Organization Development Practitioners

Change agents who do OD work are a diverse community, consisting of managers, HR professionals, IT project managers, and more. Some organizations employ internal consultants who hold the titles of organization development consultant, organizational effectiveness consultant, or human resources specialist. These are generally roles in which the practitioner is hired as a full-time employee to provide internal consulting to managers, executives, and teams that are experiencing problems or implementing change.

OD consultants who work as internal practitioners in an employee capacity generally work in the human resources department, but larger organizations may also have OD consultants reporting to a business area instead. Some observers have noted that where an organization has an internal OD function, it is often “buried within HR,” where internal consultants lack access to executive clients and have difficulty making an organizational influence.

Organizations also employ external OD consultants who work independently or as part of a larger consulting practice. Often the organization establishes a contract with the external consultant on a per-project basis. These consultants may have several clients at any given time, depending on the time commitment required of the engagement.