Updated June 20, 2023
Introduction to Successful HR Professional
After all, HR professionals today play an important role and are key to driving a company’s success in upward growth. HRs today are no more mere tacticians who push file after file to maintain budgets in a company. Still, they are an integral part of the company sitting across the table in a conference room. They make real business decisions to ensure the company reaches new heights every successive quarter of a year. There are unlimited opportunities available for people who want to become HR professionals.
The profession might not be new, but HR has seen unprecedented growth and change in recent years. Its stature is increasing, as is the demand for qualified HR professionals in the market.
The work is rewarding, with interesting challenges for those who love challenges. The position of HR as your breadwinning work is irresistible.
Human Resources spans multiple disciplines and requires an HR professional to be patient and cooperative in understanding the varied human behavior and personalities working in an office. They should blend his common sense to perform practical tasks hands-on and use his innate intelligence to make hardcore business decisions to benefit the company at opportune moments.
Let’s understand the HR profession in detail before you decide to jump on the bandwagon to join this industry.
We will also work out a strategy to understand how to get hired in the role of HR, considering the immense competition prevalent in the job market.
Human Resource-The Tradition Definition
Human Resources was initially a task in which the office’s personnel staff were largely responsible for the administrative work. HR Department was formally known as Personnel
They were required to look after the recruitment process and employee benefits and ensure that the tasks and goal set by the company for its employees was completed in the stipulated time given.
Human Resource-The Modern Definition
Human Resource managers today are a bridge between the employees and the corporate leaders. According to the management’s policies, they are the key to recruiting new staff at the office.
However, their role has evolved over the years and in today’s business environment. Today’s human resource managers deal with administrative work and are a part of the core strategic planning with the company’s top executives.
Today, they are the leading way in changing policies and suggesting innovative ideas to improve business results.
HR managers help a company utilize its talent pool effectively by providing HR professional training and HR professional development to utilize the employees’ productivity to the hilt.
They enhance the morale and loyalty of the employees by limiting job turnover through a considerable increase in their work satisfaction in the current working environment by providing suitable work conditions.
They strive to maintain healthy relationships between the employer and the employees, keeping them happy and satisfied.
Educational Qualification required to Become an HR Professional
There is no specific requirement to become an HR Professional; however, a bachelor’s degree is necessary to attain an entry-level position in the HR department of any company.
Bachelor’s degree, with its core focus on Human Resource Management, provides HR professional training in business law, economics, and people management. It is a common course in many colleges and universities.
Although HR draws from many disciplines, it is better to study an HR-related degree if you are planning to take up Human Resources as a long-term career.
The graduate courses in HR prepare the candidate for strategic planning, contract negotiation, project management, mediation, and arbitration.
However, the industry has many successful HR professionals with degrees in social sciences, Literature, Psychology, education, and so on.
For higher HR department positions, relevant experience and training are essential.
A master’s degree in HR-specific areas like labor and employment negotiation, e-learning, career coaching, organizational leadership, or personnel administration teaches techniques that can easily propel one’s position and brighten the future in this industry.
Internship for HR Professional
The industry appreciates individuals who make an extra effort to make a mark by pursuing internships while earning their bachelor’s degrees. Professional experience is always welcome, and internships earn a fresher a competitive edge in the job market.
Developing a portfolio or resume is important, and any experience gained in the field sharpens a person’s communication and organizational skills.
In Real-world, daily experience in the office prepares one for the 24X7, 365 days onslaught once he becomes a part of the industry.
HR is no easy work and should not be taken lightly. It is a tough task to handle the employees of the entire office while being constantly updated on HR trends and new methods.
HR internship prepares a professional to develop interpersonal skills, making communication easy with the employees and management.
The HRs often possess the company’s information. Managing sensitive information while performing the rest of the responsibilities is vital to interns during their internship.
They also attend the recruitment process and orientation programs to handle the records of the employees.
Certification Courses
Certification courses in HR enhance one’s competency and show commitment to the job. Employers are always on the lookout for professionals with a strong dedication to attain better knowledge and increase their proficiency in their work.
Although certification courses are unnecessary, professionals benefit from the new-age techniques and innovative ideas showcased in these certification courses.
HR Department Decoded
Let’s look at the areas in which you specialize as an HR to improve your prospects in the industry.
