The Internal Consultancy Role

As internal consultants, HR practitioners function like external management consultants, working alongside their colleagues – their clients – in analysing problems, diagnosing issues and proposing solutions. They will be involved in the development of HR processes or systems and in ‘process consulting’. The latter deals with process areas such as organization, team building and objective setting.

The Monitoring Role 

As monitors of the application of HR policies and procedures and the extent to which the organization’s values relating to people management are upheld, HR practitioners have a delicate, indeed a difficult, role to play. They are not there to ‘police’ what line managers do but it is still necessary to ensure that the policies and procedures are implemented with a reasonable degree of consistency. This role as described by Storey (1992a) can mean that HR specialists can act as ‘regulators’ who are ‘managers of discontent’ involved in formulating and monitoring employment rules. The monitoring role is particularly important with regard to employment legislation. HR practitioners have to ensure that policies and procedures comply with the legislation and that they are implemented correctly by line managers. 

Although the tendency is to devolve more responsibility for HR matters to line managers, the latter cannot be given total freedom to flout company policy or to contravene the provisions of employment, equal opportunity and health and safety legislation. Abalance has to be struck between freedom, consistency and legal obligations.

The Guardian of Values Role

HR practitioners may act as the guardians of the organization’s values concerning people. They point out when behaviour conflicts with those values or where proposed actions would be inconsistent with them. In a sense, their roles require them to act as the ‘conscience’ of management – a necessary role but not an easy one to play.