Internal consulting
A consultation format for McKinsey & Company
AGREEMENT between:
And
Consultant (the name and address)
i. This sections consists of the parties entering in to agreement
ii. It also identifies how both parties will be referred to
1. The Term
This states the commencement date and the termination date of the agreement.
2. The Services
i. This states the relationship of the agreement i.e. business to business
ii. Gives protection to the client by providing the necessary legal information.
3. The Fee
This involves any General arrangements for settlement of fees and invoicing.
4. The Location
i. Information on the basic location where the consulting exercise is to be carried out
ii. Any need for multiple consultant locations. Any expenses involved as a result of travel related expenses and accommodation details.
5. Timesheets
i. The procedure for completing the time sheets by the client should be summarized in this section. This enables the client to match the invoices with the working consulting days.
6. Meetings
i. This states the purpose of the meeting for the customer and the specialist.
ii. Clients are advised to hold meetings regularly with their consultants to avoid any cases of misinformation.
7. Warranties
i. This gives the client an assurance that all employees involved the delivery of the service are appropriately trained and experienced thus they will be capable of producing positive outcomes.
8. Site Requirements
i. It is the conscientiousness of the customer to ensure that all workers involved in the delivery of the consultancy services, comply with the stipulated requirements of the premises.
9. Indemnity and Insurance
i. This section offers protection to the client against any loss or harm because of the consultant’s actions.
10. Ownership
i. This section defines the ownership, protection, and custody of any property created in the course of the consultation.
ii. It aims at protecting the client’s intellectual property.
11. Confidentiality
i. Professional consultancy requires that any party involved in the delivery of consultancy assignment should not reveal any information prior, during and even after the contract.
12. Restriction
i. This section guarantees the exclusivity of the consultant in delivering the services to the specified client alone. Additionally, the expert will not in any case provide similar services to another business.
13. Offers of Employment
i. This protects the client from being thrown out of the contract.
ii. It also protects the consultant by ensuring his job security.
14. Independence
i. This section emphasizes on the business-to-business nature of the client – consultant relationship.
15. Publicity
i. Before making the consulting assignment public, the consultant must first request for permission from the client.
16. Termination
i. This section defines the prevailing circumstances under which either party can end the agreement.
ii. It also states the requirements associated with the termination.
17. Absence and substitution
i. It is important for parties to be given the right to substitution because this shows their level of commitment to the contract.
ii. The contract allows the consultant to substitute himself.
18. Force Majeure
i. Superior power clause intends to exclude a party from the contract incase of any unexpected event.
ii. Normally, contract parties have no ability to control such disruptive events e.g. civil war.
19. Waiver of Remedies
i. Activities that breach the contract will not have any changes to the rights of the parties involved.
20. Entire Agreement
i. This gives a statement that the current contract supersedes any previous contracts
21. Assignment
i. The parties have no right to transfer the contracts
22. Headings
i. The contract headings are for the purpose of ease of reference to the client while reading the contract.
23. Compliance by Employees
i. The consultant must make sure that the client complies with the conditions associated with the agreement.
24. Law
i. The agreement must be in line with the law requirements.
Opportunities available to and problems facing a HR professional who is also an internal consultant
Problem
Any HR professional as an internal consultant will have a divided dedication to his job. This is likely to have a negative impact on the company in departments such as recruiting and developing talents hence the company goals would not be successfully achieved (Parsons, 1996).
Opportunity
Any HR professional who is also an internal consultant is able to gain extra experience and be successful in his work. The individual will have increased responsibility in key areas and managing other consultants. The ultimate result would be that the individual would take on the role of line manager in some parts of the company (Parsons, 1996).
Reference
Parsons, R., D. (1996).The skilled consultant: a systematic approach to the theory and practice
of consultation. Michigan: Allyn & Bacon.
