Do you know that human resource professionals are the lifeblood of the company? HR professionals provide a healthy environment for effective utilisation of their employees’ potential. However, an HR must develop particular skills and qualities to excel in the workplace.
Human Resource (HR) is the term that describes people who work for an organisation, responsible for managing resources related to employees. Human resource management is therefore focused on areas from recruiting, training, employee relations, to overall organisational development.
Professionals in HR can choose specific career titles like training development specialist, HR manager, benefits specialist, human resource generalist, employment services manager, personnel analyst or any other career accordingly.
However, human resource management is designed to increase the effectiveness of an organisation or business by creating and managing the employer-employee relationship.
Responsibilities of an HR professional
If you are an aspiring candidate to become a human resource professional, you must be aware of the responsibilities that you have to deal with. Your responsibilities will include:
- Manage job recruitment
- Manage the selection process and promotion criteria.
- Promote personnel policies.
- Promote employee career development.
- Provide orientation programs for new hires
- Encourage company employees to do their best,
- Oversee the day-to-day work of employees,
- Deal with employee concerns such as benefits, pay, employee investments, pension plan.
HR decisions can dramatically influence organisational performance. An HR professional handles many duties and responsibilities which can directly impact the business performance. Several issues can arise in an organisation regarding an employee-employer relationship, an employee with the organisation and the career development of the employees.
Whether the issue is something simple or complex, a good HR professional must have the potential to resolve all types of issues.
6 Qualities of a Human Resource Professional
What makes a human resource professional competent? HR professionals require several qualities to prove their expertise. Professionals in the Human Resource field can possess specific expertise in one or more areas but they should commonly possess few qualities that make them efficient.
Check out 6 Qualities required for an HR Professional.
Organisational skills
Do you know that multitasking is the key in your profession? Your ability to multitask and handle various issues in a disciplined manner makes you efficient. One important characteristic of an HR professional is your ability to get organised. An organisation’s development depends on completing tasks efficiently.
Strong time management skills of every employee add up to the productivity of the organisation. If you are an HR professional, you’ll have to carry out a variety of different tasks, ranging from hiring, dealing with employees’ issues and even firing the employee. You have to create norms and standards for the employees to manage ethical and behavioural standards.
An HR job is intricate because managing deadlines and accomplishing tasks quickly is a part of your job. You have to network with people and get updated every time. You are undoubtedly a major part of an organisation.
The better you understand the requirements of your workforce, the more productive your business is. Time management, records management and calendar management are part of organisational skills.
Problem solving skills
The capability of an HR professional to think critically and accurately is very important. Your responsibility includes resolving even the most complex issues in the organisation. Problem-solving skill is the most essential quality that an HR must possess for businesses to function at their best.
An HR must possess skills to creatively handle and solve a problem. Problems can rise between employees and organisations. You must think out of the box to bring up effective ideas to ensure that the company’s business resources are not affected. You must also ensure that the company’s human resources pool remains intact even in a conflicting situation.
However, the HR department must ensure that employees with different personalities can work together in harmony to accomplish company goals. Every organisation goes through a variety of obstacles to gain productivity. Problem-solving and decision making skills of an HR professional can influence the competency of the organisation.
Leadership skills
Leadership quality is one of the significant features of an HR professional. Employees in an organisation look up to HR professionals for answers and solutions. Your confidence makes the workforce effective and productive. Ability to lead and put together a team to run the race is your responsibility.
Efficient HR leaders have the integrity to care about their employees. Needs and interests of your employees must be your concern. Establishing positive and healthy employee relations will not only bring harmony among your co-workers but also benefit the whole organisation.
Excellent leadership skills can help HR professionals to enter the next level of their career growth. The quality of handling employees shows how smart and responsible the leader is!
Communication skills
Facilitating communication between employers and employees is the key to build a productive team. Both your oral and written communication skills must be sharp and proficient to effectively communicate to employees at all levels. A successful human resources professional will be able to resolve conflicts and find the middle ground.
HR professionals are always required to communicate in person, over the phone and by email to customers/ clients around the world. HR professionals with good communication skills convey company standards.
Effective communication includes clear writing, critical listening and conflict management. Writing emails, reports and other company policies are responsibilities of an HR professional in the organisation.
Professionals with good writing skills are an asset to the company. Communicating with your employees’ frequently and getting to know them is very important. It is also significant that you inspire and encourage employees to self-evaluate on their career growth.
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Time management and self discipline
As we know human resource professionals are expected to multitask and handle a number of tasks. But there may not be enough hours in the day for a human resource professional to be able to get all the work done. If this happens, the daily tasks get pending. The only solution to this issue is time management and self-discipline.
To effectively manage your time to deal with various tasks, bring into practice the following steps:
- Plan your work- Plan your work accordingly from the most important ones to the least.
- Organise your day, week, and month- Keep the target in mind and organise your work on the basis of daily, weekly and monthly.
- Focus on completing your objective- The objective of your work must always be in mind and keep working for it.
- Set a goal to handle paper or email- Set a time to check papers and emails. Ensure that the work is done within the time and you do not spend too much time on least important tasks.
- Give yourself a break- Do not forget yourself a break. Relax and give yourself time. Refresh your mind to work effectively.
- Don’t let your personal life become a distraction at work- As an HR, you might have several tasks to complete. If you organise and plan well, you can balance both your personal and professional life.
It is crucial that you finish the assigned tasks and duties in the targeted time. How you manage your time decides how well the organisation runs. Undoubtedly, you will have deadlines and workload that may require you to work extra hours more than other employees. These are important skills needed to be a good HR professional.
Adaptability skills
Unpredictable circumstances and obstacles that happen in an organisation are to be carefully dealt with by the HR department. Obviously, it can distract an HR professional’s daily agenda, but adjusting with unpredictable changes makes you stand out in the crowd. Therefore it is highly significant that HR team members develop skills to be flexible.
As a human resource professional, you need to be able to forecast the need for changes. You must be able to understand what works and what needs improvement. You must create and schedule practices to enhance your job role and your company. Do not forget to ask for your employees’ opinions and changes they like.
Adapting to changes in an organisation and handling change management is a part of HR professionals life. Also, helping employees embrace change and adapting to new policies of an organisation is the expertise of an HR. Retaining potential employees and effective interaction with them is a part of HR professionals job role.
In Summary
As we read, human resource professionals are expected to multitask. As an HR Professional, you will have to take care of employees and the organisation to help build it to the next level. However, if you aspire to be an HR professional, start developing these inevitable skills to excel in your workplace.
About the Author
Daljeet Kaur Lal is an HR Trainer who has extensive work experience of over 11 years. She is now working with Edoxi Training Institute, Dubai. She develops and executes various training programs to ensure that employees have the skills and knowledge to meet the organisation’s objectives.
