You'll need these skills to interpret affirmative action reports, create turnover reports, determine salaries, and speak intelligently with the business people who are very number focused. As an HR manager, it’s critical to manage personnel matters – such as discipline, complaints, development and layoffs with complete discretion. As an HR practitioner, you must be able to express yourself clearly, both in oral and written communication. Learning each one of these skills requires more than a book or a class will teach you. Transparent communications can help you build loyalty and trust with employees, which can ultimately help drive productivity and long-term business success. HR is the face of that program for employees. Not only can mistakes related to confidentiality erode employee trust, but they can also lead to compliance issues and even legal repercussions. In some cases, an employee might approach you with a concern in the hopes that you will be a sounding board as they figure out the problem on their own – rather than expecting you to share an immediate solution. But, liking people is not enough if you want to find success in a job in the HR field. At most organizations, an HR manager is seen as a trusted resource to whom employees can turn when they have questions or concerns. Effective communication will sometimes include negotiation. What Daily Leadership Behaviors Inspire Employee Motivation? HR managers are not lawyers, nor do they need to be lawyers. 10 Skills Every HR Manager Needs to Succeed, 6. In that case, you'll need more than a surface-level understanding of how health care and other benefits work. In some HR roles, you'll act as a de facto manager for many people, even if you aren't the one who writes their annual performance appraisals. The HR manager role is no exception. You were promised that you would not have to do math in HR; that's why you chose it instead of accounting. 5 ways to navigate the ups and downs of looking for a job. Aside from that, the HR manager deals with a lot of people day in and day out, listening … If Walgreen's had shown a bit of compassion, they could have figured out that the employee wasn't stealing and needed the food to keep functioning. find out what we can do for your organization and employees. You don't have to like people, but you do have to show compassion. An essential element of both career development and redeployment is employee reskilling and upskilling Whether through courses or experiential learning opportunities such as stretch projects, internal gigs or team projects, skill-building enables you to provide a culture of continual learning to help your employees develop and maintain a growth mindset, expand their skills and ensure these skills align with your evolving business needs. Career development programs are often the first step in preparing employees to be ‘future ready.’ By providing career development opportunities to all employees, HR managers can build and sustain an adaptable workforce primed for innovation and change. Part of showing empathy and compassion as an HR leader is being a good listener. These skills include the ability to create, read, and interpret HR reports using data coming from different Human Resource Information Systems. What we mean by agility from an HR perspective is the ability to efficiently respond to changing employee expectations, workplace disruptions and business requirements. Organized files, strong time management skills, and personal efficiency are key to HR effectiveness. How Do Leaders Inspire Continuous Improvement by Employees? Measurements to confirm the viability of HR practices and programs are more vital than ever. While you don't need to do as much math as you do in accounting, a lot of compliance work requires a solid understanding of math and statistics. Top HR managers typically maintain an open-door policy (even a virtual one) and create an inviting, comfortable atmosphere that encourages employees to feel safe and valued. You need to know how to handle them. All rights reserved. As an HR manager, you may have no direct reports, but you need to understand how to manage people. HR managers communicate with a diverse set of individuals daily – from prospective employees to executive-level management – so it’s beneficial to have strong written and verbal communication skills. Avoid 10 Mistakes Bosses Make to Ensure Your Success Managing People, How to Recruit a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce, Important Human Resources Skills for Workplace Success. Empathy is a precursor to trust. And organizations that value their employees understand the importance of offering team members affected by layoffs outplacement solutions, which enable departing employees to find new jobs sooner. Compartmentalization is a skill that allows you to put your work into one box and the rest of your life into another, and never the twain shall meet. You don't need to make the divide severe, but you do need to separate work and home life if you want to succeed in HR. When can you say no to a request and when do you need to engage in an interactive process, for instance. Employees expect you to listen to them and their problems. And everyone is getting along just beautifully.” This will never happen. A good HR manager also knows when he or she's out of their depth and when it's time to call the employment law attorney. You'll coach and act as a confidant for managers; you'll need to help them manage their people. Recruiting and hiring involve far more than getting people in the door. All the employees are happy. Want to Know How HR Can Do More by Doing Less? Communication skills. With the right analytical skills, you can be better equipped as an HR manager to improve the employee experience and show your leadership team how HR is leveraging data to drive business results. Or, when can you fire this person but not that person? If you know that an employee is getting laid off next week, and he or she mentions while waiting in the line at the cafeteria that they are putting an offer down on a new house, what should you say? You're not a lawyer, doctor, or priest, but you'll deal with confidential information all day long. As an HR manager, you use your analytical skills to tap into impactful data and understand the total time and cost to hire employees, identify patterns that might cause employee turnover and point out common trends and themes from employee feedback surveys.