What Does A HR Consultant Do?

WHAT DOES A HR CONSULTANT DO?

Published: Jul 24, 2025 - The Human Resources (HR) Consultant analyzes diverse people-related data, including attrition trends, performance metrics, and engagement insights to shape strategic talent initiatives aligned with business objectives. This role supports workforce planning by modeling scenarios, identifying key talent risks and opportunities, and recommending tailored solutions to optimize organizational effectiveness. The consultant also partners with human resources, advises leadership on human resources practices, and manages large-scale reorganizations while ensuring compliance and mitigating people-related risks.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for HR Consultant

1. HR Consultant Duties

HR Policy Advising: Advises management on the administration and appropriate application of HR policies, procedures, and standards as well as applicable provincial and federal legislation and regulations (e.g., Employment Standards Act, Human Rights Code).
Internal Consulting: Acts as an internal consultant by analyzing and recommending solutions on a variety of HR issues based on an understanding of the client’s business goals, objectives, and operating environment.
Relationship Building: Builds strong relationships with the department’s management team and is seen as a trusted advisor.
Service Delivery: Ensures superior delivery of HR services to the departments by providing planning and coordination expertise.
Program Implementation: Ensures the effective implementation of key HR programs and initiatives for the assigned department, leveraging the relevant delivery mechanisms within the HR communities of expertise.
Program Oversight: Oversees the administration of HR programs and initiatives in the assigned department(s).
Strategic Partnership: Works closely with the senior HR business partner to implement the HR strategy and in close cooperation with department management.
Process Improvement: Manages the implementation of process improvements and special projects for the division.
Business Partnership: Develops and maintains effective business partnerships with clients in order to understand and integrate their fiscal, policy, and program planning and business needs with the appropriate HR services and supports.
Reporting: Prepares and maintains ad hoc reports related to specific client needs.

2. HR Consultant Details

Strategic Support: Supports the HR business partner in the delivery of the strategic people plan, owning specific activities, and interpreting the business strategy, strategic people plan, and wider HR agenda in order to support managers in managing their people.
Data Analysis: Continuously analyses and reports on HR MI to provide effective solutions and strategies to both the HR business partner and the business.
Legal Compliance: Maintains a good knowledge of the legal requirements related to the day-to-day management of employees within the business, reducing legal risks, guaranteeing regulatory compliance, and most importantly, enabling employee satisfaction and retention.
HR Activity Delivery: Delivers HR activity, including performance management, talent management, succession planning, pay and bonus, absence monitoring, and employee engagement surveys.
Employee Relations: Manages employee relations issues and situations through in-depth analysis and evaluation.
Manager Coaching: Coaches managers to develop their people skills and works with managers to improve the performance of their teams, driving the understanding and application of a consistent and fair performance management process.
Organizational Design: Supports the HR business partner with organizational design and change management activities.
Change Management: Works with the HR business partner and other HR centres of excellence to deliver all TUPE and M&A activity.

3. HR Consultant Responsibilities

Team Collaboration: Contributes as part of a team to build or redesign solutions to critical HR and cross-disciplinary business challenges such as organizational design, change management, M&A activity, learning and development, and business agility coaching.
Agile Delivery: Delivers work in a fast-paced agile environment, participating in squad agile events and embracing an agile mindset.
Project Lifecycle: Participates in every stage of the project lifecycle – including initial research and empathy, testing and iteration with customers, designing and building the solution, and implementation and handoff to ongoing owners of the work.
Behavior Modeling: Role models Thomson Reuters mindsets and behaviors (customer obsessed, challenge and commit, growth mindset).
Continuous Learning: Relentlessly pursues learning and constantly seeks opportunities.
Process Improvement: Contributes ideas to improve the team, supporting the iteration of the pool’s best practices and team operating mechanisms.
Team Facilitation: Models promoting self-organization, team spirit, and continuous improvement within the business.
Team Leadership: Acts as team facilitator or core team member on a team as determined by the project needs.
Consulting: Acts as a consultant on behalf of personnel and training and undertakes specific project work.
Task Execution: Undertakes any tasks commensurate with the HR advisor grade that support the plans and objectives of the personnel and training section.

