The human resources domain is undergoing significant changes. Considering the changing needs of the workforce and baby boomers retiring, HR professionals need to be more effective and competent to be excellent contributors for businesses.
Recruiting and hiring skills does not suffice anymore in today’s highly dynamic world where millennials are taking over the workforce. This is why to survive in the new age; you need new-age skills.
You can acquire these skills by enrolling for credible HR online professional courses. However, before you do that, let’s take a look at these core HR skills and competencies you must have.
Core HR Skills And Competencies Every HR Professional Must Have
Generalist Skills
1. Agility for Unpredictability
Amid the pandemic, the need for agile HR professionals and managers was realised by organisations all over the world. Ranging from remote work policies to unexpected workforce restructuring, as an HR professional or manager, you are more likely to run into scenarios wherein you must adapt to change quickly.
To display agility as an HR professional, you must encourage a talent mobility culture at your organisation. Talent mobility leads to significant benefits such as:-
- Lower recruitment costs
- Faster turnaround to fill open positions
- Increased productivity for new hires
- Higher rates of retention
- Improved career satisfaction
- And most of all, better culture fit
2. Analytical Skills for the Road
In recent years, reliance on data has increased dramatically. HR professionals who embrace the latest technology and have a grasp of analytics can help drive organisational efficiencies and stand out from other candidates up for manager-level positions.
So to land roles up the HR hierarchy, you must tap into impactful data analytical skills and understand:-
- Total time and cost to hire employees
- Identify patterns that might cause employee turnover
- Point out the latest trends and themes from employee feedbacks
You can also leverage analytical skills to gain real-time insights into employee engagement and improvement of processes. To gain in-depth knowledge about the main functions and skills of HRM, consider enrolling for credible HR online professional courses. These courses can help you gain exposure to the latest trends and themes of the domain along with hands-on practical experience in data analytics.
3. Communication Skills are Non-Negotiable
HR professionals are required to be great conversationalists.
- And how do you expect to do that without communication skills?
- How do you expect to conduct interview drives or lead presentations, manage conflict resolution or carry out any onboarding activities without communication skills?
So yes, communication skills are an essential skill for HR professionals. You don’t need to enrol for special communication courses to hone your skillset. That’s the best part about pursuing credible HR online professional courses. The pedagogy and interactive sessions of these courses allow you to acquire this requisite skill set during the course of the certification.
5. Throw Empathy and Compassion in the Mix
HR professionals are one of the most trusted resources in the organisation. They act as the confidante for all employees. This is why successful HR professionals make it a point to maintain an open-door policy wherein employees can turn whenever they have questions or concerns, creating an inviting and comfortable environment for them.
Furthermore, part of showing empathy and compassion requires you to be a good listener. For instance, an employee approaches you with a concern and picture you as a sounding board. In such a case, rather than expecting to provide an immediate solution, he/she may just want to share or be heard.
5. Employee Relations to Build Connections
Successful businesses not only thrive on excellent client relations but also secure employer-employee relations.
And HR is the common link between maintaining employer-employee relations. This is why acquiring this skillset should be on the top of your list. As an HR professional, you must be able to identify and resolve employee concerns as it helps develop a more satisfying work environment for employers and employees alike.
This is a relatively broad facet of the HR domain, everything ranging from labour disputes to managing compensation and employee benefit packages is included in this aspect. So a comprehensive knowledge is a must. This is where credible HR online professional courses come into play. Courses like the HR certificate from XLRI can help you gain a 360-degree understanding of every sub-facet of employee relations and decision-making factors in HRM.
Domain-Related Skills
1. Recruitment and Onboarding Skills for Starters
Recruitment and onboarding are among the most basic skillsets that every HR professional must have prowess in.
Why?
Employee recruitment and turnover can be extremely heavy on the pocket, and a strong onboarding process can help reduce it. It allows new hires to adjust to their new job’s social and performance aspects quickly and smoothly. This is why employers are scouting for HR professionals who can effectively bring new recruits on board, enhancing the chances of having them long term.
The HR certificate from XLRI is considered one of the best courses online for growth in the HR domain and with good reason. The courses not only focus on the broad aspects of employee management and conflict resolution but also critical facets like employee relations and, recruitment, onboarding, and performance management.
2. Performance Management for Main Course
As an HR professional, you’ll be required to:-
- Set expectations for employees
- Monitor their performance
- Develop their capacity to perform
This requires strong interpersonal abilities and communication skills. So if you are striving to build a career in this domain, proactivity and performance management should be number one on your must-have HR skills list.
3. Technical Prowess for Desert
Technology has taken over every domain, industry, and sector; HRM is no exception. It allows HR processes to occur electronically, lightens the workload, and make HR processes more efficient.
Prowess in software like Human Resources Information Software (HRIS) is critical for landing a high-paying job as technical prowess displays an understanding of core HR functionalities. You can enrol for credible HR online professional courses to acquire the requisite technical acumen.
Are your HR job skills up to par? If not, consider honing them with the credible HR certificate from XLRI offered on the Talentedge platform.
More Information:
Guidelines For Formulating A Career In HR
How to Find Human Resources Job Opportunities?
Is Human Resource Management a Good Career Option ?
How to grow your career in Human Resource Management in 2022?
