Case Study 3Developing Consultancy Skills for Experienced HRPractitioners at Shell People ServicesIn a bid to enhance internal consultancy skills and develop more effective service providers, <strong>the</strong>HR Advice & Consultancy practice <strong>of</strong> Shell People Services - a shared services organisationwithin <strong>the</strong> Royal Dutch/Shell Group - commissioned R<strong>of</strong>fey Park to design and run a modulardevelopment programme for a broad mix <strong>of</strong> HR pr<strong>of</strong>essionals.Shell People Services was established in January 2000, following a strategic decision by <strong>the</strong> RoyalDutch/Shell Group to create an internal HR shared services organisation <strong>of</strong>fering bothtransactional and expertise services to its businesses. Staffed by experienced human resourcespractitioners, Shell People Services is now a global HR operation which provides HR strategiesand organisational development - as well as support for global recruitment, performancemanagement, learning, payroll, expatriate services and industrial relations. One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> practiceswithin Shell People Services is HR Advice & Consultancy which comprises around 30 staff, whoare ei<strong>the</strong>r HR Advisors (providing operational and strategic HR advice) or HR <strong>Consultant</strong>s(providing HR expertise in project-related work). “We help Shell businesses to build effectivepeople strategies and to carry out high quality operational HR processes,” said ClaireSeabrook,Team Leader <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> HR Advice & Consultancy practice. “We ei<strong>the</strong>r provide a fullservice for clients who are too small to have <strong>the</strong>ir own HR people on <strong>the</strong> payroll or we provideadditional expertise and resources to supplement internal HR teams. Our clients can <strong>the</strong>reforeaccess a full range <strong>of</strong> skills and services without having to maintain <strong>the</strong>ir own internal HRinfrastructure.”<strong>The</strong> staff within <strong>the</strong> practice predominantly have HR generalist backgrounds, having worked inseveral operating environments both within and outside Shell. However some had not hadprior experience <strong>of</strong> internal consultancy. To address this, <strong>the</strong> practice approached a number <strong>of</strong>external providers to discuss <strong>the</strong> feasibility <strong>of</strong> a development programme concentrating oninternal consultancy skills. “Consulting is a label that people can get overly attached to and itcan become a huge blocker if you don’t consider yourself to be a consultant,” said ClaireSeabrook. “R<strong>of</strong>fey Park recommended a modular programme that we felt was <strong>the</strong> best fit forour requirements because it would not only break down <strong>the</strong> mystique <strong>of</strong> consultancy but itwould also give people <strong>the</strong> skills and <strong>the</strong> confidence <strong>the</strong>y needed to be effective.”Programme outlineCalled <strong>The</strong> Consultancy Skills Programme, it covered <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> a consultant and <strong>the</strong> techniquesand frameworks <strong>of</strong> effective consultancy. <strong>The</strong> programme ran twice, at R<strong>of</strong>fey Park, for a total<strong>of</strong> 20 junior, middle and senior-level HR pr<strong>of</strong>essionals. It was split into three modules, each <strong>of</strong>which lasted three days and ran six to eight weeks apart. “<strong>The</strong> short modules proved verypowerful because <strong>the</strong>y allowed <strong>the</strong> participants to focus on specific issues and <strong>the</strong>y also gavetime and space to reflect on <strong>the</strong> learning,” said Claire Seabrook. “<strong>The</strong> participants were able tosee how <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory played out in practice, back in <strong>the</strong> workplace, before coming back toge<strong>the</strong>rto share experiences.37
Ano<strong>the</strong>r benefit <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> short modules was that <strong>the</strong> actual time spent away from <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice in anyone period wasn’t too long.” <strong>The</strong> programme highlighted an established cycle <strong>of</strong> consultancywhich involves gaining entry, contracting, investigating, reaching conclusions, makingrecommendations and delivering to <strong>the</strong>m. It also covered a range <strong>of</strong> issues such as influencingo<strong>the</strong>rs, interpersonal awareness and personal presence.38
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