Organisational design consultants are specialist HR professionals who meticulously define and organise the structure of companies, create job titles, and allocate resources (i.e. personnel) in the right places to improve efficiency and increase productivity. These guys make strategic decisions with regard to company hierarchy and personnel infrastructure.
Essentially, organisational design consultants are the professionals who figure out why certain people should report to other people, and why the sales team should be much larger than the marketing team, for example.
The majority of organisational design consultants tend to work for independent consultancies, such as Capgemini and Beamans. However, some large companies do employ in-house organisational design specialists as part of their HR team.
Before an organisational design consultant can make major decisions about the structure of a company, they must understand the organisation’s business objectives, strategy, processes and operations. After all, the proposed changes must satisfy the needs of the business. Consequently, meticulous planning, analysis and research must be completed.
Organisation design consultants don’t just define job titles and recommend that certain jobs are cut – they also design processes, recruitment policies and employee reward systems.
Throughout the entire organisational design (or redesign) process, these guys work alongside senior managers to make sure the proposed changes are as economical and effective as possible.
Salary & benefits
Organisational design consultants can earn anywhere between £50,000 and £100,000 per annum. Freelance consultants can earn considerably more—sometimes up to £650 a day.
Working hours
Organisational design consultants typically work five days a week from nine-to-five, although extra evening and weekend work may be required from time-to-time to meet project deadlines.
You may be required to travel, both domestically and internationally from time to time in order to attend client meetings and deliver presentations.
Entry
This is a senior level position and therefore most people do not enter this line of work straight out of university. Instead, it’s likely that you will begin your career in a generalist HR position and specialise in organisational design once you have gained sufficient experience.
To find out about the entry requirements for generalist HR roles, check out our Human Resources Officer job description.
Training & progression
The majority of people enter the HR industry via a graduate training scheme, most of which tend to involve ‘on-the-job’ training, as well as the opportunity to complete a professional course administered by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD).
The CIPD also offers a short course for HR professionals who wish to specialise in organisational design.
There is no defined career path for organisational design consultants. Consequently, most people explore freelance opportunities or join other companies in search of new challenges and larger salaries.
Alternatively, you could explore opportunities in other areas of the HR industry, such as organisational development, organisational change, training and development, or compensation and benefits.
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