HR Consulting 101: An Intro to the Industry

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HR Consulting 101An Intro to the Industry
SHRLOE presents

• October 20, 2004
• Dick Shafer
• Associate Dean for Corporate Relations
• Johnson School of Management

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Agenda

• Introduction
• Types of Consulting Practices
• An Overview of Leading HR Consulting Firms
• Non-Consulting Jobs That Do Consulting-Style Work
• Preparation for a Job in Consulting

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Types of Consulting Practices
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The Consulting Landscape

• There are consulting firms for every type of
  executive level, industry and situation

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Strategy Consultants

• Target clients are Fortune 500 boardrooms
• Will service many industries / geographies
• Take a generalist approach, at least initially
• Focus on high level competitive/internal
  diagnostics and resource allocation
• Will make recommendations but wont do the
  implementation
• Engagements usually run in the 3-6 month duration
  with small teams
• Some exceptions

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Full Service Consultants

• Target clients are functional heads and SBU
  leaders
• Service broadest range of industries /
  geographies
• Some generalists but mostly subject matter
  experts
• Engagements may be strategic, diagnostic or
  implementation-oriented
• Makes recommendations and may even implement them
• Engagements are 3-6 months for strategy while
  implementations can take a year or more

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Boutique Consultants

• Target clients are in very focused areas
  (typically one function or industry)
• Domain expertise is paramount
• May do strategy, market research or
  implementation
• Much smaller in size sometimes used as
  subcontractors by larger consulting firms
• Engagements usually run in the 3-6 month duration
  with small teams

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An Overview of Leading Consulting Firms

• Which Type of Consulting is Right for Me?

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Strategy Firms with HR/Organizational Practices

• McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Booz Allen Hamilton,
  Deloitte Consulting, Capgemini

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HR Consulting Firms

• Mercer, Hewitt, Watson Wyatt, Towers Perrin, Hay
  Group

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Boutique Firms

• Many firms but most are lt100 consultants
• Some focus on a specific area or industry
• Some have stronger qualifications (e.g., PhDs)

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Non-Consulting Jobs That Do Consulting-Style Work

• Who Says You Need to be a Consultant?

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Internal Consulting

• Being used by an increasing number of Fortune
  1000 firms b/c cost/benefit is attractive
• AmEx, Pfizer, Wyeth, Merck, Fidelity, Bank of
  America, and many more!

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What Skills are Required for an HR Consulting
Role?

• What skills and experience do I need to be a
  consultant?

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Skills

• Experience required (usually 2 years minimum)
• Strong analytical, quantitative, and
  communication skills
• Leadership
• Flexibility/adaptability
• Entrepreneurial drive
• Willingness to travel

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Thank You!