Think you are cut out for HR? Do you have these skills?

Hi Dear Friends!
Welcome to my blog!

Human Resource Development is an essential support function of every organisation.

There are millions of young people who would wish to choose HR as a career path, which is great! My attempt in the article 20 Myths about HR! was to give a realistic picture of what HR is all about. Just because the word Human is a part of Human Resources it doesn't mean that it is a 'Humane' profession. It is about being sharp and ruthless while recruiting the 'right' candidate or while terminating the services of a non performer. You would need to use your head not your heart.

For eg: If a person is well qualified and has experience but there are too many breaks in career, with short tenures, the HR would not consider that resume, unless there is no one else or they are desperate. Such a person would not be considered, because they have too many 'problems' in life. So, they would be told to sort out their lives before applying for a job. However, in fact, they are the ones who need the job the most, because they have responsibilities and people depending on them. They struggle hard to balance work and life, but sometimes life takes over, and they are forced to quit, out of their own conscience. The HR (organisation) does nothing to ensure that the employee can have some leeway to sort things out and resume. A little flexibility and understanding on the part of the organisation would help in allowing the employee to avoid the breaks in career.

I have heard several bosses say time and again, that you should not get your problems to work, most people would not like to. There are some situations that are so compelling at times, that, it is, at that time a sincere, performing employee expects some support from seniors or the organisation, but instead what is given is, a lecture about being professional and not complaining about working overtime, almost daily. The reality is since we are all human and not robots, life will happen, it is not a level playing field, some have it easy, and some have to move heaven and earth to get a piece of that pie. Allowance must be given for flexible work, and support, in terms of  decent daycare centers for working mothers, or some time off, for those taking care of their parents or the elderly or family members who may be terminally ill or handicapped. However, very few, may be fewer than 50 organisations world over, actually have these facilities. They are the topmost organisations, and that is why they are the topmost, where only a few privileged get employed. So, what about the others? This question has no answer! Their employees are left to fend for themselves.

Anyhow,  now that, that is out of the way, lets look at HR as a function, which every organisation needs, either as an in house department or as outsourced services.  It is a good career option like any other. You can climb the corporate ladder and achieve your dreams in terms of promotions and salaries and perks. Here are  some of the skills, you would need to demonstrate, on a daily basis to be successful in HR.

In my previous posts, I have already discussed 20 HR myths, and Ultimate cheat sheet for HR, here you can find out if you are cut out for HR, check the points below.

Check list of necessary skill set for HR:

1.You have a pleasant personality and are friendly and easy to talk to. You listen well and patiently without interrupting.

2.You are not reserved or nervous around people. You do not usually stammer or blush. You don't try to avoid people, you welcome them when they come to speak to you.

3. You are more interested in addressing the issues of people than telling them about yourself. You don't rush in to give your opinion, but rather wait for them to ask their questions. You like to be around people, understand them and their strengths and weaknesses.

4. You are able to think critically and evaluate a situation and then come up with the right fit to the problem. You approach situations with a solution in mind.

5.You can make great decisions, be it recruitment, grievance handling, conflict resolutions etc.
 You are able to choose the best option, out of the various solutions to a given problem.

6. You are business savvy, you know your people as well as the business very well. The main objective of HR function is to, align human resources, with the business goals of the company.

7. You are well versed with communication skills, almost 60 percent of HR function is communication skills, speaking, listening, questioning, emailing, meetings, presentations, training, interacting with employees, organisation. Therefore, you need to be a great communicator.

8. HR is always in the middle of situations that require sound judgement.  This is an extension of good decision making, a decision may seem good at the time, but it is the skill of good sound judgement that will add value to the decision taken. All aspects of the decision have to be tested virtually, before putting them into action.

9. You are an ethical person, ethics are very important in all professions, more so as an HR professional. Since it involves, directly interacting with people in the organisation. You must ensure that the organisation is ethical in their dealings, with employees. That they follow norms and values, that govern the actions and behaviour of the individual and the organisation. HR handles a lot of sensitive information about the employees and has to be discrete in what to keep private and what information can be made available to public.

