Skills Needed for HRM
Learning Objectives
1.Explain the professional and personal skills needed
to be successful in HRM.
2.Be able to define human resource management and
the certifications that can be achieved in this
profession
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.
HR Management knowledge and expertise
Previous work experience or educational
background in Human Resource Management or
Industrial and Organizational Psychology are very
helpful in an HR professional role. HRM knowledge
underpins many of the other HR skills and
competencies. It helps in understanding
recruitment, selection, absence procedures, data
reporting, and more.
An educational background in psychology or HR
Management also enables you to develop the soft
skills that improve your communication and
coaching abilities.
Recruitment and selection
A report by PWC found that 58% of HR leaders
surveyed believe that finding, attracting, and
retaining talent is their number one challenge.
Therefore, finding qualified candidates, selecting the
best, and determining if there’s a match between
the candidate, the company (culture), and the
manager is one of the most important HR tasks.
That’s why developing recruiting skills like
relationship building, negotiation, and collaboration
is vital for HR professionals.
A substantial part of recruitment and selection is
interviewing candidates, so active listening is also
indispensable. What’s more, you also need to
ensure that the recruitment and selection process is
fair and does not discriminate based on age,
gender, ethnicity, or anything else.
Administrative expertise
Although the form of administration is changing as
technology and HR automation are harnessed,
administrative tasks remain a major part of the HR role.
These duties include handling employee leave, absence,
absence files, the in and outflow of employees, payroll,
benefits, and more. Therefore, being an administrative
expert can be a huge benefit for any ambitious HR
professional.
Cultural awareness and sensitivity
This HR skill depends on the specifics of the organization. Especially
in larger multinational companies, cultural awareness and sensitivity
is a must, because when you’re communicating with managers and
employees in different countries, you need to be aware of
intercultural differences.
These differences will impact how you try to hire, retain, and
promote people, and navigate employee relations.
For example, practices for managing and retaining people can differ
tremendously between cultures. In India, it is common to get a
promotion every single year, while in the Western world this happens
on average every 3-5 years. Similarly, it is not uncommon for
Chinese workers to travel to their birthplace for Chinese New Year
and never return to the factory they were working for in the new
year because they are now working somewhere else – without letting
you know.
There are also communication differences concerning evaluating
people. Israelis, Russians, and the Dutch are very direct, whereas
Japanese and Southeast Asian countries are much more indirect.
Using the wrong communication style may result in your message
not being perceived as important – or risk offending people from
Wellbeing evangelism
HR professionals have a crucial role to play in ensuring that
employees remain happy, healthy, and productive.
According to McKinsey, workplace stress adversely affects
productivity, drives up voluntary turnover, and costs US employers
nearly $200 billion every year in healthcare costs. Meanwhile,
95% of HR managers believe that burnout is sabotaging their
workforce, and 77% of workers claim they have experienced burnout
at their current job.
But of those who work at companies that support wellbeing
initiatives, 89% are likely to recommend their organization as a good
place to work. As the impact of employee wellbeing becomes clearer,
employee wellbeing is growing in importance for organizations.
Employee experience expertise
Employee experience is a top priority for 47% of HR leaders.
Over 80% of employers believe that positive employee experience
drives employee engagement, wellbeing, productivity, and talent
attraction and retention.
HR professionals with employee experience expertise are able to use
human-centric design thinking to put the employee at the center of
the workplace design process. This involves, for example, creating
employee surveys and acting on feedback, promoting diversity,
equity, inclusion, and belonging, developing a recognition and
rewards program, and making employee satisfaction and wellbeing a
priority.
They understand the full employee life cycle: the entire relationship
between employees and the organization, from recruitment to
becoming alumni. Thanks to this, they are able to create exceptional
employee experiences that help attract and retain the talent
organizations need to succeed in today’s ever-changing world.
Proactivity
HR professionals connect the employer and the employee. In such a
role, proactivity can help you in spotting potential problems before
they happen or escalate. Proactive and strategic HRM helps to plan
and align the core HR tasks in a way that offers the most value to the
business.
Proactive Human Resource Management is always preferred to
reactive HRM.
Furthermore, to be proactive as an HR professional, you must stay
informed about current and emerging trends across not only HR but
also technology and work culture. Additionally, Human Resources
skills training should be a continuous part of your career
development.
