Quite often, the position of an employee who works in the Human Resources Department of a company is misunderstood. Because this department tends to cover a wide variety of tasks, not everyone is always sure exactly what it is that a HR person does day-to-day.

When you begin working in the HR department of any business, it is not merely enough to have thick skin and just like people! You need to develop several essential skills if you are to reach the level of HR manager which will help you to succeed in this role, thus working on ultimately improving the overall censure about us HR people as a whole!

A HR Manager Needs to Understand Compartmentalization

What many people don’t seem to realize is how mixed bag and varied the requests and demands employees place on HR staff are! Within one day you will encounter almost double figures in problems galore, and spend all your time referring to policies and procedures as a result.

HR rarely have a moments peace, and at many times there is hardly ever a thank you for the work, time and effort that they commit to their role. However, as you will never solve all of the problems thrown at you during your working day as a HR manager, you need to learn to let go of them when you walk out of that office and forget them entirely as you walk through your home door.

A HR Manager Needs to Be Compassionate

We aren’t talking about nannying employees here, but instead being able to listen with respect and understanding to their problems as they bring them to you. A HR manager should be the front line and show other HR employees how it is done.

When employees come to HR, they can often be agitated, irate or directly angered with this department, especially if it involves grievances such as pay, holidays and contract issues. You need to be able to show them that you are listening to what they have to say and offer them possible solutions or further information on their problems. Ultimately, a HR Manager should be instantly approachable.

A HR Manager Needs A Good Grasp Of Legal Matters

Though HR managers are not required to be Lawyers as well, they do need a good grounding in the basics of employment law if they are to respond appropriately and work within the legal guidelines required in a HR capacity.

Many HR managers may be put on the spot in numerous occasions and should, therefore, make sure they cover themselves by knowing the legal employment system before they make any attempts to quote it in conversation or indeed correspondence.

Although not necessarily legally trained, HR managers will be required to deal with subjects such as hiring and firing, requests for flexible work and leave notices. These can become problematic if the correct information is not provided when it is needed, so it pays for all HR managers to know what they are talking about in all such matters.

A HR Manager Needs to Be the Penultimate Of Discretion

A HR manager should be somebody who is trusted and respected. You will be dealing with the records of all employees, and many will have documents and items that they would rather you did not discuss with other members of staff. Therefore, if you thrive on gossip, perhaps a HR role is not for you!

Nobody wants their HR manager spouting crucial and confidential information such as pay grades, medical history and so on. It is not professional, and it is most certainly not allowed in this capacity as manager.

Consequently, if an employee comes to you with a problem they do not want sharing around the workplace, you will need to use your discretion and managerial experience to tackle their request.

A HR Manager Needs To Be Abel To Multi-Task Effectively

Every HR worker will know that working in HR  means being able to deal with everything thrown at them and often not one request corresponds to another in this line of work. One minute you will find yourself working on an intricate departmental report, the next thing you know you have ten disgruntled employees at your door raging about their lack of overtime rate! Worst still, if you are in the HR department of a large company, multi-tasking is all but written in your job description!

As a HR manager, you will more than likely have far more than your fair share of work to multi-task, as well as having to tend to the needs of the many employees under your leadership. With not one day ever the same in most HR departments, this means that you have no choice other than to become one of the finest multi-taskers the business world has ever seen!

If you are maybe working your way towards becoming a HR manager, you will no doubt have had your fair share of good and bad experiences through working in the HR sector. However, by the time you do get to the managerial position, you will be more than fully aware of what is required of you at that level and, hopefully, more than competent to be able to deal with whatever this new role throws at you. Yes, it is a tough job to undertake, and there is rarely any thanks for what we HR managers do, but get it right, and it can feel like one of the best days work ever!