Sexy sells

Human Resources Manager Magazine February/March 2012

Excerpts:

The market for consulting in the Human Resources segment is growing. It is becoming more lucrative for consulting firms have a specialized offering in this field. But to flourish in this market is not so easy. The clients have become more professional and more demanding.

Karl-Heinz Stroh, Ulrich Jordan, Rudolf Kast – 2011 has seen quite a number of well known Chief HR Officers who started their own consulting businesses. They are often men in their fifties who have left their routine and are now controlling their own destiny. Sometimes it may need a gentle push to arrive at that decision. It is when these HR chiefs and their organizations no longer seem compatible and they leave on "friendly terms" that this moment has arrived. Ulrich Jordan also left "on friendly terms". For many years he had been the Management Board member of Targobank, previously Citibank, in charge of Human Resources. He founded his own business last June. His expertise is Executive Coaching, Leadership Development and HR strategy development and execution. Running his own business, the 57 year old Jordan says, has always been something he wanted to pursue...

...Kast´s and Jordan´s timing to start their own businesses has been good. While the competition in the HR consulting space is fierce, it is not small and growing. According to the BDU German Consultants Association revenues were almost 2 billion Euros in 2010...

...The market is very diverse with large Consulting firms like McKinsey and Boston Consulting discovering the HR field lately. Recruiting, retaining and developing highly qualified employees and knowledge management are becoming key competitive advantages in times of great demographic changes...

...There are few companies who do without consulting. Especially in the HR segment where demands are growing, the need for good advice is prevalent. "There are themes that surface because of changes in society and then companies know that they have to do something", says Jordan and mentions diversity and burn-out as examples. When he still worked at Targobank he used to work with consulting firms on compensation, health management, coaching and leadership development...

...As the need for consulting grows quite a few experts come to a sober assessment of the HR managers. "There are many companies who should be able to do these things themselves but they often do not possess the necessary skills", says Ulrich Jordan. He adds that management might be more interested in investing into their sales and marketing organizations than into their HR groups. Therefore HR would often not be the strongest function in the company. Malte Hansen, Director HR at Veolia Wasser, would probably agree with Jordan. He sees it as a problem that the HR profession is seen as "not so sexy"...

...Sometimes external know how is being bought from the market although the necessary skills exist inside of an organization. "You find companies who will listen to an outside expert more than to one of their own people", says Jordan. "Not everyone from the inside gets a chance to be heard."...

...For the smaller consulting firms it has become increasingly important to demonstrate their competencies. It does not hurt when owner run firms can show that they have done it themselves before – an advantage for Ulrich Jordan. But, of course, they have to be able to demonstrate their expertise and have a good network. He believes that building contact at conferences and workshops makes a lot of sense. "You have to find opportunities where you can present yourself to potential clients." ...

...Some consulting firms can be perceived as very pushy. "We receive three to five calls a day" says Malte Hansen. Jordan agrees and remembers his time as CHRO "Some firms market themselves very aggressively". He has decided not to use email marketing to acquire new clients. "I never liked getting them then."...

...Recruiting and talent management, to name just two, will define the success of organizations in any market. We continue on our way to be a knowledge driven society where it will be necessary to buy certain skills and know how from the outside. Small consulting firms like the one Jordan owns can find their niche in this environment...