Communication skills
Communication is the most frequently mentioned skill in HR job
postings. Communicating effectively is essential in Human Resource
Management because the HR professional is the link between the
business and the employee, representing both parties.
You are a source of information for employees, and being able to
efficiently handle their questions and complaints is key to success in
most HR jobs.
Communicating with stakeholders, the CEO, managers, and
employees, at different levels of authority and influence, requires
different language and tone. This is why the ability to connect well
with all kinds of people and leave a professional and positive
impression is an essential skill for HR professionals.
Communicating both formally and informally in different ways (such as
verbal and written, both in-person and online) is critical.
Another communication skill that is becoming more critical for HR
teams is storytelling. As data plays an increasingly important role in all
aspects of the business, HR professionals must be able to translate
data into clear, compelling, and impactful stories tailored to different
stakeholder audiences.
Active listening
HR professionals who are skilled in active listening are able to
attentively listen to others without prejudice or judgment and create a
safe space for others to share.
Active listening goes hand in hand with empathy. “In a work setting,
empathy is the ability to see situations from the perspective of all
stakeholders. This includes internal employees, shareholders, the
communities in which they operate and even the geopolitical
environment,” says leadership development and career coach
Diane Gallo.
Without strong active listening skills, navigating potentially sensitive
matters relating to DEI&B will be more challenging, and it will be
harder to effectively coach employees and fellow HR professionals.
Teamwork
As an HR professional, you’re expected to work alongside your
colleagues in the HR department, with managers and leaders, and also
employees in the organization.
Working together internally by actively aligning HR activities benefits
both the organization and HR. Being a team player also leads to more
collaboration, innovation, morale, and satisfaction in the organization
and encourages others to work together.
Coaching
Coaching skills enhance the ability to develop employees, guiding
them toward reaching their full potential and aligning their skills with
the company’s objectives.
These skills also help HR professionals navigate activities and
situations like training and development, onboarding new employees,
re-integration, conflict resolution, and assisting frontline managers
with people issues.
Coaching skills are most often developed on the job or in external
coaching training, and they are also among the key leadership
competencies.
Advising
One of the key HR skills is being a credible and trustworthy advisor to
different stakeholders. You need to be able to effectively advise
employees, line managers, and senior managers on personnel issues.
These issues can be operational, for example, creating a reintegration
plan for an employee or helping a senior manager with the formulation
of an email to the department. More tactical issues are the
organization of and advising in restructuring efforts. Strategic advice
involves the alignment of HR practices to align more with the business.
But it’s not just what you advise your stakeholders; it’s how you advise
them. To establish yourself as a trustworthy advisor, you need to
continuously communicate and interact in a way that builds trust and
strengthens your reputation as a credible practitioner. This is where
excellent communication skills become invaluable.
Commercial awareness
Commercial awareness is the ability to understand how the business
makes money. Only when you understand your organization’s
commercial priorities can you properly support these with tailored HR
strategies and tactics, ensuring that HR adds demonstrable value to
the organization.
You can illustrate this added value using the HR Value Chain. This is a
three-step process that starts with HRM activities, followed by HRM
outcomes and organizational objectives. It reveals how HR activities
lead to organizational goals, such as making a profit.
Managing priorities
No matter how valuable or important a project or an HR initiative is,
there is a significant chance that your stakeholders will have a wide
variety of opinions, priorities, and motives.
Being able to manage conflicting ideas and priorities across
stakeholder groups and navigate this complexity will help you avoid
potential project pitfalls and get the information and support you need
to make your project a success.
HR strategy creation & execution
HR professionals need to adopt a strategic mindset. Even if you are
not (yet) at a level where HR strategy creation is among your
responsibilities, you still need to be able to understand the strategic
intent and translate that into an execution plan.
The ability to interpret and implement an HR strategy that effectively
supports the overarching organizational strategy helps HR
professionals make more impact within their organization and
strengthen HR’s role as a strategic partner.
Being analytical and data-driven
HR and business leaders use people analytics to identify high potential
employees, analyze benefits, achieve fair pay and incentives, and
project future talent needs. In fact, it’s unsurprising that data is now
viewed as more expensive than oil.
