Aspiring HR Consultant Seeking Guidance: What Skills and Focus Areas Should I Prioritize?

Dear HR Consultants/Veterans,

I hope this message finds you well and in good health. I am working as an HR & IR professional from Tamil Nadu, with over 10 years of hardcore experience in the Textile, Engineering, Automobile, and Leather industries. However, my long-standing dream is to become an IR and HR consultant. I believe that now is the right time to take the necessary steps to achieve this dream within the next 3 to 5 years. I seek your assistance in guiding me on how to progress from my current position and move forward in this direction.

Key qualities for HR consultants

To the seasoned professionals in the industry, what are the key qualities that HR consultants are expected to possess? Are there specific skills or terms that are in high demand?

Focus areas for aspiring consultants

I would greatly appreciate your advice on where and on which areas I should focus to become a successful consultant like you veterans. Furthermore, which area within HR do you foresee as having significant potential in the near future?

Your valuable insights would be highly appreciated. I eagerly await your responses.

Thank you in advance.

Kind Regards,
Sakthi Suku, MBA (HR), MSW (PM & IR)
"HRM is not a fashion, but my passion..."
“Be proud to be an HR Professional”

Defining Your HR Consulting Services

You wanted to be an HR Consultant. However, have you defined how your services will provide ROI to your customers? How will it be measured, and on what parameters will it be measured? Have you defined what your product is and what are the advantages of availing this product?

It appears that you are not clear on these concepts. First, be clear, then you can think of doing product promotion.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Sir,

Thank you for your prompt response. I mentioned the domains of IR and HR, where I aim to become a specialist or consultant. I am looking to specialize rather than be a generalist consultant, as mentioned earlier. I need guidance on how and where to start from the basics.

I acknowledge your point about product promotion requiring unique skill sets to attract the market and clients.

Regards,
Sakthi Suku

Leveraging Experience in HR and IR Consulting

Your vast experience in the field should give you enough confidence to foresee the major problems faced by industries in HR and IR domains. Every organization wants their HR vertical to be strong and compliant, yet they spend very little on this vertical. Having said this, I assure you that connecting with your best resources and contacts who may need their HR vertical set right is crucial.

Opportunities in HR Management and Compliance

Dig out many contracting agencies where there is a need for awareness training and solutions in HR management and compliance. Your expert liaison with local authorities will also be useful in resolving many customer problems. Speak to startups and help them overcome their compliance issues. I have spent a lot of time with customers understanding how they need a consultant to work towards their growth.

The Importance of ROI in HR

As Dinesh briefly mentioned, ROI is a key feature applicable in every business. In HR, time, punctuality, and timely fulfillment of compliance keep the customer indemnified. There are other areas like training, placements, recruitments, employee engagements, and various processes where your customers would expect help from you.

Building Trust and Expertise

For all this to happen, my advice is to connect with people, companies, and employees, and try to win their trust through your value, expertise, and commitment.