Forging strong partnerships with internal Human Resources support professionals is often a critical success factor in Larcen Consulting's organizational development interventions.

While much of our highest profile work over the past couple of years has been in the start-up and early-stage growth company sector, we've continued to assist well-known medium and large cap firms, like Intel and Cisco, in achieving their own organizational development goals.

We recently completed an analysis of our working relationship with the Human Resource Department in one of these companies. Our findings underscore the value and importance of LSC/internal HR linkages in accomplishing results with our clients. In the case of the particular client profiled, I've been involved in a total of 19 different projects over a 2 year period. Our research revealed that: HR identified the need for intervention on 7 occasions; internal line managers on 5 occasions; individual managers on 4 occasions, and we took the initiative on 3 occasions.

Depending upon their own desires, availability, and capabilities, as well as their internal line manager clients' preferences, HR partnered with us in one of three ways: Full Partner -- HR was intimately involved in virtually all phases of the full consulting cycle. Partial Partner -- HR was more selectively involved. This role included assistance in contracting, data collection, data interpretation and summarizing outcomes during an offsite. Passive Partner -- HR practitioners would serve primarily in "behind-the-scenes" capacities such as monitoring progress or participating as non-intervening observers.

Regardless of the level of partnership, we have come to value HR contributions toward the success of consulting projects. HR specifically helps leverage the impact of interventions by bringing to bear four special advantages they may have over us. First, HR frequently possesses invaluable information about organizational history and situational contexts that can help shape interventions. Second, HR's knowledge of key players can be critically important in working out individual involvement and roles during the course of an intervention. Third, some HR practitioners have unusually strong credibility with their internal clients-clearly an advantage to us as we develop the network of processes needed to load the odds for success in change initiatives. This advantage often includes a capacity to make critical connections with individuals whose support of or other contribution to an OD project can make a big difference. And fourth, we worked with HR partners who assisted in forging vital cross-functional linkages among sometimes disparate, widely diverse functional groups. This type of contribution makes an intervention more efficient and effective.

We did see, in our profiled client, instances where HR chose not or preferred not to be involved. A variety of reasons for this decision can include: an HR group charter or mandate which simply precludes their involvement except for being kept informed, lack of available HR capacity to assist, line manager client desire for confidentiality, management's desire to keep HR focused on other priorities (recruiting, comp issues, etc).

The benefits of developing effective partnerships with internal HR professionals cut several ways. HR people pointed out the payoffs they gained from the relationships: working on OD projects often represents a form of "job enrichment" which adds rewarding new dimensions to the traditional HR role set. HR practitioners reported important gains in skills and techniques of value in their subsequent internal dealings and career development. HR's relationship with internal line manager clients became broader and deeper. Managers are thus more apt to see HR as value-adding contributors ranging well beyond transactional personnel roles. HR can have a greater impact in ensuring continuity and follow-through on change initiatives after our departure.

In summary, our findings with this particular client reflect a broader theme central to our practice: Strong working alliances with our clients' HR communities create important "wins" for all parties involved. We at LSC continue to be committed to developing these partnerships as a core ingredient in our strategy.