Posted by on Jul 10, 2017 in Career Insights | 0 questions

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As a career choice that covers so many bases in a company, you would not be able to do much better than combining the administrative processes of business with the human aspect of dealing with employees’ problems and dilemmas on a daily basis. Working in human resources has made a big change from just basic administrative functions of the running of a company to a career choice which combines these administrative processes, but also gives you a hands-on role in dealing with so many of the human processes in the company. You would be dealing with the recruitment of staff members, which in itself requires a keen eye for talent, an understanding of the job interview process, as well as understanding the small details about the application procedure. You could train and develop people to further improve their skills, and this can take many forms. From private chats to a more long term relationship with the member of staff so you would be able to see them grow through the whole process, which is a big part of continuity in business and many companies are very hot on the holistic aspects of this now. They are not just focused on core processes but rather the human nature of its employees. As well as these, you would also be dealing with things like the contracts of the employment, the complaints or grievances, as well as dealing with the rights of the employees and the fundamentals of health and safety.

The Skills Required…

As would be expected, the skills for dealing with human resources and being a resource for people in your business requires integrity, as you would be dealing with people from all areas of the business. So you need to be dealing with these people in a positive and nurturing manner. Confidentiality is critical for this role because you will be dealing with a lot of sensitive information, especially on your employees. For example, if they are going through a personal crisis, so sensitivity is of the utmost importance. You would also need to be sufficiently skilled in interpersonal interaction because of the differing types of people you would be dealing with, from the admin staff to the CEO, you are their crutch. In addition to these skills, you’d also need to be schooled in finance, business management, as well as some experience in accounting.

Preparing For A Career In Human Resources…

The ultimate question you should be asking yourself before embarking on a career in human resources is: what can you do for the business? The whole development of the company is, in some way, down to you and the HR department, because it’s you that keeps employee development continuing. You would also need to contribute to things like organization development as well as the retention of employees within a work environment that is motivating and positive, but not demoralizing. While this may all sounds like tasks for the line manager, it is ultimately you that needs to implement these processes, which means coming up with ideas and plans on how we should best be communicated.

How Do You Contribute To The Business?

The fundamental thoughts behind contributing to the business from a HR perspective is to evaluate each HR process, and in doing so, you can find ways to help speed up certain working patterns that may be unnecessarily long by cutting back needless software or implementing the right technological processes to accelerate the business. As human resources you are required to be a wealth of resources (as the name would suggest), so it’s important to keep abreast of new technologies that can help speed up your business processes and to make the whole human resource department a vital part of the business. As a whole, there are websites that specialize exclusively in human resource technology which helps to cut down the actual human input aspect and increase automation; you can visit dataserv.com to learn more about this and see how it can benefit you in this regard. The automation of systems is a big topic in business right now because it’s debating whether to make more use of robotics and artificial intelligence rather than humans skill. This can be a double-edged sword because from your perspective of working in human resources your goal is to know how best to utilize your staff members for the right tasks but you also need to identify when technology and human input can work well together.

Entering The Career…

There are two distinct ways to get into HR. The first one is to go down the conventional route and obtain a degree, either in business or in HR itself, but a lot of people can find that they will be able to progress into HR from within an organization. This is probably the more common routes because you have a clear handle on the intricacies of the business already which gives you an advantage over outside applicants.

The Common Issues…

Working as an essential part of an HR team means that you will encounter problems from employees on a regular basis. There could be something along the lines of employee issues relating to one negative employee who may be classed as toxic and is affecting not just the productivity of that person’s team but also the productivity of that department as well as having an adverse effect on customers and your brand. There could be conflict between staff members on a professional and also personal basis which may require a lot of mediating on your part to get to the root of the problem and to solve it, so you can all move on happy in the knowledge that each affected staff member is back to full working capacity. A conflicting issue between a staff member and their team leader or line manager is rarer but does crop up on occasion where someone may feel that their line manager isn’t capable of doing the job or is not being professional in a certain capacity. They may be engaging in some sort of harassment with the disgruntled employee, and this is where sensitivity is required from you because of the nature of the allegation and if other members of staff are embroiled in the conflict. It’s these instances where you need to be a tactful professional, and deal with the circumstances quickly and efficiently to ensure a suitable solution for everyone, which could be disciplinary procedures being put in place as well as safeguarding certain employees.

The Effect On You…

As a result of dealing with conflict or tension on a regular basis, it can be quite stressful especially if you’re working in a large organization with many interpersonal conflicts. The very nature of human resources, in some ways, is to set aside office politics and cut to the chase by dealing with the issue, resolving it, and making sure that everybody is happy going back to their roles and are able to fulfil their duties properly. You could be dealing with a member of staff who is going through an extremely difficult time, for example, due to grief or possibly a mental health disorder, and it’s your job to ensure that they are getting the help they need. As a result, it is a fine line to tread, because you want the best for your staff members, but you are also working in compliance with guidelines from within the organization. This has to be your priority, and working to maintain those boundaries can be very stressful on your part, especially if there is a massive workload.

The Many Benefits…

While HR can be a stressful job, dealing with the trials and tribulations of staff members throughout the whole of an organization, you can get many benefits out of the role. For example, working in HR is such a diverse skill that it is pretty much transferable to any other department in the company and it also sees you in good stead to work in a managerial capacity. Due to your experience of working with people on a one-to-one basis, as well as dealing with very different types of people within this organization. From those suffering personal circumstances to inter-work conflict, to grievance policies and procedures, you will have learned the value of being sensitive and professional, skills which can tend to conflict with each other in certain environments.

As a method to gain insight into the human process, working in human resources provides a diverse range of tasks, both personal and professional, where you have to maintain a solid work load of people with varying degrees of problems, all the while upholding strict working policies and procedures. The task of being a human resources manager or human resources assistant means wearing many different hats and dealing with all walks of life.  As a skill, human resources doesn’t have the glory of a CEO or line manager, but it is just as vital, and for those that are aiming for line manager positions, human resources is an excellent stepping stone.