The daily activities of HR Managers are as diverse as they are challenging. And the list of skills and character traits that determine success in the role is long and varied. It’s a big job! If you’re interested in seeing the ten qualities commonly associated with this demanding function, please see the list below, as published by Manager Skills.
- HR knowledge and expertise
In addition to having a firm educational foundation in Human Resources, HR Managers must remain abreast of the latest trends, best practices, and ethics in their profession. This can be achieved through reading and research, and training programmes.
- Excellent presentation skills
HR Managers must conduct training sessions for new employees and present a wide variety of information to management of all levels. Strong presentation skills are a must.
- Great multi-tasking abilities
On an average workday, HR Managers must deal with many diverse tasks. They need to remain calm and productive as they alternate between investigating complaints, resolving maternity-leave questions, and negotiating pay cuts with a whole department of disgruntled workers.
- Be able to deal with grey areas
Things aren’t always clear-cut. HR Managers are often required to make decisions based on incomplete information. And they need the wisdom to know when they should seek advice from lawyers or fellow HR professionals.
- Strong moral compass
When it comes to developing company policies and maintaining confidential information, you must have a strong sense of ethics. You need to be morally irreproachable to earn the trust of both employees and senior management. Discretion and honesty are essential.
- Excellent communication skills
HR Managers need to communicate clearly and effectively with employers and employees. Sometimes this includes negotiation. When conflicts arise between co-workers or management and employees, the HR Manager has to find a compromise and secure buy-in from all parties.
- Leadership abilities
As with other business leaders, HR Directors need to work on their leadership skills on an ongoing basis. Click here for details (please link to our blog article, How to be a good boss, as published on 18/4/22).
- Ability to motivate others
HR Managers need to understand what motivates (and what doesn’t motivate) employees. Incentives and perks can be good in the short term. But, for long-term engagement and motivation, work cultures should make individuals feel that they and their work add value, and are important and meaningful.
- Courage
There will be times when you need to be firm in the face of strong opposition. Laying off staff and opposing bad ideas from management require courage and confidence.
Do you agree? What other skills and qualities should be added to the list? Please get in touch to let us know your views. And, if you’d like any expert guidance with the recruitment element of your extremely varied daily activities, please let us know. With a vast pool of talented, qualified, active job seekers on our books, and over 30 years’ experience in multilingual recruitment, we are in a strong position to help.