4. HR Consultant Job Summary

Leadership Representation: Sits on the sub-service line leadership to appropriately represent the HR agenda.
Strategic Partnering: Supports the team in delivering a strategic partnering service for UKI and UK FS service lines.
Strategy Contribution: Contributes to the formulation of the HR strategy linked to the business strategy.
Strategy Deployment: Supports the deployment of the HR strategy, especially in relation to talent management, leadership development, managing change, performance management, and organizational design.
Talent Planning: Supports the creation of strategic talent plans annually.
Talent Review: Supports the delivery of talent reviews and pathways to partner and succession planning (UKI).
Stakeholder Partnership: Partners with stakeholders to deliver the wider talent strategy, especially in relation to talent management, leadership development, managing change, performance management, and organizational design.
Engagement Analysis: Analyzes and acts on a plan of engagement strategy.
Issue Anticipation: Anticipates issues and needs within the service line and addresses these effectively, providing a first-class client service to management.
Trusted Advising: Acts as a trusted advisor to the business by building and maintaining influential relationships.
Solution Development: Works closely with leaders and managers to co-develop solutions to meet their business needs, shifting thinking and embedding change.
Operational Teamwork: Teams closely work with the HR operations centre of excellence (HR Ops COE) to deliver on daily requirements and ad hoc projects and initiatives.

5. HR Consultant Accountabilities

Strategic Partnership: Partners with the human resources manager to design and develop key human resources practices to support the business strategy and ensure that human resources is an integral part of the business strategy.
Leadership Development: Leads the execution of human resource practices by building leader and employee capability in human resources policies and procedures through training, knowledge sharing, coaching, and direction.
Policy Alignment: Aligns divisional policies and procedures with corporate directives.
Process Improvement: Drives continuous improvement to HR processes through research and benchmarking of internal and external best practices for talent development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion for the betterment of the employee experience.
Headcount Management: Manages divisional headcount.
Workforce Planning: Supports strategic workforce planning (SWP) efforts and organizational design within the division.
Realignment Leadership: Leads realignment efforts.
Recognition Programs: Oversees divisional recognition efforts and programs.
Learning Strategy: Develops learning strategy and aligns or partners with community initiatives such as apprenticeships, learnerships, and scholarships.
Mentoring Facilitation: Facilitates mentoring efforts within the division in line with pipeline development requirements.
Training Delivery: Facilitates delivery of training and development activities, such as divisional new hire orientations, onboarding activities, employee and leaders’ workshops on specific topics for the division and coaching.
Data Analysis: Coordinates, analyzes, and delivers data-driven insights and HR processes that enable and guide informed talent management decisions.
Talent Insights: Transforms data into information and conclusions that guide and influence talent management decisions for a sustainable competitive talent advantage while maintaining consistency with Caterpillar values in action and corporate HR policies and practices.

6. HR Consultant Functions

Data Analysis: Completes the analysis of divergent data points to inform HR viewpoints and the development of talent strategies to address.
People Data Management: Data includes people-related data used in alignment with business strategies. Examples include exit interviews, skill assessments, job change trends, trends for talent attrition, talent movement, talent development statistics, performance management analysis, engagement analysis, etc.
Ad Hoc Reporting: Performs ad hoc reporting on key people-related data to continually understand how it relates to client business needs.
Workforce Planning: Participates in the workforce planning process across divisions, including creating business hypotheses related to change, determining critical questions, and identifying “what if” scenarios for the purpose of exploring varying options and outcomes.
Program Administration: Partners with HR centers of expertise (COEs) to administer programs that support the company’s ability to attract, develop, motivate, and retain talent.
Project Management: Serves as a project manager for larger-scale reorganizations across multiple divisions.
Stakeholder Influence: Influences the support needed by other key stakeholders in this process.
Process Improvement: Recommends new approaches and/or procedural changes to effect continual improvements in the efficiency of the departments and services performed.
Client Support: Serves as the key contact for manager-level support needs and as backup in the absence of the HR advisor for senior-level leadership support needs.
Leader Coaching: Coaches leaders on HR policies, procedures, services, and capabilities and communicates information in client or HR specific meetings.
Risk Assessment: Assesses overall risk associated with key initiatives and divisional support needs and partners with legal and employee relations to define overall approach related to people impacts.

