Ask any company owner, and you are sure to hear that people are the firm’s most valuable assets. Most firms today have a high level of automation, and there are machines for virtually any job. But no organisation can operate without human resources. They are needed to program the machines, monitor them and ensure that they deliver the desired output and do jobs that machines cannot do. But managing a lot of employees is not an easy task, and this is where the HR manager plays a crucial role. But how to become an HR manager?
Before we find an answer to the question, it is essential to know the job and responsibilities the person must handle. The Post Graduate Certificate Course in Human Resource Management is an excellent program to learn about the work performed by the HR manager. Our website has the necessary information about this course and how it empowers HR professionals to do their duties well.
Roles And Responsibilities Of An HR Manager
When people are so important, they must be managed well, and their requirements are taken care of. A company must also make sure that they recruit the right people for the job as well as one who will be the right fit for the company. All these and much more comprise the duties of an HR manager. Before we find out how to become an HR professional, let us look at the person’s duties.
- Human Resource Planning
A company needs people to achieve its business goals. These people must be capable of performing their duties and contributing to the organisation’s progress. This makes it necessary that the firm has the right mix of employees with skills that will help them perform their jobs well. The HR manager must evaluate the future staffing needs of the organisation and ensure that recruitment and training can satisfy these needs. This person must also see that there are enough skilled and qualified persons to take up senior positions when they become vacant.
- Job Analysis And Design
You must know about this task to understand how to become an HR in India. It is an important task for every HR manager. They must be able to design the job analysis to help fill vacant positions. Job analysis involves creating a job description and deciding the position for the employee. HR managers must also decide who the new worker will report to and what resources the person will need to perform efficiently. These professionals will also lay down the qualities required for new workers and decide their salaries and benefits.
- Hiring
It is probably the most critical task of the human resource manager. Many companies within the country and out of it offer jobs and good benefits to the right person. A company’s HR manager must be able to pick up the best talents from the market-beating other companies. It requires developing strategic solutions that attract talented candidates. One of the ways to ensure that the best people apply for jobs in the company is to improve its employer branding. This improves the image of the organisation as an employer.
- Training & Development
Hiring is only half the job done. These employees must be given the training to upskill them and improve the return on investment. The training needs will depend on whether the new worker is a fresher or comes with some job experience. It is more than just new staff members who need to be trained. Technology is advancing quickly, and companies must equip their employees to use new gadgets and technologies. You must give training to existing workers also to give them new capabilities.
Also Read: What is Strategic Human Resource Management? Definition and Examples
- Formulate Policies
Every company has policies about its human resources. Such policies help in resolving conflicts and avoiding legal issues. Policies also help to maintain decorum in the workplace and give everyone good working conditions. The HR manager’s job is to devise such policies and ensure that they are conveyed to all staff members. Policies about leave and other benefits must be formulated. There must also be clear rules regarding harassment and discrimination at the office. HR professionals must also ensure that the company policies align with state and central labour laws.
- Evaluate Performance
One must know about this duty when exploring how to become an HR manager. Every employee is hired to complete a certain set of duties. It is the responsibility of the human re manager to make sure that all the employees are doing their jobs to the desired level. It also helps the company know if someone requires more training to perform their tasks. Monitoring the work of staff members also helps the HR department assess their capabilities and decide on the persons who are capable of handling higher positions.
- Maintain Work Culture
Every organisation has its culture, even if the employees are made up of people from different social and educational backgrounds. It comes from years of doing business. All existing employees will be familiar with and fit into the culture perfectly. When recruiting people, the HR manager must ensure that the new person is a perfect fit for the organisation. Only if a person can be comfortable at work can the company get the most out of that employee. HR personnel must communicate to new employees what they can expect at the office.
- Conflict Resolution
People from diverse backgrounds work in an organisation. It can naturally lead to differences of opinion and, subsequently, conflicts among workers. There can also be conflicts between the management and the employees. The manpower department must intervene and find a solution. The HR manager must listen to both sides without prejudice and decide on the case fairly. The opinions of those who work closely with the concerned employees must also be heard. The investigation findings must be recorded and the conflict resolved for the company to move forward.
- Employee Health And Safety
Employees are the most valuable assets, and the company’s responsibility is to ensure their safety and well-being while they are at the workplace. The company needs to have policies about healthcare and ensure that employees get the facilities for treatment if something happens at the workplace. Organisations must also provide health benefits to employees and their families. Such gestures will ensure loyalty from them. HR managers must also ensure safety at the workplace. There must be clear guidelines about how the employees can escape danger if some untoward incident happens.
- Rewards And Benefits
It is not just salaries that attract people to a firm. They also look at other rewards and benefits that the organisation offers. A company must offer benefits that will attract the best talents in the market. The HR manager must also devise incentive schemes based on the person’s performance. This will motivate workers to put their full efforts into the job and achieve more than what is expected from them. It will make them feel valued and satisfied with their jobs. Rewards are also a great way to retain employees.
The above is not a complete list of duties of an HR manager. You can learn more about the responsibilities at the Post Graduate Certificate Course In Human Resource Management. The complete details of this program are available on our website.
We have seen the duties that an HR manager must perform. To show that you have the capabilities to perform all these tasks, you must first achieve the position. Let us now find out how to become an HR professional and what qualities are required for the job.
Steps To Becoming An HR Manager
Step 1 – Complete your Plus 2 or equivalent course.
