Sheakley Updates

Qualities to Look for in Your Next HR Leader

Chelsea Bikner
Qualities to Look for in Your Next HR Leader
Reading time 4 Mins
Published on Aug 14
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The leader of your human resources department, whether it’s one person or five, is crucial to the success of your business. HR managers make decisions and set policies that affect your entire company. That’s why finding the right person to take the helm of your HR department is vital to ensuring the growth and vitality of your team. Here are a few of the qualities that you should look for in your next HR leader.

A strong leader

Let’s state the obvious thing first: your HR manager should be a strong leader. They should set an example for the rest of the employees to follow. Look for a leader who understands that, if you want employees to follow company policies, you must follow them too.

In addition to providing leadership by demonstrating that it’s important to follow the rules, your HR manager should also convey the duty of a strong leader to be trustworthy. A strong HR manager will understand the importance of keeping employees’ personal information private and confidential. They will inspire others to follow those same rules in the workplace. Check out 5 Leadership Traits of Great Managers to learn more about being a strong leader in the workplace.

Effective communicator

Your HR leader must be a good communicator. In many companies, the HR manager is a critical link in the chain between management and front-line employees. HR managers must be able to effectively and precisely communicate company policies and the rationale behind them.

Effective communication is also vital when conducting the daily functions of the HR department. For example, when an employee is performing poorly in their role, their manager and HR may work together to formulate a performance improvement plan. A good communicator can help the employee see the benefits of the plan, such as a better understanding of their role and expectations, whereas a poor communicator may leave the employee only seeing the negative in the situation. For more tips to help you and your team become better communicators, check out Communication is Key to Business Success.

People person

It should go without saying that your HR leader must be a people person. Interacting with various types of people on a daily basis, conducting interviews, and working with HR vendors requires strong interpersonal skills.

Beyond enjoying interacting with others, the HR manager’s people skills must extend to making people feel heard and part of the team in a genuine way. Each time your HR manager interacts with employees, the employee should feel that all of their questions or concerns have been heard, recognized, and will be addressed appropriately.

Fair player

The HR manager must understand the importance of fair play and exercise those principles daily. Beyond understanding and being aware of employment discrimination laws and workplace policies, being a fair player means applying those rules to everyone, no matter their job title or position within the company.

Ethics play a big role in treating everyone on the team fairly. Much like Jiminy Cricket, your HR manager should be the conscience of your organization. Following and applying rules consistently, an ethical and fair HR manager can earn the trust and respect of both employees and managers – a critical component to running an HR department successfully. This commitment to ethics and fairness means that your HR manager is constantly on the lookout for potential workplace discrimination and working to stop it in its tracks. Check out Tips to Help You Avoid Workplace Discrimination for more information on banishing discrimination in your company.

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