7. HR Consultant Job Description

Policy Development: Leads the creation and formalization of robust HR and employment policies, ensuring they are communicated and implemented effectively.
Policy Implementation: Ensures that HR policies and procedures are central to delivering a successful HR service.
Collaborative Advising: Works closely with HR colleagues and managers to ensure that HR policies are fit for purpose in driving best practice and an inclusive workplace culture, as well as productive employee relations.
Organizational Development: Advises on organizational development and transformation projects, and translates projects into effective policy materials and documentation.
Technical Guidance: Provides proactive and pragmatic technical advice and guidance to HR colleagues across a range of subject areas.
Policy Support: Supports implementation of new HR and employee relations policies, as well as assisting with HR interventions and initiatives.
Administrative Support: Provides administrative support to benefit programs and other local programs.
Stakeholder Representation: Represents HR to internal stakeholders, external vendors, and partners.
Policy Education: Supports the development of a broad understanding of human resources policies and programs.
Compliance Management: Performs country-specific and legally mandatory HR activities, enabling and facilitating workforce management such as work permits, mandatory reporting, and other requirements.

8. HR Consultant Overview

HR Operations: Responsible for handling day-to-day human resources activities in accordance with Ukrainian labor legislation and internal company rules and procedures.
Documentation Coordination: Coordinates the preparation and processing of local HR documentation.
Regulatory Reporting: Coordinates the preparation and submission of HR administration and payroll-related reports to the state authorities.
Benefits Administration: Administers employee benefits programs (learning and development insurance, pension, medical insurance).
Payroll Coordination: Coordinates payroll process via cooperation with the payroll provider and the finance team.
Internal Communication: Prepares and issues HR-related local internal communication.
HR Collaboration: Cooperates with the regional HR service center and the HR centers of expertise.
Onboarding Management: Manages onboarding activities.
Training Facilitation: Organizes and provides training and information sessions for employees related to internal HR policies and procedures.
Learning Support: Supports managers and employees in learning and development.
Program Implementation: Responsible for implementation and communication on the local level of company HR programs.
Query Resolution: Deals with daily queries from managers and employees in the first instance.

9. HR Consultant Details and Accountabilities

- HR Collaboration: Works closely with HR colleagues and centers of expertise to understand and assist with the implementation of HR strategies and programs.
- Leader Coaching: Advises and coaches leaders on HR generalist matters.
- Employee Support: Supports all people managers and employees assigned to their geography.
- Operational Consulting: Consults with managers on people-related matters and operational HR support.
- Program Execution: Works closely with HR manager, HR delivery director and HR partners on executing programs and initiatives.
- Generalist Advising: Acts as an objective and experienced generalist HR advisor to all managers and employees.
- Performance Coaching: Provides coaching, guidance and expertise on areas including employee relations and performance management, retaining and engaging employees, employee development, and career life cycle.
- Change Management: Be responsible for change management.
- Risk Mitigation: Identifies and mitigates areas of risk.
- Performance Improvement: Works closely with operations to save costs and improve performance.

10. HR Consultant Tasks

Collaboration: Works in collaboration with the HR business partner to identify, develop, and implement solutions across a range of HR functions, including performance improvement, fitness for work, grievance resolution, and recruitment for the portfolio.
Relationship Building: Builds credible and effective working relationships with hospital management teams through effective collaboration, coaching, and mentoring of front-line leaders.
Regulatory Advice: Provides accurate and up-to-date advice in accordance with WA Health industrial agreements, policy and procedure interpretation, and best practice HR.
Reporting Compliance: Performs reporting and compliance activities.
Manager Guidance: Provides guidance to managers in interpreting compliance, regulations, policies, procedures, and employment laws and contractual obligations.
Process Improvement: Continuously reviews and suggests improvements to existing HR processes, practices, systems, and tools.
Policy Drafting: Drafts new company policies and procedures to ensure compliance with employment legislation.
Employee Interventions: Provides appropriate interventions in employee lifecycle processes such as offers, onboarding, talent management, absence, benefits, e.g., income protection, global mobility, payroll, pensions, and HR analytics.
Coaching Development: Coaches, mentors, and contribute to the development of employees and managers.
Project Partnership: Partners with HR and centers of expertise on projects, providing input and rolling out key actions.
Knowledge Sharing: Shares knowledge and expertise amongst the HR team.

