Consulting Skills Certificate

Being seen as a valued business partner should be a goal for talent development professionals. Consulting and business partnering use expertise, influence, and personal skill to build a two-way relationship that facilitates change or improvement in the business. Clients may be internal or external. Successful consulting and business partnering requires skill in needs assessment, data analysis, communication, systems thinking, problem solving, negotiation, facilitation, and coaching. –TDBoK Guide

Upon completion of this certificate for consulting, you will be able to:

• Build and strengthen relationships with clients to establish credibility and trust as a valued partner.

• Use the consulting model, tools, and templates to effectively guide clients through the consulting process.

• Develop effective questioning and active listening skills to gather information from the client.

• Collect data to identify problems, opportunities, and root causes.

• Communicate the findings and recommendations based on data analysis.

• Conduct an effective alignment meeting.

• Demonstrate how to overcome resistance and respond to difficult client behaviors.

• Evaluate the results of the solution and identify areas for future improvement.

• Move from order taker to true business consultant by applying an ATD-exclusive model, advanced skills, and consulting project management tools to successfully consult with organizations to implement talent development projects.

• Maximize successful management consulting strategies with internal and external clients, including working across organizational boundaries, providing feedback to senior leaders, and gaining buy-in.

• Evaluate your baseline consulting business skills and identify your developmental needs as a consultant.

• Gain access to ATD-exclusive templates and tools to use in your own consulting practice.

• Establish your consulting credibility by earning an industry-recognized certificate for consulting, continuing education credits, and an ATD digital badge to share with your networks.

Talent development professionals, management consultants who focus on employee growth and development, L&D business consultants, or talent solutions teams who consult either internally or externally to design and implement learning solutions within an organization should attend.

The program benefits professionals who are new to a consulting role and do not have professional client management experience, as well as those who want to prepare to assume a management consulting role in talent development in the future. A baseline self-evaluation at the start of the program will help more experienced consulting professionals focus on the skills they want to develop as they move through the program.

Project managers, human resources professionals, and other roles who provide internal consulting services as part of a talent development team may also find the skills and consulting model helpful in their work.

The course includes 14 hours of learning. The in-person format is provided over two eight-hour days, with a one-hour break for lunch on each day. The live online program consists of four instructor-led sessions, each lasting three and a half hours. 

Talent development consulting centers on enhancing employee knowledge, skills, and capabilities to drive organizational performance and learning outcomes. Talent development consultants may work internally or externally but always aim to connect learning solutions with business success using specialized tools and models. 

Management consulting, by comparison, is broader and focuses on solving complex business challenges and improving an organization’s overall performance and strategy. Management consulting covers a wide range of advisory services, from business strategy to organizational design, and may include talent development consulting as a subcategory focused on people strategy and workforce improvement. 

The ATD Consulting Skills Certificate is eligible for recertification credits for PHR, SPHR, and GPHR, and is recognized for SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP PDCs. It also fulfills professional development hours or recertification points from the ATD Certification Institute for APTD and CPTD credentials.

This course will help talent development project managers apply consulting skills to their learning projects. It covers complementary skills such as building consultant-client relationships, presenting findings and analysis, developing and executing solutions, and managing a consulting project through evaluation.

Yes, the Consulting Skills Certificate program is available as a private team training option, either in person or virtually, at a date and time of your choosing. To learn more, schedule a time with an ATD Enterprise representative.

In addition to private team training options, ATD can help you to choose a facilitator that fits your industry and goals as well as customize course content to support the needs of your team.

Additional information to help you prepare for your certificate in consulting program:

• Completion Requirements: Review the attendance policy before your course begins to ensure your successful completion.

• Technical Requirements: Ensure your tech is ready for the first day of your program.

• Enrolled in a program? To check your course status and enrollment details, launch your course, or download your certificate, go to MyATD.

• Terms and Privacy: Review our cancellation policy, health protocols for in-person courses, and more.

• Have additional questions about ATD courses? Visit our ATD Education FAQ for answers.

• Driving the Consulting Process as a Partner

• Examining the Consulting Process

• Additional Tools and Resources:

  • Assess Your Learning Competencies

  • ATD’s Consulting Model

• Developing the Consultant-Client Relationship

• Assessing Your Client’s Readiness

• Aligning on Expectations

• Additional Tools and Resources:

  • Exploratory Meeting Worksheet

  • Organizational Change Readiness Predictor

  • Consulting Project Planning Guide

  • Project Acceptance Agreement

• Using Data to Improve Consulting

• Defining the Problem and Root Causes

• Collecting Data

• Additional Tools and Resources:

  • Interview Planning Checklist

• Interpreting the Data

• Delivering the Findings

• Encountering Resistance

• Conducting an Alignment Meeting

• Additional Tools and Resources:

  • One-Page Project Overview

  • Fundamental Design Features of Feedback

  • Feedback Planning Tool

• Building an Implementation Team

• Implementing the Changes

• Additional Tools and Resources:

  • Alignment Checklist

  • Project Management Checklist

  • Accountability Chart

• Finishing a Project

• Achieving Success as a Consulting Professional

• Additional Tools and Resources

  • Consultant Reaction Evaluation Template

  • Consulting Process Evaluation Checklist