Role design and job descriptions for HR consulting: clear roles for consultants from varied backgrounds
In an HR consulting firm, a pay specialist, a trainer and a survey analyst may all be called consultants. Role descriptions show what each is expected to deliver and double as examples for clients.
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Share your requirementsWhy role design and job descriptions matters in HR consulting
HR consulting firms grow by adding a skilled person for each new service. A trainer is hired, then a pay specialist, then an analyst. Each is called a consultant, though the work, tools and measures of success differ. Appraisals compare them as if they were the same, and arguments arise about who should lead which client.
Written roles settle this. For each role, state what the person produces, which skills it needs, how it links with others and how success is judged. Because clients also ask the firm for role descriptions, the firm's own set serves as a living sample, and the exercise of writing them sharpens how consultants think about client work.
How to set it up
1. List the services and the roles behind them
Write each service, such as pay design, training, assessment or survey, and who does the work. Show where roles overlap and where nobody owns the task.
2. Write a half-page for each role
State purpose, main deliverables, skills, tools and how the role works with others. Use plain words, without copying a generic template.
3. Define the levels within each role
For example, consultant, senior consultant and lead for pay design. Say what changes at each level in scope, independence and client contact.
4. Test the descriptions with the people in them
Ask each consultant to read theirs and mark what is wrong or missing. Adjust, and keep a version date.
5. Use them in hiring, appraisal and client work
Draw on them for job adverts and appraisal forms. When a client asks for a sample, show the firm's own. See HR documentation for filing.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask three consultants what they are expected to deliver and compare answers.
- Check whether role descriptions exist for each service line.
- See when the descriptions were last read by the people they describe.
- Look at appraisals to see if different roles are judged by the same measure.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach role design and job descriptions in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Yes, half a page each is enough. They reduce arguments about who does what, support hiring and appraisal, and give you samples to show clients. The writing itself is useful.
Describe the core deliverables and skills, then note that scope varies by project. Include a few typical examples. The description sets the base, and the project plan covers the variety.
Yes. Operations and invoicing staff keep the firm running and their tasks are often invisible. A simple description makes the work visible, helps with cover and gives them a path to grow.