Skills related to data-driven working and analytics have emerged
rapidly in the last five years. 92% of HR professionals are planning to
use people analytics to drive their HR strategy. HR professionals must
learn to leverage the power of data analytics to make better,
evidence-based decisions.
The competencies of an HR practitioner include the ability to
understand key HR metrics, such as employee turnover, absenteeism,
engagement and retention. This can involve the use of complex
predictive analytics on HR data, or the much simpler use of data, for
example, by an Excel analysis.
HR reporting skills
As people analytics grows in importance, demand for HR reporting
skills is increasing too. These skills include the ability to create, read,
and interpret HR reports using data from different HRIS.
HR professionals with strong HR reporting skills are not only able to
understand and interpret data, they are able to turn it into compelling
messages using storytelling and demonstrate business impact.
When you are able to effectively report on key metrics, you are better
able to advise managers and employees, create improved people
policies, and make more evidence-based decisions.
Command of technology
Surveys show that 80% of small US businesses already use HR software or are
planning to use it in the near future. Moreover, 54% of companies with over 500
employees are increasing HR technology spending by 24% on average.
New technologies, including ChatGPT, Virtual, and Augmented Reality, along with the
rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), are shaping HR models worldwide. For example,
the Vehicles for Change program uses augmented reality to train new mechanics,
virtual tours are given to new hires at Deloitte, and virtual job fairs are growing in
popularity.
Therefore, a strong command of technology is essential for Human Resources
professionals. While you do not need to be an IT or data expert, being aware of and
skilled in the use of the array of tools and systems available will help you work more
effectively and efficiently. This is particularly relevant in organizations with
international or remote/hybrid teams.
HR professionals also need to familiarize themselves with a specific kind of tech: the
Human Resource Information System (HRIS). Most information regarding hiring,
performance evaluation, payroll, rewards and employee benefits, and other areas is
registered in one or more HRIS. It is essential that HR skills training includes guidance
on HRIS navigation and how to understand and interpret the data stored there.
Large organizations usually have standard providers like SAP (with SuccessFactors) or
Oracle. Smaller companies often work with smaller providers. Knowledge of an HRIS
is a prerequisite for most senior HR jobs and one of the top technical skills HR
Best Human Resources Management Certifications
Please note that this list is compiled based on publicly available information.
• HR Manager Certificate Program — AIHR
• SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional
(SHRM-SCP)
• Professional in Human Resources (PHR) — HRCI
• Certificate in Human Resources Management — York University
• Human Resources Management Certificate — UCLA
• Professional Certificate in Human Resources Management — San Diego State
University
Best Human Resources Management Certifications
Please note that this list is compiled based on publicly available information.
• Associate Diploma in People Management — CIPD
• Advanced Diploma in Strategic People Management — CIPD
• Human Resource Management Certificate Program — University of Texas at Austin
• MBA in Human Resources Management
Best Human Resources Management Certifications- Philippines
Certified HR Associate (CHRA) by HREAP
CERTIFIED HUMAN RESOURCE ASSOCIATE (CHRA) is an assessment examination of the basic
knowledge in the field of human resource management by the Human Resource Educators’
Association of the Philippines, Inc. (HREAP). The examination is designed to assess the
fundamental knowledge that a human resource practitioner must possess.
The Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP®) designation is the institute’s
internationally recognized qualification. It embodies an assurance of the highest professional
and ethical standards of HR practice.
Most companies need a human resource department or a manager with HR skills.
The industries and job titles are so varied that it is possible only to list general job
titles in human resources:
Entry-Level HR Job Titles
Most companies need a human resource department or a manager with HR skills.
The industries and job titles are so varied that it is possible only to list general job
titles in human resources:
Mid-Career HR Job
Titles
Most companies need a human resource department or a manager with HR skills.
The industries and job titles are so varied that it is possible only to list general job
titles in human resources:
Senior HR Job Titles
Most companies need a human
resource department or a
manager with HR skills. The
industries and job titles are so
varied that it is possible only to
list general job titles in human
resources:
Most companies need a human
resource department or a
manager with HR skills. The
industries and job titles are so
varied that it is possible only to
list general job titles in human
resources:
-END OF
DISCUSSION-
QUESTION:
What are your perceptions of what an HR manager does on a day-to-day basis? Research
this job title and describe your findings.
