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Recruiting & Retaining Internal Consultants

Recruiting & Retaining Internal Consultants. AIMC National Conference 2004. The Internal Consultant as Expert. Senior level employee Exposure to a number of departments in the organization Promoted as an “expert” in a particular area to assist with “special projects” and internal

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Recruiting & Retaining Internal Consultants

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  1. Recruiting & RetainingInternal Consultants AIMC National Conference 2004 Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  2. The Internal Consultant as Expert • Senior level employee • Exposure to a number of departments in the organization • Promoted as an “expert” in a particular area to assist with “special projects” and internal operations. • Usually self selected by undertaking further education or having a special interest in an area where expertise was required. • Might otherwise be selected by the company and sponsored for further education and/or management programs. Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  3. The Internal Consultant as Change Agent • Mid-level management • Internal employee or external consultant • Change Agent/Facilitator • Project management skills rather than any technical specialization per se. • Vendor selection, management and liaison • Responsible for taking external expertise and disseminating it throughout the organization. Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  4. The Emergence of the Internal/External Consultant • “Cost centers” becoming “profit centers” by on-selling the tools/processes they have developed internally to corporation clients or providing them on a pro bono to on sell products/ services and increase revenues. • New requirement for internal consultants to have business development skills beyond the advocacy skills needed internally. Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  5. General Requirements for the Job • Inherent • Intellect • Objectivity/Integrity • Excellent interpersonal skills • Ability to influence others • Flexibility and adaptability to change • Acquired • Project Management skills • Inherent understanding of the organization/business • Relevant experience/education (as far as possible) • Expert attributes Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  6. Strategic Competency Based Approach vs. Passive Administrative Approach to HRM • Human Capital/Intellectual Capital is the essence of a consulting organization • Competitive Advantage • Change in Roles & Workplace Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  7. Core Competencies • A competency is an inherent characteristic of an individual that is believed to cause and is therefore used to predict future behavior. • The term “competencies” is accredited to Richard Boyatzis who discussed competencies in his book “The Competent Manager: A Model for Effective Performance” where he detailed 21 competencies to build up a psychological profile to predict future performance. Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  8. Five Types of Competency Characteristics • Motives – drive, direct & select behavior • Traits – physical characteristics or consistent responses • Self Concept – attitudes, values, self image • Knowledge – information possessed • Skill – ability to perform a physical or mental task Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  9. Core Competencies and aligning HR and Corporate Strategy • Organization Assessment • Role definition • Recruitment requirements • Assessment criteria • On boarding/Orientation • Evaluation • Training & Development • Succession Planning • Exit strategies Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  10. Benefits of Competencies • Standardized process using a set of common denominators • Facilitates a closer match between a person’s abilities, skills and interests and their role in the organization • Helps prevent: • unfair discrimination • cloning Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  11. Criticisms of Competencies • Assumptions/Interpretation of Behavior may not truly be objective • Past events may not guarantee future performance • Prevalence may reduce effectiveness Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  12. The Most Desired Competencies • 12 most common competencies* desired in employees by organizations are (and applicable to employing internal consultants): • Communication - Achievement • Customer focus - Teamwork • Leadership - Planning & Organization • Commercial Acumen - Flexibility/Adaptability • Developing Others - Problem Solving • Analytical Thinking - Building relationships *Competency Journal Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  13. Recruitment -Creation of a Role rather than Filling a Job From a competency perspective, know and understand: • Your brand & Your clients • Your industry • Your business • Your department • Your team In order to know how to recruit, develop and retain potential employees Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  14. Recruitment Approaches – Passive/Active • Promotion • Internal Referrals • Alumni Network • Brand • Advertising (website, job boards, media) • Research • Database Mining • Social Networking • “Headhunting” Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  15. Assessment Tools • Resume & Application form (low cost, medium validity, front end) • Ability Tests (medium cost, high validity, middle) • Behavioral Based Interviews (medium cost, high validity, mid-end) • Work samples/Business Cases (medium cost, high validity, mid-end) • Personality Questionnaires (medium cost, medium validity, end) • Assessment Centers (high cost, high validity, end) • References (medium cost, medium validity, end) Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  16. Recruitment/Assessment/Selection Process • Synergistic validity to using more than one approach. • Process adopted will depend on the number of roles, seniority of positions, amount of available candidates and the relative validity of the recruitment tool/method vs. available resources. Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  17. “Fit” • Qualitative, statistical and “empirical” evidence is not going to determine the final hiring decision – that will be the result “gut feeling” or whether you like them or not. • Authorities suggest that these decisions should not been made during the interview process but in conjunction with other assessment tools. • Matching organizational “culture” with candidate “fit” – key to the perfect match. Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  18. Recruitment Issues To Keep In Mind • Attraction – “war for talent” – although market dependent- available jobs are becoming more complex (technology & outsourcing) – not enough qualified candidates to cope with demand • Assessment – new factors to consider -integrity & ethics, adaptability to change, stress resilience, creativity & innovation, cultural sensitivity (globalization) • Selection – prevailing issues involving legality of hiring decisions (uniform and job specific criteria) & diversity/inclusion Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  19. Development & Retention • Current Market – less investment in training & development, less job security and low morale due to layoffs = greater likelihood of turnover (recent polls – Right Mgmt Cons.) • Change in the employment power dynamic between organizations and employees (job for life, security, training, benefits vs. greater autonomy and responsibility - free agents motivated by opportunity, work and compensation • Motivators for employees – Maslow and Employee “Must Haves” Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  20. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  21. Employees “must haves”* • Type of work • People • Training & Development • Chances of promotion • Compensation • Job security • Working Conditions • Reputation of Organization • Geographical location • Work hours • Benefits *Pearn Kandola - Whiddett, Payne, Kandola - (1995) Occupational Psychology Conference Book of Proceedings, 205-211 Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  22. Development & Retention Strategy • Understand what motivates your employees on an individual basis and cater to these needs as far as is reasonably practicable. • The extent to which you do this will depend on their perceived value to your organization and market forces. Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  23. Development and Retention Issues to Keep in Mind • Development – increased onus on the candidate – but still need to consider as an additional selling point to attract talent • Retention – increased turnover due to increasingly mobile, virtual, flexible workforce - understand employee motivators • Succession Planning – impact of retirement of baby boomers – start planning with internal candidates and invest in developing potential candidate talent pools/networks Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

  24. Further Information 444 Madison Avenue Suite 3202 New York, NY 10022 Ph: 212 754 6860 www.newport-oconnor.com Newport O'Connor - AIMC Presentation - March, 2004

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