11. HR Consultant Roles

Data Analysis: Analyzes and prepares personnel management-related parameters, processes ad hoc inquiries of the specialist departments, and maintains statistics.
Strategy Implementation: Participates in implementing personnel-political strategies and concepts of the company.
Project Collaboration: Cooperates in HR projects and implements the company's personnel instruments and tools.
Internal Advertising: Creates internal (ISA) advertisements for vacancies in accordance with company regulations, in coordination with the specialist departments.
Recruitment Tools: Selects appropriate recruiting tools depending on the requirements of the respective vacancy, as well as the application of the tools (e.g., internal advertisement of a vacancy, vacancy forum) for applicant selection.
Event Organization: Participates in and organizes internal recruiting events.
Applicant Screening: Screens and records incoming application documents, analyzes and decides the suitability or non-suitability of applicants under consideration of workforce requirements and requirements profile.
Interviewing: Conducts job interviews in cooperation with the specialist department, informs applicants about the political and personnel-political framework conditions.
Suitability Decision: Decides the suitability or non-suitability of applicants under consideration of workforce requirements and requirements profile in coordination with the head of the specialist department concerned.
Contract Negotiation: Conducts contract negotiations, including determining remuneration within the scope of the company's remuneration policy and in coordination with the superior concerned.
Recruitment Formalities: Performs recruitment formalities according to company regulations.

12. HR Consultant Additional Details

Contract Compliance: Checks and implements the legal and formal requirements for the conclusion, modification, or extension of employment contracts and employment contract supplements.
Candidate Selection: Participates in the assessment center to select suitable trainees as well as scholarship students.
Trainee Onboarding: Plans and implements the takeover of trainees and scholarship students after successfully concluded education and training in coordination with vocational training, under consideration of workforce requirements and requirements profile.
Staff Advising: Advises superiors and employees in all staff matters, including remuneration issues, cooperating with the relevant departments and experts.
Record Preparation: Prepares personnel records, including intermediate testimonials and references, notifications of transfer and others.
Payroll Data Management: Updates employment remuneration data in the system, specifies data for payroll accounting.
Works Council Coordination: Coordinates and clarifies individual personnel matters with the works council.
Retirement Discussions: Conducts discussions with employees on semi-retirement and calculates sums in compensation, as well as prepares corresponding contracts.
Termination Management: Holds termination talks with employees affected following an appropriate decision and dismissal talks in the case of notice given by the employer.
Documentation: Draws up documents for the shop council and other responsible units.

13. HR Consultant Essential Functions

HR Process Coordination: Facilitates and coordinates HR processes on the ground in Norway based on global processes and local requirements.
Employee Support: Supports managers and employees with queries related to local HR processes.
HR Administration: Initiates activities and HR administration for employees related to contract changes and addendums, exit interviews, benefit administration, etc.
Shared Services Collaboration: Works closely and guides HR shared services to execute daily processes.
Policy Management: Maintains and develops the HR handbook and policies, ensuring these are up to date and aligned with global standards.
Communication Management: Handles local communication activities and updates on the intranet and other channels.
Employee Engagement: Facilitates local employee connections or events.
Data Analytics: Conducts data analytics and metrics to support solutions and decision-making.
Project Support: Supports other roles within the HR team with projects and operational issues.
Manager Support: Supports line managers on sensitive and difficult work-related problems.
Restructuring Support: Supports restructuring and outplacement activities in the country.
Expatriate Support: Provides support to expat management, assignments, and relocation cases.

