Human Resources teams often find themselves wearing a lot of different hats. At times, they can be a lot like office therapists, trying to help co-workers get along despite personal differences.
Other times, they can be more like the local office police, when they have to call in employees to discuss their lack of adherence to for example a company policy.
Even more times, People Management teams have to be the ones to break hard news, motivate employees to do better, or just figure out which potential hire is the right fit for the job.
What many people do not often realize is how much prowess in leadership it takes to be great at working in a HR team.
Do not believe it?
Think about these leadership skills and how they play into the day to day duties of an HR professional.
Leaders in HR need great communication skills.
There are a lot of times when being a HR ambassador means that you are going to have to break news that can be awkward, depressing, or just downright awful. Helping to cushion the blow and being able to keep things succinct and civil are excellent skills for making these types of ordeals less painful.
People Management staff need to be able to negotiate well.
Whether you are playing the mediator between two arguing parties in the company, or negotiating a pay raise with one of the company’s top managers, you will need to know how to strike up a deal in order to remain ahead of the curve in HR.
You also have to be able to guide top managers when it comes to professional development.
Every person will need to improve their skills at one point or another, and if you are working in human capital development in HR, it it your job to make an effort to motivate managers and employees to improve themselves. You might also be in charge of directing them when it comes to how to improve certain work duties, and also keeping an eye on progress. All of that takes a certain level of perception, finesse, and intelligence that can be found in true leaders.
When it comes to hiring and firing employees, HR calls the shots.
There is no clearer example of the kind of decision making skills needed for Human Resources than looking at the daily task of hiring or firing employees. They need to be decision makers every single time when an organisation’s management team takes a difficult decision.
Many companies also expect HR to take part in shaping the overall atmosphere of the office.
HR often makes bigger decisions that can affect the overall look and feel of an office, such as recruitment tweaking.
Good People Operations teams can help to establish a people-centric culture and it is partly their job to guide the company’s employee base into becoming better than before and that takes a group of leaders unlike any other!
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