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HR Generalist:
An HR generalist requires donning many hats at the same time. His role requires him to handle the recruitment process, negotiate the company’s employee benefits package, and meet the employee to understand their opinion. Thus, he is an all-rounder in the Human Resource Department.
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Compensational Professional:
This arena of HR requires crunching numbers in a creative fashion. The job requires great technical and people skills, a rare combination making it a much sought-after position. Compensational Professionals design the employees’ salary package, considering both the employee’s happiness and the company’s money woes.
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HRIS Professional:
Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is an ideal job for you if you have a knack for technology and love to work on computers churning out meticulous details. HRIS professionals are involved in product selection, systems customization, ongoing administration, and implementation. HRIS professionals are in demand as there is a talent shortage in this specialization of HR.
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HR Training Manager:
The area of specialization with regard to HR professional training has undergone a complete change over the last decade. Trainers no longer teach what an HR should do in the workplace. Still, they concentrate on teaching the professionals management and leadership qualities while building a workplace environment that fosters a constant learning experience for individuals.
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HR Consultant:
HR Consultant has in-depth knowledge and experience in their field. They specialize in Compensation Recruitment, HR Outsourcing, and Leadership Coaching. As an HR Consultant, you can work for a dedicated company or as an independent consultant.
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Labor Relations:
Labor Relations Manager collects information to help the company during negotiations agreements. He must be an expert in economics and wage data, labor law, and collective bargaining trends. The labor relations staff works in the administration and interpretation of the contracts with respect to salaries, pensions, health benefits, union practices, and contractual stipulations.
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Staffing and Recruitment:
These professionals are responsible for recruiting and organizing the staffing strategy, which involves screening candidates, conducting background checks, preliminary interviewing, and compensation information.
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Diversity and Inclusion:
These HR Managers ensure that the company complies with the country’s laws, reports regularly to the government for specific targets and funding, and provides corporate sponsorship to the external organization. They must also run programs within the company that promote diversity and inclusion.
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Organizational Development Professional:
Organizational Top Professional Managers are required to work with the top rung of the company, ensuring that the company’s goals and achievements align with the vision and mission.
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Corporate Communications:
A corporate communications manager promotes the company’s organization and its products. They devise a strategy for internal communication and keep an eye on the content of the newsletters, website, and networks. They also work out the speeches and presentations which need to bring to the attention of the employees and consumers.
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Talent Management:
Professionals of talent management are involved in developing and assessing employees through implementing programs and initiatives. Talent Management includes Goal Management, Performance Mapping, Development, HR professional Competencies, and Succession Planning, and depending on the organization, a professional may be working on all or individual parts.
Key Skills and Tips to Survive HR Management
Following are the key skills and tips to survive hr management.
- As an HR Manager, building relationships with the people in your company, whether with the top executives or the employees at the intermediate level, is important. Instead of yearning for trophies and marking them as an achievement, consider your relationships within the organization your biggest achievement.
- As an HR Team Leader, you must ensure your work gets done without unnecessary headaches. This is possible if you hire qualified professionals to work with you in the company.
- Feedback for HR is very important. Stand back and let people for a change evaluate your performance. Embrace their opinion with an open heart, and don’t argue about your potential or shut them off with your remarks. Such feedback, when done face to face, yields more results.
- Let your boss know what you can do in a crisis situation instead of showing what you have already done. Your employer has hired you to be a problem, Solver, so if you cannot contribute to solving his problems, you might as well do some other job than be an HR.
- Treat the employees in the company just as you should be treated, and refrain from considering their human capital as the HR books have described them over the years.
- While recruiting talent, do not concentrate on the negotiation as an important aspect of the deal but consider the roping of a good talented person as a deal changer for your company. Remember, in the end, Quality is appreciated instead of Quantity. Thus retain the performing people in your company instead of digging into the number of people.
We believe these are a few important HR professional training; however, there is no definite survival strategy. HR also creates strategies with practice and evolves over the years with experience.
The key to becoming a great HR professional is that HR leaders are great servants who work hard. The resource talent is under them, teaching and allowing them to be recognized, unlike HRs, who blame juniors for their mistakes.
Recommended Articles
This article has been a guide to HR professionals. We have discussed the basic concept, Educational Qualification, Key Skills, and Tips to Survive HR Management. You may look at the following articles to learn more –
