Since transactional HR is going the way of the Dodo bird, the only handhold between here and oblivion is transformational work. Happily, this is a huge handhold, since organizations dearly need transitioning assistance, and the fact that they are hiring external consultants by the boatload demonstrates that there is interest, belief, and funding.

            So, what’s an HR department to do?

            First, imbue the staff with true consulting skills (not training skills, not bogus “coaching certifications,” and not jargon). Transition the staff to become process consultants. After all, if you can’t transform your own department, how can you expect to do it with line customers?

            Second, identify those areas of the highest impact and greatest visibility for organizational progress. The impact is important to produce a health ROI, and the visibility is important because you need credibility organization-wide as quickly as possible. Don’t kid yourself, you’re partially in the marketing business.

            Here are the areas that I’ve found, on a generic basis, are the most vital and dramatic, though I acknowledge that these will vary by type and nature of business:

            • Implementation of strategy. That is, taking the dusty, three-ring binder and actually assisting the component business units to meet the goals therein. That is rarely done well at all.

            • Innovative activities. Too many organizations are stuck in a reactive mode to the competition or to their own problems. Someone has to be in charge of raising the performance bar. HR can do that cross-functionally, which is a distinct advantage.

            • Evaluation of talent. Too many people are receiving falsely high performance ratings because of easy goals or cowardly superiors unwilling to give honest feedback. Yet the organization must support its all-stars, develop its good people, and purge itself of its non-performers. Any manager who says no one will be fired on his or her watch just isn’t watching. But systematic, objective tools are needed to do this accurately and ethically.

            • Speaking of which, ride herd on ethics. Just because the general counsel says it’s legal doesn’t mean it will pass the “stink test.” Become the conscience of the organization, not the cop, and point out that ethical transgressions can appear on the front page of The Wall Street Journal as prominently as any other type of news.

            • Control political correctness. Organizations are taking a beating with pseudo-correctness, such as demanding that people change their language in silly ways (“utility cover” instead of “man hole cover”—should we start referring to ships as “she or he”?). By all means embrace diversity and oppose prejudice, but also strive to place top talent in key positions. Organizations thrive on the “best and the brightest,” not giving everyone a chance despite capabilities.

            These are just a few areas where transformational HR can make a huge difference. All it takes are skills, volition, and passion. If you can’t do this for yourself, you can’t do it for anyone else, so beware the outsourcing cavalry. Those are external consultants on the hoof.

Alan Weiss, Ph.D. is the author of 25 books, including Million Dollar Consulting (McGraw-Hill), which appear in 7 languages. He runs the unique Million Dollar Consulting™ Colleges three times a year. You can reach him at http://www.summitconsulting.com, where you can also download hundreds of free articles. He was recently inducted into the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame.®