Doc-B-FSSC-HR-2015

Skills and Talents for Successful HR Managers

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CONTENTS

Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................3

Recruiting.......................................................................................................................................................................4

Strategic Thinking.........................................................................................................................................................4

Global Mindset...............................................................................................................................................................5

Communication.............................................................................................................................................................5

Technology.....................................................................................................................................................................5

Organizational Development (Training, Performance Tracking).............................................................................5

Flexibility.......................................................................................................................................................................6

Risk Management..........................................................................................................................................................6

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INTRODUCTION

One of the major factors of a successful manager or human resource (HR) manager is an
array of skills to deal with a variety of situations. It simply isn’t enough to have knowledge
of HR, such as knowing which forms need to be filled out. It takes multiple skills to create
and manage people, as well as a cutting-edge human resource department.

The first skill needed is organization. The need for this skill makes sense, given that you are
managing people’s pay, benefits, and careers. Having organized files on your computer and
good time-management skills are crucial for success in any job, but especially if you take on
a role in human resources.

Like most jobs, being able to multitask—that is, work on more than one task at a time—is
important in managing human resources. A typical person managing human resources may
have to deal with an employee issue one minute, then switch and deal with recruiting.
Unlike many management positions, which only focus on one task or one part of the
business, human resources focuses on all areas of the business, where multitasking is a
must.

As trite as it may sound, people skills are necessary in any type of management and
perhaps might be the most important skills for achieving success at any job. Being able to
manage a variety of personalities, deal with conflict, and coach others are all in the realm of
people management. The ability to communicate goes along with people skills. The ability
to communicate good news (hiring a new employee), bad news (layoffs), and everything in
between, such as changes to policy, makes for an excellent manager and human resource
management (HRM) professional.

Keys to a successful career in HRM or management include understanding specific job

areas, such as managing the employee database, understanding employment laws, and
knowing how to write and develop a strategic plan that aligns with the business. All these
skills will be discussed in this book.

A strategic mind-set as an HR professional is a key skill as well. A person with a strategic

mind-set can plan far in advance and look at trends that could affect the environment in
which the business is operating. Too often, managers focus on their own area and not
enough on the business as a whole. The strategic HR professional is able to not only work
within his or her area but also understand how HR fits into the bigger picture of the
business.

Ethics and a sense of fairness are also necessary in human resources. Ethics is a concept
that examines the moral rights and wrongs of a certain situation. Consider the fact that
many HR managers negotiate salary and union contracts and manage conflict. In addition,
HR managers have the task of ensuring compliance with ethics standards within the
organization. Many HR managers are required to work with highly confidential

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information, such as salary information, so a sense of ethics when managing this
information is essential. 

As businesses try to adapt and compete in a rapidly changing business environment, HR

managers and executives need to develop an expanded set of skills and strengths.
Technology has helped HR managers automate routine administrative tasks and move to
assume a more strategic role in organizations. These eight skills and abilities will be critical
for leading an organization’s human capital strategy:

1. Recruiting 5. Technology
2. Strategic Thinking 6. Organizational Development
3. Global Mindset 7. Flexibility
4. Communication 8. Risk Management

RECRUITING

According to a PwC survey of CEOs, 58% are worried about their organizations being short
of key skills. The competition for talent has become global, and companies are finding it
difficult to find qualified scientists, engineers, computer programmers and other technical
professionals.

A good recruiting program has never been more important. There’s still great need for
talented recruiters using time-tested networking skills. Additionally, recruiters need to
take advantage of social networking platforms to reach out to talented candidates who are
more comfortable online.

Strategic Thinking

Today’s executives understand that the organization’s ability to recruit, hire, engage and
retain the right people is fundamental to mission success. They need HR leaders who can
think strategically and advise them of the best ways for the organization to develop the
right workforce for the future.

Strategic thinking requires the ability to translate the company’s mission into actionable
and cost-effective operational tactics for the HR department. It also involves being able to
set goals, solve problems, prioritize, and provide effective leadership to manage change.

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Global Mindset

SHRM’s recent report highlighted the critical skills needed for HR leaders, including a
“global mindset.” The authors noted that “for the senior HR leader in a global organization,
having a global mindset may include an understanding of labor relations and unions in
other countries, laws and regulations around doing business in those countries and cultural
aspects of the workforce that may affect total rewards design and employee relations.”

A global mindset benefits from curiosity, humility, cooperation, and sensitivity. It requires
knowing something about the customs and legalities of doing business in other countries,
and just as important, recognizing that there may be a lot you don’t know.

Communication

Communication is not a new skill for human resources professionals, but it will continue to
be one of the most important skills. Though our world seems increasingly virtual and our
communications are often through email, instant message, and social networks, there is no
substitute for the art of face to face negotiation and conflict resolution skills. HR managers
need to grow in the areas of labor relations, mediating and resolving employee conflicts,
and communicating effectively with a diversity of generations in the workplace.

Technology

Software as a Service (SaaS) has leveled the playing field in HR technology. An HRIS
or HRMS is no longer only afforded by larger organizations or those companies with IT
departments to support them. The wide field of potential solutions also offers enhanced
affordability for smaller organizations. Paper files and Excel spreadsheets will continue to
be replaced by HRMS and Talent Management solutions. HR professionals will need to be
comfortable with technology and learn skills in how to query data from these systems in
order to project accurate costs and success metrics for the executive team.

Organizational Development (Training, Performance Tracking)

There are three reasons that organizational development skills, including training plans
and employee performance tracking, will become ever more important:

 It’s often more time consuming and expensive to recruit than to train existing
employees.
 As Baby Boomers retire, companies must develop a succession of new leadership.

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  Workers who aren’t challenged tend to lose interest in their jobs and wane in
productivity.

Millennials especially value career development and upward mobility; future-oriented

companies must have a plan for providing training, skills, and on the job opportunities for
talented employees.

Flexibility

HR solves the problem of delivering the right set of skills to the organization to accomplish
business objectives. Increasingly, this will require a flexible approach to how employees
work (flex schedules, work from home, job sharing) as well as who works with them
(contractors, outsourcers, temps).

Nina Woodard, SPHR, MBA wrote that, “The days of throwing more staff at a challenging
situation are gone. It is critical for the HR professional to learn to be more lean and thereby
more productive; to hire for peak times, and to make sure they are always able to manage
for the long-term. Being flexible is mutually beneficial; it allows employers and employees
to balance work and personal needs.”

In Trends Reshaping the Future of HR, the Accenture Institute for High Performance
suggested that HR departments assemble dynamic teams of talent in which “full-time
employees sit at the center of an ever-shifting, diverse global pool of contractors,
temporary staff, business partners, outsourcing providers, the general public, and “talent in
the cloud,” or individuals sourced over the Internet to perform work on a transactional
basis.”

RISK MANAGEMENT

A good HR executive needs to be cognizant of risk to the company and threats to the
mission. The first step is awareness of risk, then planning to manage and reduce risk for the
organization. Compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws is a large part of
risk management. Solid compliance can help mitigate the risk of government investigations,
fines and employee lawsuits.

It is also HR’s job to look beyond legal compliance to other types of workforce-related risk.
Other types of risk may include crimes like fraud, theft or embezzlement, workplace
violence, and employee policies that fail to protect the company from brand damage, such
as a lack of appropriate social media usage policy.

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