TABLE OF CONTENTS We know that internal consulting is needed for successful change The business case, if done correctly, proves it to the doubters
Most companies have internal consultants, except they often do not call them by this name. The label often given people who hold these positions is engineering or reliability staff people who work in other departments outside of maintenance whose role it is to provide support to those doing the work. If the role is filled from within the reliability / maintenance organization, either on a full or part-time basis, these people are often described as simply handling special projects. The projects can be of either short- or long-term duration.
In each case, these people provide the services that we have been describing as those delivered by an internal consultant. The problem is that these individuals do not have the correct label assigned to their role. As a result, the incumbents often find it difficult to work in the role to which they have actually been assigned. What is needed is a way to validate the position of internal consultant, then fill the position with an individual or group whose sole job it is to perform this service for the organization.
Years ago I was working as a lead engineer for a section of the plant. This job was not one that I really wanted; I had landed in this role as the result of a company-wide layoff. My options were lead engineer or...