To join any degree course in India, you must complete your higher secondary schooling. You can complete your schooling in any subject. But you will need to score good marks if you want to join an undergraduate course of your choice.
Step 2 – Get a graduation certificate.
You can join a postgraduate course in HRM with any degree. But it will be preferable if you get a degree in management before specialising in human resources.
Step 3 – Master in Human Resources
Once you have completed the undergraduate course, you can join any Post Graduate Course in Human Resource Management. This course is available both on campus and online. Getting the certificate from a reputed institution increases your chance of employment by reputed and highly paying companies.
Most companies will demand experience in the field before they appoint an HR manager. You must first join the HR department and prove your capacity before becoming the team leader. Now that it is clear how to become an HR professional, it is time to understand what skills are needed to perform the job successfully.
Skills Needed To Become An HR Manager
- Interpersonal Skills
The primary job of an HR professional is to interact with employees in the company. They are often the first people new workers meet before joining the firm. So it is of utmost importance that HR managers have high interpersonal skills that help them communicate with people to get their jobs done. These professionals must be approachable to employees because they are the ones workers meet to voice their grievances. If the HR manager is not easily accessible, people cannot tell their problems and get solutions.
- Emotional Intelligence
Employees are first humans and then professionals. So they come with a bundle of emotions, and the HR manager must be able to understand them even if there is no word spoken. In many cases, workers may never express their real feelings. A high EQ helps HR professionals mingle easily with the workers and understand their problems. It will also help them earn the trust of employees. If the HR manager possesses emotional intelligence, it is possible to find a person’s feelings from their actions. This quality also helps HR managers approach issues in a more level-headed manner.
- Confidentiality
Maintaining confidentiality is a very important skill for HR professionals. They are exposed to all the most private details of employees. They know the workers’ performance, their salaries, evaluation reports, etc. Such information must remain with the HR manager and must not reach anyone except those directly involved in the matter. There are many occasions when employees open out to the HR managers about sonal issues that may affect their official performance. The human resources department is also the first to know about organisational changes. All these must be kept confidential.
- Capacity To Listen
A lot of things are told to HR professionals. They hear complaints from employees. Workers also talk about sonal problems to these officials. Human resource officers also get a lot of questions from employees for which they must provide answers. All these need them to be good listeners. There are many advantages to active listening. Firstly, it helps them document the conversation if they are not talking. The other big advantage is that a person who listens is highly valued by employees as being sympathetic to their problems. Listening also helps in picking non-verbal communication in a conversation.
- Communication
One of the answers to how to become an HR in India is to develop good communication skills. HR professionals are the ones who convey messages to everyone in the company in almost all forms of communication. They must regularly talk to employees to find out feedback about working conditions and other needs. The HR team must send emails to employees about changes in policies or organisational rearrangements. They must listen to complaints and resolve conflicts. All these tasks need a high level of competence in all forms of communication.
Also Read: Breaking Down The Scope Of Human Resource Management
- Conflict Resolution
Conflicts and disputes are common in all companies. Even in small organisations, this occurs people from different backgrounds work together. But these must be quickly resolved if work must happen and the firm must achieve its objectives. They must know how to diffuse a serious situation and allow both parties to arrive at a solution. These professionals must listen to both sides and arrive at an unbiased remedy for the issue. In many cases, the dispute can be between the management and staff members. The HR managers must also be capable of taking firm decisions when the need arises.
- Recruiting
Recruiting is not just a task. It is a skill that can attract the best talents to the company. Human resource professionals must know how to write attractive job postings that will prompt good candidates to apply for the job. They must also know how to protect the company’s image during the interview. This is very important to make a good candidate decide in favour of the organisation. These professionals must know how to use social media platforms to find good hands who are working in other companies. HR managers must have the skills to conduct interviews perfectly.
- Negotiation
If you are still wondering how to become an HR manager, then one of the things you could do is brush up on your negotiation skills. It is a capability that most employers look for in their HR professionals. Negotiation can be useful in many ways. It is one of the best ways of conflict resolution. In many cases, HR managers negotiate with employees or their unions to resolve a conflict. Negotiation is also a useful skill to have when recruiting highly qualified or experienced people.
- Team Building Skills
The HR department is tasked with transforming employees into team players. Only if everyone cooperates with their teams can the company achieve its goals. They must organise events that help workers to mingle with each other and form good connections. These professionals must be good team builders if they want to foster good relationships between themselves and the employees. They also coach the department heads and managers in team-building skills so that their teams can work as a cohesive group.
- Analytical Skills
Analytics is today an important activity that helps companies use their data to find insights that help them make wise decisions. HR is a treasure house of data that can be used to improve productivity and employee retention. Using past data helps to find out the reasons why people leave the company earlier than they are expected to. Analytics also helps in recruitment by analysing external data of available talents.
You can acquire these skills and many more capabilities by attending the Post Graduate Certificate Course in Human Resource Management conducted by an esteemed institution. More details about the course are available on our website.
Conclusion
The job of an HR manager is not easy, and it can even be stressful at times. But if inclined to help others with their lives, then this is the best profession for you. Every HR professional gets an opportunity to improve both the official and personal lives of many people. Today HR managers are considered so important that they share a place with the organisation’s top brass.
More Information:
Objectives & Nature of Human Resource Management
Evolution Of Human Resource Management: Past and Future