14. HR Consultant Role Purpose

Customer Relationship: Builds and maintains strong, long-lasting customer relationships.
Client Development: Nurtures key clients and develops wider relationships.
Client Coaching: Gives clients confidence and knowledge to hire, manage, and grow their teams.
Process Delivery: Develops and delivers various supporting processes alongside and on behalf of clients.
HR Operations: Performs personnel administration and HR operations processes, ensuring all activities are done in a timely, accurate, and legally compliant way.
Hiring Administration: Administers the process of hiring, data changes, terminations of employees, and any changes in labor conditions.
Documentation Management: Maintains personnel documentation and files with high quality and accuracy, following Bulgarian labor legislation requirements.
Manager Support: Provides advice and support to line managers in the application of policies and programs in the areas of employment, labor relations, compensation, training, performance management, and other areas of people processes.
Recruitment Activities: Is responsible for recruitment activities, including placing adverts, shortlisting, attending interviews, and negotiating offers.
Candidate Relationship: Builds strong relationships to maintain a solid candidate database.

15. HR Consultant General Responsibilities

Employee Support: Acts as the first point of contact for employee and manager queries, including advising on policies, procedures, and processes.
Manager Coaching: Coaches managers through any employee relations issues, providing guidance and building manager capability.
Business Partnership: Proactively partners with the business to identify any issues, capability gaps, upcoming HR needs, etc.
Project Leadership: Leads HR projects, including rolling out engagement surveys.
Recruitment Management: Manages recruitment vendor list and assists managers with candidate sourcing, interviews, and coordinates hire approvals.
HR Reporting: Performs general HR reporting and analysis through Workday.
Stakeholder Liaison: Liaises with global stakeholders for company-wide projects and on an ad hoc basis.
Job Advertising: Processes all administration associated with advertising job roles.
Candidate Sourcing: Actively headhunts suitable candidates using tools such as LinkedIn Recruiter.
File Management: Creates and maintains personnel files for potential candidates.

16. HR Consultant Key Accountabilities

Process Evaluation: Evaluates all processes using journey mapping techniques to identify improvement areas for a top-notch colleague experience.
Project Execution: Leads the execution and implementation of key projects that scale the enterprise to ensure key outcomes.
Market Analysis: Evaluates technology in the marketplace to stay abreast of market trends.
Collaboration Facilitation: Facilitates and works collaboratively with various teams, including business sponsors and stakeholders, subject matter experts, change management, external vendors, and third-party suppliers to establish clear deliverables and expectations.
Business Case Development: Develops business case statements that include cost and benefit details.
Solution Management: Facilitates solution options by managing or directing others on analyzing process maps, metrics, reports, and functional designs.
Solution Coordination: Coordinates agreement on an optimal solution.
Change Management: Facilitates and directs the delivery and deployment process, including all change activities, training, and communications.
HR Advising: Advises on issues such as discipline, capability, absence management, grievance, redundancy, and redeployment from an informal to a formal setting.
Manager Support: Supports managers by delivering HR solutions.
Legal Assistance: Assists in the preparation of cases for appeals and employment tribunals.
Job Evaluation: Carries out job evaluations.
Safeguarding Advocacy: Advocates the safeguarding policy to protect the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable people.

17. HR Consultant Roles and Details

Organizational Transformation: Works as part of the HR team responsible for organisational transformation.
Change Management: Is responsible for supporting the business by providing change management expertise, from design and analysis through to execution and benefits tracking.
Project Collaboration: Works alongside business subject matter experts and project resources, including communications, to implement changes ensuring alignment to the group purpose, the group's shared value drivers and acting as a key enabler of driving the group culture.
Milestone Management: Specifically responsible for shaping project milestones for all people-related activities, conducting impact assessments to determine appropriate change activities required, and establishing and delivering all consultation-related activities.
Progress Tracking: Ensures all project milestones are tracked and reported on.
Risk Management: Identifies and tracks all risks and issues, introducing ways of mitigating people’s risks to the project.
Stakeholder Management: Manages and advises key stakeholders through the project to ensure a thorough understanding of people’s implications and approaches needed to implement required changes successfully.
Client Communication: Communicates with clients (phone, video and on-site), applicants (phone and on-site), interested parties, and sourced candidates.
Process Improvement: Ideates and implements processes and structures, such as onboarding processes.
Coordination: Organizes follow-ups, scheduling, and coordination of candidates.
Global Collaboration: Collaborates on projects at home and abroad.

