The role of a human resources manager is to organize the administrative parts of a business, including interviewing, hiring new employees, and keeping staff records. It is all about people management. If an employee had an issue with their payroll, they would take it up with the HR department.
As the role is so crucial, being an HR manager comes with a responsibility. If you want to learn more about what it takes to be an excellent HR manager, keep reading.
A Strong Education
To manage the administrative jobs that HR is tasked with, the manager must have a good education. Usually, they would have an HR or business-focused degree, although that isn’t always necessary when applying for HR roles. If a person works in HR and wants to become a manager, however, a master’s degree would benefit that advancement. One useful degree for this is a Masters in Diversity and Inclusion, as it helps HR managers manage with empathy and professionalism.
Excellent Interpersonal Skills
A big part of HR is communicating with staff members, which is why interpersonal skills are essential. They need to be approachable so that staff feels comfortable coming to them with any type of problem. Conflict management is especially important. If an employee has an issue with another employee, the HR manager must handle the situation with patience, sympathy, and expertise. On top of that, HR managers must often deliver presentations, which means communicating to a large group of people in an engaging and friendly manner.
Cultural Sensitivity
HR manages employees of all sorts of backgrounds, so they must have cultural sensitivity in everything they do. As they are also responsible for recruitment, they must also ensure the hiring process is not biased in any way, whether that includes race, religion, gender, or sexual preference.
Unwavering Patience
When dealing with employee conflict, it is not the HR manager’s job to provide criticism or interject while staff members are airing their grievances. Instead, they must stay composed while listening to the problem and then come up with a solution that works best for everyone in the situation. It’s not an easy task, which is why natural patience is a must.
Organization Skills
HR managers are responsible for sensitive and important information, including payroll, employee details, workers’ compensation, and more. Plus, they must efficiently manage human relations. Due to this, organization skills are essential. That means keeping a tidy workspace, having an organized filing system, and sticking to a schedule.
Firmness
Sometimes, HR managers must make decisions that directly impact the workplace or individual employees. Some decisions, like laying people off, can be distressing for both the giver and receiver of news. In these situations, HR managers can’t be soft – they must stand firm by their decisions while remaining sympathetic to those it affects. It’s a balance that only the best HR managers achieve.
HR is an essential part of any company. By using this advice, you can successfully manage that department.
