Consultant-Client Relationship

Issues and Facts

Consultant in the context of organization and OD, is a professional people may be from
inside or outside of the organization, who applies or provides or helps behavioral science
knowledge or services in the client system/organization with the objectives of managing
change and improving its effectiveness.

Client, the simple meaning of Client is the person seeking assistance, service, advice
from other. In the context of OD, Client is an organization or its working divisions/units,
or groups/teams, or systems and sub-systems, or persons/employees or manager who is
being assisted or getting professional services/helps for the purpose of change and
development Client.
In the process of consulting, client and consultant both involve for organizational change
and development. It is assumed that both sides do their best efforts to achieve the same
purpose.
According to Lippit, "consulting relationship can be defined as a voluntary relationship
between a professional helper (Consultant) and help-needing system (Client ) in which the
consultant is attempting to give help to the client in solving of some current or potential
problems and the relationship is perceived as temporary by both parties".
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Consultant-Client Relations

Consultant with the purpose of OD engages in wide variety of activities/actions

which are also called interventions such as problem diagnosis, team and inter-group
activities, survey feedback, training for managerial effectiveness, restructuring
organizations, role negotiation, planning and goal setting, counseling, coaching,
advising, mentoring, conducting training, and career planning etc.

The Role of OD Consultant is to assist change in client system/organization.

Consultant/s work with manager and executives as change agent partners to help the
organizations in achieving its goal and objectives.

According to Maheswari, the role of an OD consultant is of a guru (teacher) who

needs to posses the knowledge, wisdom, and sensitivity vis a vis the problem of
organization. On the basis of his wisdom, he may advise the client (Organization and
its sub-systems ) to implement certain changes".

The role of OD consultant is to advise the client to take appropriate actions,

convince the client for the required changes, and helps the client to modify the
attitude/mindset . However, implementation of advice given by consultant is the sole
responsibility of the client.
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Differences Between Traditional Consultants

and OD Consultants
Traditional Consultants

OD Consultants

1. Traditional consultants work more 1. OD consultant works more as the

as the expert of subject matter to facilitator rather than being subject
advise.
matter expert to advise.
2. They more focus on telling and 2. OD consultants more focuses on
directive approach with clients.
collaborative approach with client and
its members.
3. Traditional consultants create a 3. OD consultants create a situation of
situation of dependency between them interdependency
moving
to
and clients.
independence for the clients.
4. Traditional consultants try to own 4. OD consultants facilitate clients to
and manage process and outcomes of own and mange process and
change.
outcomes of change.
5. Traditional consultants transfer less 5. OD consultants transfer as much as
skills of organizational changes to more skills of organizational change to
clients.
clients.
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Consultant-Client Relationship

Development of client-consultant relationship is an important factor for the success or failure of

an OD. Therefore, categories of clients is important while taking consultant services.
Following are the major categories of clients service system while developing relationship
between consultant and clients.

1.

Contact Clients: Client initially contacts Consultant.

2.

Intermediate Clients: Clients participate with consultants in various meetings for fact findings
of problems, assignment planning, and reviewing alternatives etc.
Primary or Principal Clients: These clients are the main collaborators of consultant who need
to own the problems and need to help consultants proposal of solution.
Contract Clients: Clients play a key role in consultant selection process and negotiation.

3.
4.
5.

Ultimate Clients: Whose interest will ultimately be affected, they must be considered when OD
interventions activities are planned, though they may not directly work with the consultants.

6.

Sponsoring Clients: Those clients who provide financial resources to consultant, but may or
may not play key role in choosing consultant and approving and implementing interventions
proposals and their monitoring execution.

Consultants and Client

In Consultant- Client System, Client may be an individual employee, single

manager, management team, organizational units, and finally a total
organization who are getting helps, advice, inputs, assistance from OD
professional for desirable changes in organization are the Clients.

The Client system is the process of seeking supports and inputs from other for
OD activities. Organization can get importance inputs from both the internal and
external environment that is also important for OD.

The underlying philosophy of OD is the system concept. In system approach,

OD is based on linkages between the individual goals and the goals of the
organization. Therefore, OD is open and adaptive in nature. Inputs from
Consultants enrich organization for good outputs.

Consultant-Client

System Theory suggests that OD Consultant/Professionals or Practitioners should

identify the importance internal parts of the organizations such as goals, tasks,
structures, process, cultures, technologies, coordinating mechanisms,
leaderships as the subjects of the Cliental services for OD.

Similarly, OD Consultant/Professionals and Practitioners should also interact with the

external environment factors influencing organization as a whole. Organization
as a Client should learn from the external environment for enriching the
organization.

The Consultant-Client Relation is about assisting individual employee, working units,

teams and organization for the OD activities. Therefore, Client System needs to
seek
inputs
from
internal
and
external
environment
through
consultants/professional for the purpose of OD.
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