Service Learning: Request for Partnership Proposal WDW 446- Working As an Internal HR Consultant
Service Learning: Request for Partnership Proposal
WDW 446- Working as an Internal HR Consultant
Lori Riznek
1, 2, 4. Introduction, Course Title, Course Offering: WDW 446, Working as an Internal HR Consultant, to be offered on the St George Campus during the winter term of 2014 (January to April). The course is part of the undergraduate Employment Relations Program, now a part of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources. Lori Riznek, will be the course instructor. This is the first time the course is being offered; this will be a pilot.
3. Subject area: An overarching goal of this course is to bring together the role of the internal HR professional in an organization with a problem solving oriented consulting process. With the evolution of HR, working as an internal HR consultant has become a more strategic role within organizations. Typically, HR professionals sit around the problem-solving table with their business colleagues to address the human resource implications of the various opportunities and challenges facing the organization. Historically, students in the undergraduate Employment Relations Program have learned about the functional specialties within human resources (e.g. recruitment and selection, compensation, employment law, labour relations, etc). This new, capstone course, will help students to “rise above” these functional areas to take an overarching view of the strategic HR challenges organizations face as they make changes to equip their employees with the skills and knowledge necessary to be continually effective, and successful, in their organization. To do this, students need to learn what it means to “consult” with community partners, the tools at their disposal to problem solve, how to manage their clients (in the case of the service learning component, their relationship with their community partner) etc. To truly grasp the work of an internal consultant, we are seeking community placement opportunities in which students can take on responsibility for completing a specific HR-related project (applying the concepts and theories they will be learning in the classroom) that provides a service to the host organization. We believe this course will better equip our graduates to assume the HR generalist role many of them desire as they enter the workforce as well as make a meaningful contribution to your organization by helping to address an HR related issue.
5.In-course Learning: In the classroom students will learn about the consulting process, primarily drawing on the work of Peter Block. The elements of the process that will be reviewed include: understanding the role of internal consultant, developing client commitment, mapping out the problem, specifying what is involved in the assignment (and what is not included), ground rules for contracting with the client, managing the client-consultant relationship, understanding resistance to change and dealing with it, brainstorming solution options, giving and receiving feedback, developing and implementing an action plan, and concluding an assignment. While learning the process of consulting, students will also be building interpersonal skills in areas such as listening, giving and receiving feedback, conflict resolution and problem solving.
6.Role of the Service Learning Placement: The service-learning placement is an integral aspect of the students’ learning experience in this course. Without it, students would not appreciate what it “feels” like to be in the internal HR role, faced with applying classroom concepts within a community context. It is one thing to learn about a theory, or process, in principle and another to activate that learning to solve a concrete organizational challenge or opportunity. While the course could be taught without the service-learning component, it would have a fraction of the learning value.
7.Reflection: At this time, we are planning to include the following reflection activities during the course: 1) Mid Term Consulting Assignment Progress report, in which students will use a Progress Report Template provided by the instructor to summarize their consulting experience by illustrating ways in which the theories and concepts introduced in class were evidenced, applied or experienced during their placement; 2) Lessons Learned Poster Presentation (at the end of the course) in which students will summarize their learning experience in a poster presentation format (similar to those used at academic meetings) and which will be on display for other Employment Relations students to review (in a job fair type setting) and 3)One on One Interviews with the Professor. During a 20-30 minute meeting, students will answer questions prepared by the professor that assess what the student learned about the role of being an internal organizational consultant and the consulting process in general. The student’s community partner could play an instrumental role in the first two activities in particular, by helping the student identify the deeper learning that comes out of the placement (beyond the concrete deliverables of a meeting completed, or a set of minutes prepared).
8.Learning Objectives (specific to the placement): 1) To experience the process of consulting by completing an HR-related project identified by and of value to a community organization; 2) To understand that strong listening and verbal communication skills are at the core of what consultants need to be successful; 3) To have an opportunity to be in meetings and listen to organizational members wrestle with a problem (that has an HR component) in order to fully understand the perspectives of various stakeholders and the challenges of finding an acceptable solution that meets the needs of all parties; 4) To be given a “significant” project to complete that is of value to the host organization. This is critical: students will disengage quickly if they perceive they are being asked to engage in “make work” projects (e.g. administrative tasks like entering data, copying materials, etc); and 5) To increase the student’s self-awareness in important skill areas such as critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, communication and conflict resolution.
9.What students bring to the experience: This course is open to fourth year students only. This means they will have taken various courses related to the HR functions including compensation, labour relations, recruitment and selection, negotiations, research methods and training and development. As such they will bring a foundational knowledge of these areas: core concepts, theories and frameworks that will be helpful to them in analyzing the project/problem they are asked to work on. In all likelihood, a few of them may have work experience in HR but it is also possible that some have limited work experience. We will work hard (in a pre-course orientation) to provide a realistic description of the significant workload demands of balancing both the classroom and placement portions of this course. In other words, they will be prepared to work hard.
10.Placement Details: It would be ideal if students could work in groups of 2 or 3. As this places a higher workload on their community placement partner to “manage” the activities of multiple students, single placements would be considered. No language, faith or gender considerations are anticipated. The course instructor will be supervising the students closely to provide guidance and ensure all projects are completed on time and to a high quality.
11.Number of Students: The course is capped at 15 students, and 15 have enrolled.
12.Timeline: Mid January to first week in April
13.Hours: 2-3 hours per week for a total of about 22-33 hours
14.Expectation of Partners: Work with students to develop a “contract” specifying what the student will be working on and expected to deliver. Meet with the course instructor for a briefing session to prepare for students arrival in the organization, understand course logistics, etc. Provide an orientation session within their organization for their student(s). Provide any placement related supplies. Understand their role is as mentor and coach for the students. Work with the professor who will make site visits, request a brief updates, etc.
15.Contact info: phone: 905 467-1662 (personal cell phone, so calls during office hours only)
16.Examples of Placement Projects: design and implement a short survey (such as an employee attitude survey or a client satisfaction survey) in which they prepare the questions, collect, analyze and present the results to the organization; develop skill or competency model for various job categories within the organization; prepare an “on boarding/orientation program” for new employees or volunteers; develop interview questions for job candidates (could also conduct basic job interviews); conduct benchmarking or best practice research and present results to the organization; design a short training session; policy research regarding role of volunteers in a unionized environment; researching best practices regarding recruitment of agency staff who reflect the clients served by the organization.