One of the most important departments in a company is the human resources department. They are responsible for finding and hiring personnel at almost every level in a company, so it takes special knowledge and skills to work in human resources. While experience on the job is one of the best ways to learn how to deal with people from all walks of life, many human resources skills can be learned in the classroom.
Skills For Human Resources Personnel
There are key skills that anyone working in human resources needs to have, and that hiring managers are looking for when they interview candidates. If you lack any of these skills, you may be able to learn them by taking a human resources management course at business school or university.
Organisational Skills
Human resources personnel have many responsibilities and work with many issues on any given day, so being organised is extremely important. As they are in charge of keeping personnel files, it is important to know how to organise files so they can be found quickly when needed. A personnel file usually contains the application for the job, a resume, and any hiring paperwork required by the company.
They should also have good time management skills in order to be able to do their jobs effectively. When a manager needs to hire or let someone go, he or she may need the employee’s information immediately, so not only will being organisedhelp, but being able to prioritise duties will be important as well. Human resources workers need to be able to put aside what they are doing to handle urgent requests from management or to help answer employee questions.
Communication Skills
Communication is probably one of the most critical skills needed by someone who wants to be in human resources. The ability to talk with people from all walks of life is critical when hiring personnel for a company. You have to treat everyone equally and judge them based on their qualifications and skills, not on their skin colour, sexual orientation, or even the way they dress. In addition, you have to be able to talk with people at all levels of the company.
Human resources personnel will often interact with management to hire people for different departments, so it is essential that you can speak openly and honestly with anyone. You cannot be nervous when dealing with upper levels of management, as that can erode their confidence in your abilities. Along with verbal skills, you should also have good writing skills to help you communicate with potential employees and management.
Ethics Skills
When you work in human resources, you will have access to many types of confidential information. You will be able to access employee files that have people’s contact information, along with some financial and personal information as well. You cannot reveal any of this information to other employees, your spouse, or anyone who could use this information for unethical purposes.
Human resources professionals may also have access to confidential company information in the performance of their duties. This information may be needed to process employee paycheques, help choose benefits for employees, and for other procedures that could harm the company if the information fell into the wrong hands. The ability to keep confidential information to oneself is an essential skill when working in HR.
Conflict Resolution Skills
When employees find themselves at odds with each other or with management, the human resources department will often become involved with the conflict. Being able to resolve issues between employees or management and employees and deal with conflict is a skill that is needed by anyone who wants to work in human resources, especially in a management position.
While there will always be conflict in the workplace, figuring out how to resolve a problem to everyone’s satisfaction can be difficult. However, it is an important skill if you want to help people remain employed at your company.
Recruiting Skills
While human resources professionals receive and need to sift through dozens of resumes, there are times when they need to recruit people for open positions at their company. Often, openings in management, especially upper management, will require HR to actively recruit people to fill a position. In order to do so, you have to be able to “sell” your company and give the person you are recruiting reasons for accepting a job offer.
Effective communication skills are essential in recruiting, as well as the ability to be persuasive. You should also have the ability to connect well with others and maintain a list of people to recruit from when positions open that match their skill set. People working in HR need to be well-rounded and ready to handle any task they are given, especially when it comes to finding and hiring the right people for their company.
Assessment Skills
You will come across many situations in human resources that require you to be able to assess people and their skills. It may be as simple as sizing someone up to make sure they will fit into the company to knowing how to administer employee performance reviews. In addition, there are times when you may need to give potential employees tests to see if they have the necessary skills for working in a certain position.
Having the ability to impartially judge someone based on their skills and qualifications is important in human resources, as your decisions are carefully scrutinized by applicants and management personnel. If it is perceived that your decisions are biased, then your company could be subjected to legal action. This can affect your ability to remain in your position, so it is important that your ability to assess people is done fairly and ethically.
Most of the skills needed to work in human resources are used every day in hiring personnel, keeping track of employee and company files, making assessments about people, and communicating with them. While some skills are innate, most of them can be learned by taking human resources courses at business colleges or local universities.