18. HR Consultant Responsibilities and Key Tasks

Customer Experience: Delivers an excellent customer experience and successful project implementation.
Programme Delivery: Delivers the programme against clearly defined deliverables.
Solution Configuration: Configures and tests solutions based on completed system functional scoping documents.
Process Development: Works as part of a team to create and maintain both the iTrent and HR and payroll processes best practices.
Project Teamwork: Works as part of a dedicated project team in delivering a solution-driven service.
Time Management: Undertakes certain aspects of project management and manages own time within the deliverables of a project.
Documentation Management: Ensures project documentation is kept up to date.
Product Knowledge: Maintains product knowledge to ensure understanding of the implications of new software releases.
Technical Guidance: Provides advice and guidance on iTrent functionality and best practice processes.
Service Development: Be involved in the creation and development of non-IT strategic services.

19. HR Consultant Duties and Roles

HR Support: Works closely with people leaders across all functions and spanning a defined set of geographies in providing and implementing HR support aligned to corporate HR policies and processes at a country and cluster level in line with the agreed ways of working.
Manager Coaching: Be responsible for providing advice, support, and coaching to managers and employees across the full range of employment policies, including areas such as people performance management issues, employee development, career, and performance capabilities.
Project Support: Provides advice and support to HR business partners in relation to projects linked to organizational design, M&A activity, restructuring, development and change activities, as well as HR centers of excellence cyclical activities and programmes (e.g., salary review, performance reviews, workforce planning).
Program Rollout: Provides support to centers of excellence and HR business partners to roll out critical programmes and initiatives at the local level.
Employee Relations: Focuses on both individual and collective relationships in the workplace, supporting and coaching people managers to establish trust-based relationships with employees and to manage employee relations issues.
Continuous Improvement: Works with the wider team to support the drive for continuous improvement that delivers year-on-year cost savings and service capability, whilst improving service performance against benchmarks.
HR Consulting: Serves as a skilled human resource consultant performing professional duties.
Disability Services Leadership: Is responsible for leading the day-to-day operations of the disability services unit and providing administrative direction and counsel to management and employees on human resource issues.
Independent Planning: Plans and carries out work independently and with minimum supervision, utilizing knowledge of laws, policies, and regulations.
Issue Management: Be responsible for prioritizing and managing issues within the designated area of responsibility.
Disability Program Management: Be responsible for HR disability services programs to include reasonable accommodation, medical leaves, workers’ compensation, shared leave, long-term disability claims, mandatory drug and alcohol testing, volunteer reporting, interpretation and application of laws, rules, policies and procedures, program or policy development, and appeals.
Stakeholder Communication: Maintains frequent contact with employees, management, department administrators and external entities.
Issue Prioritization: Prioritizes and manages issues within designated areas of responsibility independently and with minimum supervision, utilizing knowledge of laws, policies and regulations.

20. HR Consultant Roles and Responsibilities

Compensation Strategy: Develops customer-specific compensation strategies to address issues such as retention, attraction, and engagement.
Program Administration: Administers Duke Energy's base and variable pay programs, job evaluation using market pricing methodology, support for reorganizations, and policy guidance.
Project Partnership: Partners with peers on one-time and ongoing projects, such as the annual merit and incentive cycle, M&A activities, salary surveys, or developing new recognition programs.
Data Analytics: Provides data analytics to support strategic resource decisions, labor negotiations, or budget development.
Communications Support: Provides input for various requests including company communications and media inquiries, regulatory filings, and internal and external audit requests.
Issue Resolution: Identifies root causes of issues and risk, implements key controls and recognizes opportunities for customer experience and process improvements.
Technical Support: Troubleshoots and provides support to HR and end-users of tools and technologies.
Enrollment Assistance: Assists with the open enrollment process by educating employees on their options with clarity and compassion.
Benefits Support: Assists employees regarding benefits, claims issues, and plan changes.
Employee Enrollment: Enrolls employees with carriers and assists in processing life changes.
Issue Coordination: Works with employees to ensure appropriate resolutions are obtained by coordinating with other HR teams and vendors.
Data Management: Updates relevant employee databases to ensure correct program and personal data.

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