10. You have great negotiation skills, negotiating with  people is one of the major tasks of HR. You need to arrive at a win win resolution in all situations. You need to keep the organisation and the employees happy and productive by negotiating well. Settle disputes, arrive at a compromise, avoid arguments while reaching an acceptable solution.

11. You enjoy multitasking, the ability of an HR to multitask cannot be overemphasized. You have to line up interviews, complete exit formalities or resolve conflicts, arrange for training programs and also be preparing for talent acquisition presentation, etc.. with top management at the same time. E.g. of multitasking is handling a call while leading a new employee to his workstation and signalling to your team to carry on with an instruction you just gave them some time back.

Here is a small quiz to give you a sense of what is required to start off  your career as an HR person.
Basic HR Skills Quiz

If you scored more than 7 then you are definitely cut out to start off as a human resource person.

As you climb the ladder you will need more strategic skills to succeed. The skills will be more and more towards deeper understanding of what each department in your organisation is trying to achieve. Linking all department goals to the common objective or goal of the organisation. This means that you should not only know how to deal with employees but be in touch with what each department needs to do to reach its goal. Now you would need to expand your scope from human development to organisational development.

In conclusion, HR is a profession like any other. It is has a vast scope. Life without HR would definitely be chaotic. People and organisations would not be protected against unscrupulous elements whose only aim is to take advantage and cheat. HR like all other profession is evolving. Be updated and in touch with the latest.

Hope this article was useful.

If you found it useful, please like, comment, share and subscribe and follow.

That's all for now. Till we meet in my next post, bye and take care!

Basic HR Skills Quiz

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Human Resources

Hi Dear Friends!
Welcome to my blog!

Today's article is for the HR team and those who want to take it up as a career option or understand what HR is all about. The main role of the HR department is to align human resources with the organisational goals and objectives.

Here are the HR functions at a glance:

 Recruitment/ Talent Acquisition:

The growth of an organisation depends on its human resources. Therefore recruitment is the most important function of HR.  The steps involved in the recruitment process are:
1. Head hunting- Searching for the the right candidate, using various online recruitment resources like naukri.com, monster. and others.
2. Lining up for interviews- Scan the Resumes for career progression, professional look, tenure a and line up for interviews
3. Interviewing- Ask open ended questions, encourage the candidates to speak about themselves, their previous organisations, what they liked, what they disliked, the most challenging situation they have handled, why do they want to leave that organisation etc.
4. Shortlisting- Out of hundreds of candidates only a few are shortlisted based on their performance in the interview. They are called for the final round.
5. Selecting- Ask close ended questions and short answer questions, discuss salary. Now, based on the over all evaluation of all previous interview rounds including the final round they are made an offer, which if they accept will complete the selection process.



Appointment:

Once the offer letter is signed and handed over to the HR specialist then the appointment letter is prepared with all the details, like designation, salary, and the terms of the job contract is mentioned.
1. Handover appointment letter- The appointment letter is handed over on the day of joining.
2. Allot Workstation- Arrangements for setting up the work area and other administration related setup like configuring the email Id, issuing ID cards, issuing Laptop with necessary software, company mobile etc are provided.

Payroll:

The salaries have to be calculated and disbursed on time. The process begins almost a week before the due date. Employees need to follow HR policies for leave, travel, medical etc. Payroll needs all employee details to calculate the salary for the month.
1. Calculate days present-After deducting the leaves for the month paid and unpaid, penalty for coming late 3 times a month or as per company hr policy, the actual days present is calculated. Salary is calculated based on the total number of days present plus paid leaves.
2. Other deductions/Tax/perks- All mandatory deductions and perks are calculated and the final salary is arrived at.
3. Disburse salary by the 30th or 5th of every month- Aim to payout salary on a given date every month to avoid inconvenience to the employees.

