The Skills You Need in Your HR Manager
Careers change. Some of the jobs that are popular today didn’t even exist ten years ago. But, we don’t have too many chimney sweeps nowadays. Even the jobs that stick around and last the test of time change. Their processes and methods develop and evolve to meet the needs of consumers. HR is one of the industries that has to change to keep up.
Careers in HR are incredibly popular. Even the smallest of businesses often look to employ a HR manager or consultant to help them to make sure that they are doing the best for their team, meeting their needs and keeping them happy. Most people enter the field because they want to help people, only to find that there is a lot more to it. Whether you are looking to take on a full-time HR manager or seeking to outsource some work to a freelancer, here are some of the skills that a good HR professional needs.
Empathy
A HR manager isn’t a therapist. But, they need to be able to act like one sometimes. They’ll have to listen to a vast range of problems. They have to be understanding and a great listener, but also good at coming up with creative solutions to problems.
Knowledge
An HR manager needs to be up to date on a massive range of knowledge. They need to know your business and its processes inside out. They need to know your staff and their specific needs. They also need to know about things like medical insurance, liability insurance, employee law, and other business law.
A Willingness to Learn
Knowledge isn’t enough if it’s stagnant. Your HR manager shouldn’t be satisfied with what they already know. They should be willing to learn new laws and regulations. They should keep up with the news to catch anything that might affect your business and assess how breaking stories could affect HR on the whole. They should be keen to learn about new online methods of helping staff like a Section 125 Cafeteria Plan and the laws around it. Your HR manager should be someone that can learn on the job, quickly and efficiently.
The Ability to Multitask
If you had a big business, you’d have a big HR team. There’d be someone to look after recruitment. Another person to handle training. Someone to deal with employee complaints and any payroll issues. Someone else to listen to problems and act as a therapist. Another team member to deal with any discipline or firings and someone else to make sure laws are being upheld and offer you advice.
As a smaller business, one person might need to do all of these things. So, they’ll need to be able to multitask and compartmentalize.
Discretion
Someone that’s going to hear a lot of problems and complaints needs to be discrete. They need to be able to keep a secret and not offload on others. But, at the same time, they need to know when it’s essential to get someone else involved.
Communication
HR managers need to be able to communicate with team members, managers, and outside companies. They need to communicate effectively and promptly, as well as knowing when to keep quiet.
