Human Resource Manager - Job Description

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily." - Zig Ziglar, American author, salesman and motivational speaker

Human resource management refers to the coherent and strategic approach to understand the needs of the people working in a firm. Undoubtedly, the growth of a firm is totally based on the individual and the collective efforts of its workers. Human resource management evolved as a serious discipline in the business world when it was understood that employees are not mere business units, like machines and automobiles. Instead, they are a valuable human manpower and have personal, emotional, and financial needs. When it was realized that human beings are not unidimensional entities, human resource management was developed to cultivate a positive work culture in the organization, motivate employees, streamline the recruitment process, and provide employee training.

The dynamics of business have become more and more challenging in today's global economy. Employee retention is a crucial factor and firms hire human resource managers for this vital task. Also, the function of a human resource manager is to work in tandem with all the departments of a firm in order to monitor and decipher the needs of the employees. The human resource department acts as a bridge between the CEO or the Managing Director of the company and the various branches, like executive, administrative, project management teams, and operations management.

Job Description

The job of a human resource manager presents challenges to tactically handle the human resource tools and help the firm attract talented people for the required job(s). Following are the major duties and functions of a human resource manager.

Resource Hunting and Recruitment
The entire process of recruitment is monitored by the human resource manager. The human resource manager's duties consist of job posting, hiring, conducting recruitment exams (if any), and interviewing. Other functions of a human resource manager are to maintain excellent professional relations with the educational institutions and recruitment agencies.

Coaching the Employees
Training the employees is another important duty of a human resource manager. Why is training so essential? Well, every organization has its specific organizational culture and it is expected that the employees follow it. Induction and orientation lectures are the initial periods of training, wherein the employees get to know the work culture of the company. Icebreaker sessions, as we normally call them in the management terminology, help the employees feel comfortable and show active participation in training programs. Effective communication is a tool that the human resource manager can use to connect with the employees and build team spirit among them. The human resource manager can play a pivotal role in adopting the six sigma training programs. The principles of change management can be adequately applied to help the firm reap rich benefits.

Motivation and Performance Appraisal
Motivation is a key to trigger the performance of an employee. An average employee may turn into an outstanding performer on being motivated. A human resource manager conducts sessions and lectures that keep the employees aware about the growing competition in the market and the need to constantly upgrade the skills of the employees. Also, the performance of employees is constantly monitored over a monthly or yearly basis and rewards, gifts, and prizes are distributed for exceptional performances. The human resource manager also looks after the performance appraisal of the employees.

Salary and Payroll Negotiations
Though salary related issues are a responsibility of the accounts department of the firm, still, in the initial stages of recruitment, the human resource manager handles the salary issues of an employee. Since a human resource manager handles the recruitment process he/she is more aware about the ability, experience, and skills of the employee, therefore, he/she can take better decisions about the salary of the worker. Generally, the HR department works in collaboration with the accounts department in salary related issues.

Employee Satisfaction and Feedback
Are the employees satisfied with the facilities of the firm? Are any issues that are causing an unrest among the employees? There may be differences in the ideas/opinions of the various employees. Is that creating a conflict? All such matters related to employee satisfaction are handled by the HR manager. The principles of conflict resolution can be used to resolve differences among the employees. Mostly, human resource managers accept the feedback of the employees and this leads to an efficient management of the workers.

Educational Requirements

Are you aspiring for a career in human resource management? Well, this challenging field has a lot to offer you. Once you get in, new avenues open at every step. Generally, a graduate level degree in labor laws, social sciences, human resources, and industrial laws is considered for entry-level jobs in human resource management. Many firms look out for a fair amount of work experience before hiring HR managers. So, if you have a master's degree or an MBA in human resource management, then it's better to spend 3 - 6 years taking a professional experience and then look for senior level positions. Even courses related to humanities, like public administration, psychology, sociology, political science, and economics are considered by many firms. With experience in this field one can climb the ladder of success gradually and soar great heights.

Personality Traits

The various personality traits needed to be an excellent human resource manager are as follows:

• Excellent communication skills and leadership qualities.
• Strong presentation abilities.
• Ability to think out of the box.
• Very good initiation and negotiation skills.

Analyzing the job description of human resource manager must have given you an insight into the challenges and creativity of the different elements involved in human resource management. So, if you are planning a career in human resource management, make a note of the above points and then go for it. Wish you luck!