Performance Appraisal:

This is the most awaited and dreaded time for every employee. Those who work sincerely and well await it, and those who do not perform, dread it. Work reports have to be maintained by each employee, based on the Key Result Areas(KRA), which are given to them along with their confirmation letter. Employees must keep weekly, monthly and quarterly reports to ensure that a correct assessment of progress is done.
Steps involved:
1. Appraisal by immediate senior and the department head- The first round of appraisal is done by the reporting manager, who puts in the scores with comments and recommends a raise in salary or promotion or both or none depending on the performance.
2. Recommendation for promotions or increment in salary- All the completed appraisal forms are taken to the Head of the department, by the HR and in the presence of the employee, reporting manager and the department head, it is further verified by the top management, before they sign and give their final approval.
3. Issue promotion/ increment letter- A list of all employees recommended for raises and promotions prepared by the HR department.

Succession Planning:

Succession planning means to identify and develop a successor, for the position of top management, manager or team leader, from the respective teams. Every organisation should invest time and effort to create a second rung of people as stand by. Empowering employees is the best way to ensure that everyone is progressing. Many managers are so insecure about their own positions that they fail to create a second line of command. This becomes counter productive to their own growth. If there is no one to take over their position how can they move forward?

Training and Development:

This is the most ignored and undervalued function, especially by medium and small organisations. However most large and successful organisations invest and conduct timely training for their employees. Training and Development to be beneficial has to follow the steps below:
1. Identify the target audience and skill required-Training program is tailor made to address the skill set needs of the trainees.
2. Prepare relevant content- After Training Need Analysis (TNA) is done, the content is designed accordingly.
3. Arrange for training program- Coordinating and arranging for the training room, projectors, whiteboards, markers and note pads and pens etc..have to be done, by the HR training coordinator
4. Classroom Training Evaluation- At the end of the training each trainee is evaluated and the report and feedback is shared with the trainee and the also with the reporting manager.
5. On the job training evaluation- Quarterly on the job evaluation and a report handed over to immediate senior- On the job training is the second part of the training where the trainees are observed by the trainer for about 3 months and improvement in their skill set and evaluated.
6. ROI at the end of 6 months to be submitted to the top management by the senior and department head- Return on Investment report has to be prepared by the HR- Training and Development, stating how the performance of the trainee improved over a period of 6 months and how it has impacted the profits of the organisation.

Exit formalities:

People may come and people may go but the company goes on forever. Thus letting go of employees is not a pleasant duty, but it has to be done and someone has to complete due process to tie up all loose ends, that person is the HR. They have to:
1. Accept Resignation letter- The employee expresses his need to part ways with the organisation,by handing over a resignation letter to his manager. Which is signed and handed over to the HR department
2. Get the Exit formalities completed by the concerned employee and get it signed off by immediate senior and the IT Admin Department heads- The employee has to complete handing over his work pending, and done, to his successor. The employee has to fill in the Exit form where all the formalities are to be completed are listed, for handing over all official items given to him. The employee has to complete all formalities  and get a sign off by the respective departments, before getting a final sign off by his manager. The employee then hands the exit form over to the HR to move ahead with the next step.
3. Fill the PF and other forms-  Once the Exit form is received by the HR, they get into action and start getting all the legal forms filled.
4. Relieving and experience letter to be handed over to the employee- After all is done and the notice period is served, the HR issues the experience letter and the relieving letter, after which the employee is free to go and join his next workplace.

In a nutshell:

The ultimate cheat sheet to help you strategize HR is given below:
1. Make a list of the 10 best online and offline job search sites for talent acquisition.
2. Have a prepared list of "must ask" personality and work related questions for interviews.
3. Put together an employee manual as per HR policies.
3. Ensure that payroll, is submitted with all relevant information, to disburse salary on time.
4. Inform all Heads of departments to handover KRA to their team to enable fair performance appraisal.
5. Take stock of the major gaps in skill set requirement, for Training and Development of employees.
6. Keep a list of exit formalities and check them off as and when they get done.
7. Conduct employee engagement programs, cultural and family events to motivate employees.
8. Maintain employee information and HR files in order and in confidentiality.

