How can you expand your HR consulting knowledge and skills?

Connect with HR professionals in India through networks like NHRD Network, SHRM India, People matters and LinkedIn groups like HR Shapers. Attend industry events, webinars, and workshops organized by these networks to enhance consulting knowledge and skills. Engaging in discussions, sharing insights, and building relationships within these communities will contribute to your professional growth in the dynamic field of HR consulting.

When selecting online courses, focus on emerging trends in HR such as artificial intelligence, remote workforce management and wellness programmes. These areas are gaining significant traction and can provide a competitive edge in HR consulting.

Diversify your reading to include international HR practices and case studies. This broadens your perspective beyond local norms and introduces global best practices that can be innovative solutions for your clients

Explore "The McKinsey Way" by Ethan M. Rasiel for strategic consulting insights. "Flawless Consulting" by Peter Block offers practical advice. Dive into blogs like Harvard Business Review's HR section, leveraging diverse perspectives. "Bersin by Deloitte" provides research-driven insights. Follow thought leaders like Josh Bersin and Liz Ryan for contemporary HR strategies. Continuous learning is key; consider online platforms like Coursera for specialized courses.

To enhance HR consulting expertise, start by seeking feedback from colleagues and supervisor. Regularly review case studies to apply theoretical concepts practically. Explore online platforms like Harvard Business Review and SHRM for insightful HR case studies. Academic journals, such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, are valuable sources too. Additionally, industry-specific websites and forums often share real-world HR challenges. Engaging in online courses on platforms like Coursera or LinkedIn Learning can provide access to curated case studies, enhancing your HR consulting expertise through practical examples and solutions. Remember to join professional HR groups on social media for discussions and shared experiences

If you want to improve your consulting skills: 1. Get some theoretical knowledge about question techniques, building practical concepts and presenting in front of an audience. 2. Learn from people who are really good at consulting. Observe the way they are dealing with leaders or employees, the questions they ask to understand the issues at hand. But also the way they challenge leaders to influence them. 3. Get a Mentor (an HR consultant you admire) who helps you bounce off ideas and new approaches. And someone who honestly tells you where you still need to improve. 4. Take the jump into cold water and apply the skills you have learned. One of the main skills you will see that consultants have: being adaptable.

What is often overlooked is that there are different consulting approaches you can learn and apply. 1. Expert approach: you are an expert in one area that you are consulting a leader or company on. Finding a solution to the problem at hand is often expected to come from your knowledge and experience. Usually, leaders then have to sell this external solution. Make sure you understand when this is the expectation. 2. Process approach: you accompany leaders in the process of finding their own solution to a challenge at hand. One main element of this approach is asking questions in a way you are not recommending a solution, but guiding the solution finding. This approach is great to find in-house solutions with more buy in from employees.

I agree that for each individual consultant a personalized mix and selection of the approaches listed here will be very useful for expanding HR consulting skills. I would like to add teaching, in particular postgraduate academic teaching of HR related topics because - it makes you review and re-organize your knowledge in a highly structured way time and time again, every time you prepare a new seminar - it requires you to look up the latest findings from business and academia when preparing a seminar (which you should do anyway... but this helps getting it actually done :) ) - it provides the opportunity for good discussions with participants who will challenge you

An often overlooked aspect of HR consulting is the power of storytelling. Telling compelling stories during training sessions significantly increases engagement and retention, making it a powerful tool in any HR consultant's arsenal.

Perform some volunteering assignments for HR portals / groups / startups. Evaluate your provided solutions and ask for feedback. This cycle will help in improving your consulting skills and level. Repeat it with various different assignments scenarios to gain more experience.