Guest Contributor
Trending

Top 7 Essential Human Resource Management Skills

By | Daljeet Kaur Lal

The job title “Human Resource Professional” sounds rather heavy. Why wouldn’t it? An HR Professional in a company has to juggle with a load of responsibilities ranging from hiring and establishing employee relations to termination and enforcing disciplinary action. Every day a new challenge is thrown at them and they must keep a steady balance. But here’s some food for thought.

Whether a novice or an experienced employee, all of us have had face-to-face encounters with HR Professionals who assess if we fit right for their organisation. But have you thought of the skills these recruiters must hone to hold such an influential position in a company? The skills that they as job seekers should apply for success in their career as HR Managers?

Well, if you haven’t I’ve counted down 7 HR management skills that an aspiring or seasoned HR Professional should possess to row ahead in their career.

Skill 1- Lead the Charge

HR Professionals are a company’s force that drives employees to perform better every single day. To oversee the functions of the company staff, HR Professionals must first see themselves as a leader. Not a leader who claims authority everywhere, but someone who sets an example for others to follow.

An HR leader should be the glue that binds the entire team together to strive towards progress and a link that connects to the management. Leadership is an umbrella term, below are the specific qualities that HR leaders must have:

  • Enforce company objectives by taking the lead whenever required.
  • Empathetic leaders are always given high regard. You need to make your people feel that they are heard and their concerns understood.
  • Resolve internal conflicts in a company and encourage healthy relationships.
  • Treat all your employees equally so that you develop a trustworthy workforce.

Skill 2- Honest, Open and Two-Way Communication

What is a human resource without human interaction? HR Professionals need to communicate on a daily basis to existing employees and the company management. Communication also takes place while hiring newcomers or through social media. As communication penetrates every aspect of your job, it’s important to get consistent messages, policies and procedures across without miscommunication. This not only accounts in verbal communication also while sending written scripts like emails, newsletters or reports.

Being an active listener is also an aspect of good communication. You cannot solve grievances if you do not participate in listening before you speak. A good listener makes an HR Professional who discusses with staff members, handles uneasy situations like exit interviews and salary negotiations. 

All in all, communication skills are indispensable for a successful career in Human Resource Management.

Skill 3-Manage and Multitask

Everything an HR Manager does has to do with employees, say from hiring to firing. Because of which the tasks at hand are multifold. To carry out all the tasks that may overlap on a single day, you need to develop strong multitasking skills. Proper scheduling, avoiding distractions and thinking strategically are a few steps to go ahead with multitasking. If you learn to multitask, your output is doubled in minimum time using fewer resources. For instance, you could revise the performance review method while answering employee questions about benefits.

Skill 4- Tech Savviness

As mentioned earlier, handling workload is centre to the job of an HR Professional. So how would companies say ‘NO’ to an HR aspirant who’s got the technological acumen to ease their burden? Here are some technical skills that you must showcase in your resume or develop throughout your work-life.

  • Working knowledge of the MS Office Suite.
  • Human Resource Information Software (HRIS) to streamline HR tasks digitally.
  • Talent Management Software that helps grab the right talent to match business goals.
  • Usage of Cloud platforms for the easy exchange of data
  • Learning & Development software for training employees (Talent Learning Management System (LMS) and Absorb LMS)
  • Social Media engagement to publicise vacancies and identify potential candidates.

Skill 5- Open to Change

Changes in a company can come like a swift-blow. Needless to say, businesses are always prone to macro and micro-level changes. There can be department restructuring, new ownership, location change or anything that can disrupt an HR’s agenda of work. Why? Simply because every change involves a human element. But if the HR Professional adapts so does the employees.

Employees tend to resist change and you as an HR Professional is supposed to motivate them through careful planning, consideration and guidance. They need to be educated about the new operations to easily accept a transition. Even as changes affect HR’s they need to be open to new information pushing ahead of their comfort zone. The interesting part is that in many companies HR Professionals also participate in bringing changes for business growth.

Skill 6- Hold Up Work Ethics

Why should HR managers be discrete? Discretion is a part of every job, but cannot be compromised especially in HR work ethics. HR Managers are a company’s storehouse of information as they keep a record of highly sensitive information about a company. This information includes a company’s confidential data that is liable to risks and also the personal details of employees. Corporate information like compensations, salaries and budgets or simply any kind of information that can lead to negative consequences should be kept under safe custody. Being discrete is one way of showcasing your professionalism.

Skill 7- Realistic Budgeting

Every department sets a budget to match its annual goals and objectives. The same happens with the HR department. Although HR Managers do not play a direct part in the financial dealings of a company, they do budgeting by creating a list of programmes that needs company finances like employee training programmes, recruitment advertising, payroll costs and much more. If your budgeting skills are intact you attract better employees and also reduce employee turnover by offering them the best workplace experience.

Over to you!

Now you might know how an HR Professional becomes the human face of a company. A true inspiration who is an all-rounder striving to build a better workplace culture. The very reason why they take the other side of the seat during job interviews. Like I said if you are thinking of becoming one then why not make a checklist of these 7 skills to rate yourself. Hurry! there’s no time to spare.

Show More

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button