In conclusion we can see that all the above functions of HR are governed by company rules and regulations and labour laws of the land. Thus, HR has to maintain proper documentation for all its processes, and also for, each and every employee of the organisation.

Hope you found this article useful.

Please like, share, comment, subscribe and follow if you liked the post and would like to read more such articles on more such topics.

That's all for now.  See you in my next post. Bye and take care!

20 Myths about HR!

Hi Dear Friends!
Welcome to my blog!

Today's blog post is about the myths people have regarding Human Resource Management. Before going to the 20 Myths about HR, let me tell you why I thought of writing this post.

When I was studying for  MBA(HR), the OD(Organizational Development) professor asked me one day, why I had chosen HR, when I had the option to choose Marketing or Finance, which had better career prospects. I guess I was naive then, and very confidently answered saying, "Sir, because I love helping people", he had a pensive look on his face and said " I think you are mistaken, HR is not about helping people". But he left it at that. Years rolled by and I completed my Management course. I enjoyed the studying part, all the subjects were great except Income Tax.

I was working as a Communication Skills Trainer, with a premier organisation and studying at the same time. I really loved training. Three years just flew by, and I was now ready for an upgrade in my career. So, I applied and got my first job after competing MBA(HR),  which was again as a trainer, however this time the designation was Corporate Trainer and now the topics would cover HR subjects, as well. My trainees upgraded from college students and  fresh recruits, to team leaders, supervisors, managers and senior managers and so on. So far so good, life was wonderful for me.

Five years later, the organisation that I was working for, decided to move to a location that was not possible for me to relocate to. So, I had to look for another job. I found a job within a week, but now it was in the HR department, as Asst Manager HR, there began, my real, on the job training, as an HR person. Now, after almost a decade of work experience in HR &TnD domain, I can safely say that my professor was right. I realized that my notion about HR was far from what it really is.

Here are the 20 myths about HR:

Myth 1. The role of HR is to take care of employees
HR takes care of employees to ensure that the productivity is not hampered in any way.

Myth 2. HR is the Ombudsman
HR listens to the employees concerns but is duty bound to report to the management. Ombudsman reviews and resolves issues, he can maintain total confidentiality since he is not a part of the management, he is not required to report to the management about the discussion between them.

Myth 3. HR has the power to recruit whoever they want
The biggest misconception is that the HR has the power to recruit anyone. Not so. without the relevant verification and approval from the respective departments no one can be appointed.


Myth 4. HR can give raises and promotions to their favorite people
It appears to be so, however the reality is that the HR is just informed of the raise or promotion, and has to do, due diligence to ensure that it is put into action.

Myth 5. HR loves to sack people
The managers call and inform the HR that an employee being asked to leave because of certain reasons, like insubordination, non performance or cost cutting. HR may hear out the employee and request the boss to give him/her another chance. That's about all the HR person can really do.

Myth 6. HR is the voice of the employees
Whenever the employees have any trouble with their seniors or any one else they rush to the HR  and expect that the HR will speak for them, to the management, but HR is the voice of the management. HR will put forth the concern expressed by the employee, to the person concerned, and may try to resolve the issue, with the employee also present.

Myth 7. HR can demand anything from the management for the employees
Most employees think that HR has super powers, they can make anything happen. like set up a world class canteen, relaxation area or overseas training programmes etc. HR does do many of these, however they have budget constrains set by the top management and have to adhere to them.

Myth 8. HR must solve all employee problems
There are certain problems which are very serious like a physical altercation between 2 employees where one or both get injured, or sexual harassment etc. The HR is neither legally qualified, nor are they trained psychologists to handle these issues.

