If you want to work in HR, you need to be a certain type of
person, which is why on the Frank Kelly blog this week, I've outlined the
personality traits any HR professional needs to have.
Managing People is a
Considerable Task
Taking on a role in human resources is certainly not an easy
task. You are essentially a people manager, and as it turns out, effectively
managing people so that they prove an asset to your company’s bottom line, is a
considerable task.
Between recruiting staff, training them, administering them,
serving as the first port of call for specific people management issues etc.
human resources is a job description with many elements. In my experience,
there are several personality traits that often prove essential to carrying out
this job
description effectively, including….
Conscientiousness: Often
as a HR professional, you are dealing with sensitive issues, which require you
to think through how you handle the matter at hand.
Empathy: Dealing
with people requires them to be able to communicate with you. People often feel
far more comfortable communicating sensitive issues with a HR professional who
has the ability to emphasise; thus communicate with them on their level.
Efficiency: You
are often dealing with facts, figures, records etc., and you need to be able to
handle them efficiently, so that the company you work for runs smoothly.
Inquisitiveness:
One of the roles that will often fall to you as a HR professional is recruiting
and training new staff. You need to be inquisitive so that you can make sure
that not only are they right for the vacancy in question, but that they receive
all the essential training they need to prove an asset to the company.
A Desire to Help:
Above all, you need a desire to help if you want to make it as a HR professional.
Essentially, this job is about helping people, and if don’t have a desire to
help, it will translate into what you do, and employees will pick up on it,
making it far harder for you to succeed in the role of ‘managing people.’
At the end of the day, it takes a certain type of person to
take on the role of HR professional, but once you take it on, it can be the
most rewarding job you've ever had; you just need to know how to work with
people.