Career Paths
With an Ear to the Ground
Hewitt Associates has 60 professionals within its listening practice. Consulting Magazine wanted to hear what one of them had to say …
Kim Hartmann, 36
Listening Consultant
Hewitt Associates
Q. What does a listening consultant do?
We listen to what our clients' employees say for meaning and interpretation, and we translate what we hear them saying into something our clients can use to create better work environments. We try to understand what's important to them, such as work relationships and personal growth. It's truly listening, not just conducting survey and focus groups.
Q. How did you end up being a listening consultant?
I was a communications major at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I originally went down the path of advertising and marketing research. I started out doing consumer products market research. Now I ask employees what would make their day better.
Q. How did you get such a cool title?
When I first started working for Hewitt a little over 14 years ago, it was called employee listening. It's funny, when I'm doing focus groups or meeting with clients and I introduce myself, it sets up some rapport immediately. We are here for you, we're listening for you. We're the ones with the big ears. But let's face it, ears are not the most attractive marketing tool.
Q. Besides good hearing, what does it take to be a listening consultant?
There are two things. The first is the ability to understand employee behavior and what motivates and influences employee behavior. The second is being able to interpret the findings and turn them into something that's actionable. If you ask employees, "Are you satisfied with the relationship you have with your manager?" and they say, "It's not quite as good as it could be," we have to understand what the barriers are to having an effective communication relationship with the manager. Is it accessibility with the manager, or the communication skills of the manager, or the performance management system supporting the manager?
Q. Do listening consultants need to be quiet people?
We're some of the best talkers. You have to know when to listen. It's not a matter of how much time you listen, but how you listen and how to draw people out more.
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