An Odd Thing about HR Communication Consulting
Posted on Friday, September 21, 2007 by Frank RocheThose who can’t do, teach.
Those who can’t teach, consult.
Those who can’t consult work in communications.
That’s an old consulting joke. But as with most jokes, there’s a thread of truth embedded in it. When other HR consultants are brought in, they don’t get asked to show samples. No one asks an executive compensation consultant, “Can I see your last three comp designs that you did for other clients?” No one asks to look at an actuary’s spreadsheets from previous projects. But if you work in communication consulting it happens all the time.
I make my living as a communication consultant in HR. That means I spend a good chunk of time working closely with clients on the media and the message. I work with them on getting impact. Helping employees break through the clutter. I spend the rest of my time writing.
After all, at the end of the day, communication typically starts as words on paper that are then converted into web sites, scripts, videos, brochures, and memos. I’ve worked at a newspaper. I’ve been a communicator for more years than I care to count. I’ve consulted for hundreds of clients, wrote dozens of published articles, trained tens of thousands of people, and wrote thousands of blog posts on HR and communication. Still, clients want to see samples. Here’s a little hint for those of you who hire communication help: Don’t ask for samples. The side story below* is why.
It still surprises me when I get asked for samples. But it gets better. I had an interesting one a week or so ago. I got asked, in effect, to take a writing test — to deliver a few examples of something as proof that our firm could do that. And we did. Imagine if a compensation consultant was asked to do that: Here’s our current design, now show me something better. If we like it we’ll think about hiring you. We face that all the time in our business because everyone with a pen thinks he’s a communicator.
I’m not complaining, really. We do quite well, thank you very much. But I do think that corporate HR types do themselves a disservice when then get communication consulting help but have a view that anyone could do it if they just had the time. I think that’s generally true if you want the “Brochure People,” the communication consultants who don’t have a technical skill and their best feature is that they can write fully formed sentences with a noun, verb, and predicate in the right places. But real communication is more than that. If you don’t know what I mean I can show you a few samples. Well…maybe not.
* I was at a pitch several years ago to a potential client in NYC. They had just merged two very big and high profile companies. And they needed a lot of communication help. Twenty-five people came filing slowly into the room to hear two of us from our firm talk about our experience and what we might do for them. Everyone had new Blackberries and were clicking on those horrible things.
Because they had asked in advance, against our better judgment we went ahead and showed them some samples in the first few minutes of the meeting. After a long pause, one of the wizened HR people asked, “Got any more samples?” I turned and whispered to my co-presenter, “I have some more in the car. I’ll be right back.” I wanted to bolt out of there right then. We wasted 45 more minutes and got nowhere with those people. It’s why I never show samples anymore. People get hung up on the shade of purple you used, and can’t focus on what’s important.
rick
Sep 21st, 2007
As an exec comp consultant I am occasionally asked for samples in a sales presentation. I never quite understood what the audience was trying to gain from a set of charts or graphs. I always felt that the interpretation of the data rather than the data itself was where the value would be for them. I admit this request is rare relative to communications consulting.
It is becomming quite frequent however for companies to require a detailed analysis of their current plans as part of the sales process. At one time this was part of the work.
Bill Strahan
Sep 21st, 2007
Next time you are asked for a sample, give it to them. Right on their desk. But be sure to not use the little dixie cup.
Michael
Sep 21st, 2007
I think the thing you’re missing is, what does the client want. You can give examples til your blue in the face. Until you know what the client is looking for, you’re samples won’t mean a thing.
Frank Roche
Sep 22nd, 2007
Rick, wow, it’s happening everywhere.
Bill, that’s certainly the kind of sample that runs through my mind and into my cartoon balloon.
Michael, yep, it’s about the audience. But what ends up happening is that they can’t discern that a particular piece was made for a particular audience at a particular time. Funny, but people aren’t all that imaginative. Couple that with a conservative nature anyway and you have a formula for a bad idea.
JT
Sep 22nd, 2007
When I worked for the big consulting warehouse, I did executive compensation consultanting. I must admit, I was never asked for a sample. I would be asked however to tell them, “what do most people do.” Now this was not, what do most people do, who are in our situation, just what most people do. They asked the particular question because understanding the situation is what costs money.
My stock answer was to tell them I would happily share that information with them but that I hoped they did not merely replicate the activity. I would explain that it is like a pharmacy. You (the client or potential client or soon to be ex-client) are sick. If don’t walk into the pharmacy and say “I’m sick, give me the medicene that people take most.” You need to know what is wrong with you first.
Frank Roche
Sep 22nd, 2007
Wow, JT, pharmacy analogy gave me a chill — the good kind. And in the vein of “Good poets borrow and great poets steal,” you can bet that I’ll be using that one many times. Brilliant, just brilliant. See, I was more prepared to “go get more samples in the car.” Being clever is much better.
Trisha
Sep 23rd, 2007
Hey Frank! What’s your problem with conservative people with no imagination? You just insulted 90 percent of the population.
Frank Roche
Sep 23rd, 2007
Hi Trisha….wow, long time, so I’m really smiling. That’s “conservative,” not “Conservative.” I’m using that term in the low risk taking vein. LOL.
Trisha
Sep 24th, 2007
Wow! I finally got something through to you. I have hunted you down on your various websites with no luck. So Mr. Roche…..how does it feel to have a stalker?
Frank Roche
Sep 25th, 2007
Trisha, it’s pretty cool…it means I made it! Hey, I’ll send you a note on Wednesday (my outbound mail is hung up in the server at this hotel in Denver). It’s nice to be back in touch. Really great, actually.