How to Become One – How to Hire One
Human resource is a fundamental part of any entrepreneur or small business profile. Although at the beginning, you are everything and chief bottle washer on top of that at some point if you want your business to grow or just stay viable within the marketplace you will have to invest in “human resources“.
What exactly is a Human Resource Consultant?
Human resources are the field of recruiting, hiring, training, and moderating employment. People who work in human resources, or “HR” as it’s often called, act as a link between available job candidates and companies both large and small.
While many businesses have a human resources department, usually headed by an HR manager, some companies choose to use human resource outsourcing, which is conducted by professionals known as independent human resources consultants.
HR consultants have a wide range of duties, so they need a top-quality education, usually at least a bachelor’s degree, and at least three years of experience. Because they are usually self-employed, they also need a strong independent spirit and self-driven energy.
Thinking of becoming a human resources consultant? Below we’ll explore required education and experience, as well as the job outlook of this interesting, engaging career.
HR Consultant Career Prospects
When it comes to work environments, HR consulting jobs run a wide gamut and remote HR consulting is a popular option. This is true whether you are a full-time or part-time HR consultant. HR consultants may be called in for very specific functions, External link such as training and development, labor relations, payroll, recruiting, benefits analysis, risk management, or regulatory compliance
HR consultants work in a wide variety of industries. This is one reason why the average HR consultant salary is hard to generalize. As of May 2018, the BLS reports that human resources specialists External link in the area of professional, scientific, and technical services have a median annual wage of $68,620. For consulting HR managers, External link the average salary was $139,040.
So, what are the things to consider while hiring an HR consultant?
If you are hiring from big HR consulting firms, you are assured that the professionals have been vetted. But, if you plan to hire independent HR management consultants, you should consider these 5 factors to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth.
Previous Projects
Consider what type of projects the HR consultant has done with previous clients like you. And more importantly, what were the results. Also, get previous client project references, the one who can vouch for the quality of the consultant’s past work. It’s always a good idea to ask the consultant to provide you with a work sample with which you can gauge the capability.
In-Demand skills To Check For in your HR consultant
- Time Management Skills: An HR consultant may have to juggle between various HR tasks; effective management of time is vital to complete the tasks timely and efficiently.
- Outstanding Communication Skills: He/she communicates with people across seniorities and across designations. So, make sure the communication skills are on point.
- Human Resources Management Skills: Needs to have skills required to manage, retain and train employees in the organization.
- Motivational And Mentoring Skills: Needs to have motivational and mentoring skills as the role demands them to interact with people and help them out with their concerns from time to time.
