Mastering Consulting as an HR Practitioner: Making an Impact in Small Business

Preface

This book is part of a series focused on helping the small business HR professional make a positive impact in his or her business environment. The series will cover each of the SHRM Competency Model’s¹ eight behavioral competencies, which are organized into three categories:

Business Competencies

Business Acumen

Critical Evaluation

Consultation

Interpersonal Competencies

Communication

Relationship Management

Global and Cultural Effectiveness

Leadership Competencies

Leadership and Navigation

Ethical Practice

Why Focus on the Small Business HR Professional?

The small business HR professional has a unique work environment. Sometimes, individuals responsible for HR in small businesses are new to HR. Perhaps HR duties are tacked on to their other duties, such as controller or office manager or administrative assistant. And almost always, they are by themselves or have only one or two other people in their HR department to share the workload. Because of this, these HR professionals are usually expected to be generalists able to answer all HR-related questions. But they are also expected to be specialists in those same areas. For example, when a small business HR professional puts on the recruiting hat, to be effective, he or she must be able to:

Ensure the job description is up-to-date and legally compliant.

Write and post the job ad.

Determine if a staffing agency should be used and negotiate with it.

Understand federal and state laws regarding hiring decisions.

Be able to guide and train managers to ask appropriate interview questions.

Be darn good at sourcing, interviewing, advising management, and processing the paperwork once the perfect candidate has been selected.

Create and administer the onboarding process.

And that’s only for one of the many duties required of the position. Small business HR professionals are also called on to manage a myriad of functions, including benefits, compensation, performance management, employee relations, and employee engagement. Each function requires a dedicated knowledge base and skill set. With so much responsibility, how do small business HR professionals have time to focus on their own professional development? This book and series provide bite-size information for these busy professionals to enhance their behavioral competencies to benefit not only their companies but also their own personal career advancement. The best part? These skills are completely transferrable.

SHRM Behavioral Competencies

The Society for Human Resource Management defines the eight behavioral competencies that are critical to perform effectively in the workplace:

Business Acumen is the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) needed to understand the organization’s operations, functions and external environment, and to apply business tools and analyses that inform HR initiatives and operations consistent with the overall strategic direction of the organization.² To make an impact in their organizations, HR professionals must fully understand the internal and external environment of how the business operates, how each function contributes to the business of the organization, and how HR fits in with each of these functions. This understanding of the business is crucial for HR to be able to effectively market itself within the company to develop initiatives that work.

Critical Evaluation is the KSAOs needed to collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data, and to interpret and promote findings that evaluate HR initiatives and inform business decisions and recommendations.³ The first step in evaluating an issue is to obtain the necessary data, which can be found using environmental scans, surveys, and metrics, and by monitoring best practices. HR professionals can then draw on this data pool to inform their decisions and increase their credibility.

Consultation is the KSAOs needed to work with organizational stakeholders in evaluating business challenges and identifying opportunities for the design, implementation and evaluation of change initiatives, and to build ongoing support for HR solutions that meet the changing needs of customers and the business.⁴ HR professionals must have a foundational knowledge of HR laws and best practices to provide sound guidance. Additionally, HR professionals must have developed an effective method of disseminating information in a way that engages stakeholders and creates actionable recommendations. Sharp consultative skills result in wins for the company and can earn HR a seat at the table.

Communication is the KSAOs needed to effectively craft and deliver concise and informative communications, to listen to and address the concerns of others, and to transfer and translate information from one level or unit of the organization to another.⁵ Effective communication is essential for all employees at all levels. HR professionals use communication skills to respond to grievances and resolve employee disputes or to deliver recommendations for new policies or initiatives to executives. The more effectively the information is communicated, the higher the chance is that it will be understood and accepted.

Relationship Management is the KSAOs needed to create and maintain a network of professional contacts within and outside of the organization, to build and maintain relationships, to work as an effective member of a team, and to manage conflict while supporting the organization.⁶ Whether formal or casual, strong positive interpersonal relationships can have favorable impacts on employees and on the business. Healthy relationships instill a feeling of belonging and team cohesion, which decrease turnover and boost organizational commitment.

Global and Cultural Effectiveness is the KSAOs needed to value and consider the perspectives and backgrounds of all parties, to interact with others in a global context, and to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace.⁷ An organization does not need to do business internationally to be affected by global cultures and other forms of diversity. Diversity is seen all around us, and, to be successful, a company must understand the diversity of its internal and external stakeholders. HR often leads this charge. Diversity within a team can foster creativity and provide the organization with a variety of ways to market itself to a wider audience.

Leadership and Navigation is the KSAOs needed to navigate the organization and accomplish HR goals, to create a compelling vision and mission for HR that aligns with the strategic direction and culture of the organization, to lead and promote organizational change, to manage the implementation and execution of HR initiatives, and to promote the role of HR as a key business partner.⁸ This can be done through creating and maintaining processes and guidelines that model a strong organizational culture, implementing initiatives to foster teamwork and collaboration, and leading the function with integrity even in rough times. Effective leadership is attributed to many favorable employee outcomes, such as high retention, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.

Ethical Practice is the KSAOs needed to maintain high levels of personal and professional integrity, and to act as an ethical agent who promotes core values, integrity and accountability throughout the organization.⁹ Ethical practice can be demonstrated not only by behaving with integrity at all times, but also by assisting others in the organization to do the same through creating standards and providing guidance. Maintaining ethical standards can help mitigate risk in your organization.

An added benefit to SHRM’s eight behavioral competencies is that they are tools that can help any business professional. This series is focused solely on how an HR professional in small business can use the tools herein to enhance his or her own competencies. But, as you’re reading through this collection of books, you might consider how you can synergistically share the concepts found here to benefit other leaders in your organization.

Taking Action

The Making an Impact sections scattered throughout each chapter provide ideas of actions you can take immediately to practice the concepts