Myth 9. HR is considered to be next in authority to the topmost management
Considered as extremely powerful, almost next to the President or CEO of the organisation. This appears so because of the regular interaction, that the HR has to have with heads of all departments, in order to discuss the future talent acquisition, and succession planning etc.

Myth 10. HR is only responsible for addressing employee issues and delegating to respective departments.
HR is approached for all and sundry, laptop, stationery, id cards, ideally these are handled by Admin and IT, but in smaller organisations the HR department has to co-ordinate with various departments and get it done for the employee.

Myth 11. The job of an HR person is a cool job they have no targets
Appears to be a very hunky dory job, no one to fire or scream at the HR, or so it seems. One of the most important jobs of an HR is to source the best candidates for the organisation. In case the candidates sourced are not up to the mark, HR is pulled up and questioned. Things are done more confidentially, so, no one knows what is happening in the  HR department.

Myth 12. Assumed to be one of the most powerful person in the organisaton
HR is seen everywhere, asking questions to everyone, instructing people in the organisation, so it gives the impression that the HR is the most powerful person. HR has to ensure employee compliance, therefore they are a seen visiting different departments on certain days of the week or month and getting feedback from the employees.

Myth 13. It is assumed that HR always gets paid first
This is a common misunderstanding, since payroll department usually a part of HR, it is assumed that in case of a crisis in the company, HR is paid first along with all the top management. However the opposite is usually true, all the employees up to Asst. Manager's are paid first and then the HR and the top management.

Myth 14.  HR has to ensure  that Training and Development is done for employees
Many companies consider Training and Development a waste of resources and try to avoid it as much as possible. When the company revenue goes down because of poor performance and interpersonal issues, they wonder why.


Myth 15. Induction training is to help employees feel comfortable
True that induction training is meant for hand holding the employee for the first week of joining, it is done to acquaint the new recruits with the rules and regulations of the organizations, introduce them to the most important people in the organisation and to ensure that they fully understand company policies and comply.

Myth 16. Performance appraisals a tool to squeeze the employees for more work
HR considers Performance appraisal as a tool to get optimum performance from the employees by getting them to focus on their KRA's which mean Key Result Areas(which also includes compliance as one of the KRA's), while at the same time spend less time on unproductive activities.

Myth 17. HR plans all those draconian HR policies
HR department writes out the policy document in consultation with all the managers and the top management of the organisation. However, though there can be a little flexibility, by and large the policies have to be followed.

Myth 18. HR personnel spy on employees and send nasty emails to them and to their respective bosses
HR has to be vigilant of any misconduct or wrong doing in the organisation. When any such incident is brought to their notice, they then immediately send out an email mentioning the misconduct to the employee with a cc to his reporting manager.

Myth 19. They harass during the exit process
HR is instructed by the reporting officer not to give the release letter unless all the work is properly handed over to the person assigned by the senior, only after the employee  who is assigned says that the handing over process is complete  and the reporting manager signs off, can the HR issue the relieving letter.

Myth 20. They don't care they just enforce rules and demand compliance.
HR comes across as being ruthless, because they have to ensure that employees are complying with the rules and regulations of the organisation. It is essential to ensure smooth functioning of the organisation. It ensures that there are no obstacles in achieving business targets, because of some employees who are not disciplined.

The objective of this article is not to say that HR is not a good job option, rather it is to clarify the misunderstanding that goes with the term Human Resources Management. If you choose to be an HR person, do so knowing what it entails. Do not go into it imagining that it is a noble profession it definitely is not, it is a support function/ department of the organisation. In the exact words of one of my previous employers, on, why my team was not being given a raise, with all other departments, he said "HR is an expense department not a revenue generating department, so tell your team to be happy with what they are getting". Remember, when the organisation is in financial crisis the first department to be shown the door or downsized is HR!

That's all for now. Hope you found the post informative. Please Share, Comment and Subscribe.

See you in my next post. Till then bye and take care!