Employee handling and managing attrition have become very important for the HR function. HR must be able to manage an effective work force. Forecasting becomes crucial to have optimum employee strength. HR should also be able to effectively analyze which of the hiring channels is most productive.

Succession planning is one area which, if not taken care of, can lead to lacuna in the organization. This becomes all the more important for senior management positions. If not planned in advance, there could be a large gap in finding an alternative, and by the time on-boarding happens, several months may just have been lost.

Similarly, attrition analysis is also another important area. A higher the attrition rate doesn't augur well for a company. HR must analyze the reasons if attrition rate is high.

Maintaining diversity, that is having right balance of age groups and gender ratio, plays an important role in the success of a company.

A consultant should focus on understanding the HR's recruitment needs and help the HR function to manage the key metrics. Value-add can be in the form of comparing the attrition rates with external similar industry benchmarks. The consultant can also suggest doing social media analysis to understand what people are saying about the company. Any negative comments will have a direct impact on recruitment.