effective HR strategies without impacting other functional aspects in any way.

Every organization operates on the basis of certain policies procedures and this framework is an outcome of effective HR department. In addition to this an HR consultant plays other roles as well which are equally contributing towards the over all performance of the organization.