CHAPTER 13 MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE RELATIONSHIPS

STAFF SELECTION AND DEVELOPMENT

Selection of Staff

Matching Staff to the Requirements of the Practice

The single most critical function of management in building a successful consulting practice is selecting
and developing the consulting staff.

The people selected to represent the consulting firm provide services to the firm’s clients and develop
future business will determine:

a. The level of success,

b. The rate of growth, and
c. The future of the consulting practice.

In selecting the consulting staff, some basic considerations should be taken into account:

1. The kind of consulting practice one plans to build – specialist or generalist.

2. The targeted principal market: corporate or proprietorship; product or service related?
3. The kind of image and reputation the consultant wants to project and develop
4. The long-range plans for the consulting practice

STEPS IN STAFF SELECTION

1. Practice and staff profiles.

a. a profile of the type of person the consultant firm needs
b. position profile
c. person description
2. Required skills

TECHNICAL VERSUS CONSULTING SKILLS

The consultant, because of experience and track record, will oversee a consulting project and will direct
the activities of others in conducting problem analysis and researching a client’s needs.

The technical specialist, by reason of training and experience, usually functions as an individual
contributor providing input and recommendations on a specific or limited number of subjects.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT

 Initial Assignments
 Exposure to the Different Facets of Consulting
 Continuing Education
 New demands
 Training programs

TYPES OF TRAINING METHODS

1. Formal Training
2. Ongoing Training
3. Informal Training

DEGREE OF COMMITMENT

 Every staff member represents an investment in the future of the practice.

 Each time a new staff member comes into the company, the firm makes a sizeable investment in
terms of: Orientation, Initial training, and Increased overhead prior to the new member’s
contributing to the earnings of the practice.

General rules of thumb are to:

1. Select people who share the consultant’s values and business philosophies.
2. Provide an environment that people are comfortable with and enjoy working within.
3. Demonstrate personal interest in each individual employee.
4. Provide opportunity for career growth and personal development.
5. Involve the staff in decisions and commitments that affect them.
6. Maintain open lines of communication within the organization.

CAREER PATHS PLANNING AND PROGRESSION

TEAM WORKING SKILLS

The Dynamics of Team Working

Teams are perhaps the most important feature of modern managerial life and increasingly they
are taking priority over traditional business departments.

Factors that influence the structure of teams:

A. Intrinsic Factors:
1. Group Size
2. Stage in group formation
3. Individual expertise and specialisms
4. Group norms and culture
 5. Leadership
6. Individual personalities
7. Group motivation
B. Extrinsic Factors
1. Group task
a) Familiarity
b) Complexity
c) Significance of outcomes
2. Resource availability
3. Group rewards
4. Interaction with other groups

PROCESS OF GROUP FORMATION

The interactions between individuals in a primary group change over time. Observation of groups
suggests that teams undergo four stages of development:

1. Formation
2. Brainstorming/Deliberation
3. Emergence of consensus
4. Performance

MANAGING TEAM CONFLICTS

Conflicts are inevitable feature of team working. They are a normal part of the storming
formation.

 FUNCTIONAL CONFLICT
 DYSFUNCTIONAL CONFLICT