The Role of the Internal Consultant - Management & Business ...

needs. This can be difficult when ‘starting from scratch’ in an organisation that has a‘just do it’ mentality.A key issue, of course, is credibility: – we have to earn that by results, by ourprofessionalism. We also have to focus on the informal systems – networkingthroughout the organisation.Unexpectedly, another challenge has come from within the organisation – where peoplehave expressed jealousy and suspicion of these new roles. This has meant we have hadto be extra-conscious of being open, and approachable and ‘not precious’ in our roles.One practical challenge comes from our resource-base: our IT infrastructure is notrobust enough to support us properly as teleworkers and this continues to be afrustration.What skills development have your Internal Consultants had?Consultancy skills – through an initial 5-day programme, run internally by an ODpractitioner in two modules. Following this we had a 3-day residential OD programmefor the team.We have since then organised additional training and development event – for exampleteambuilding using our MBTI results.What would you offer as advice to other organisations setting up this role?• Determine your market and client base and decide how you are going tocommunicate the change in emphasis of the support/ work you will undertake• Have a plan and vision for your consultancy which is bought into by your leadership/management team.• Be clear about what you can and can’t do for your client – but look for strategicpieces of work where you can really make a difference• Ensure you have a common base of skills training• Develop a strong self-help and development culture within the team• Ensure the infra-structure is set up internally to support your way of working35