What attributes make a good HR manager? Just as everyone remembers a good teacher, we all recognise a good manager.

They are the people who make the concept of managing look easier. But the irony is that being a manager is a tough job and those who make it look easy are the ones who are the best at it. Successful managers are the ones who are skilled at performing a wide range of roles and can bring out the best in their staff. Indeed, it is not enough simply to be the best HR Advisor or Business Partner in the business - you need to be much more than that when you move into management. This means recognising the personal qualities and skills that those who are already doing a good job as a manager possess. The people who excel in the industry have three clear attributes: considerable experience, allround project management skills, and a strong commercial awareness. And once you unwrap each one of these you will find an assortment of key underlying factors that characterise a good manager, including: considerable experience working in various HR roles excellent working knowledge of employment legislation a solutions-driven approach to business to be focused on the task at hand yet flexible good influencing skills and a confident communicator an ability to make sound business decisions an aptitude for motivating staff tenacity and drive to deal with a demanding workload
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HR Managers will often find themselves overseeing more than one project at the same time and working with senior managers from various departments across the organisation each with their own demands and requirements. Therefore, the ability to manage your time effectively and prioritorise tasks will stand you in good stead. The importance of having a confident style of management cannot be underestimated, with HR Managers often involved in grievance procedures or pay disputes, for example, which may involve union representatives. So the ability to cope well under pressure is fundamental to the role. Honesty and transparency are vitally important to employees. If you let your staff know what is expected of them, recognise their efforts and achievements, and make them feel part of the decision making process you will have a motivated and committed team who will be happy to work for you; thereby making you better as a manager by default. When we interview a potential new hire, HR professionals assess the candidate against a list of key skills and personal characteristics needed for the job. Lets turn the tables and see what that list of key attributes would look like for an HR professional. In no way is our list authoritative, but it is the opinion of people, including BLR Founder Bob Brady, whove spent decades meeting with HR professionals, supporting their goals, and reporting their achievements. You may agree or not with our assessments, but either way, wed like to hear about it via the Share Your Comments link at the end of the article. That said, here goes:

HR Management Key Skill #1: Organization HR management requires an orderly approach. Organized files, strong time management skills, and personal efficiency are key to HR effectiveness. Youre dealing with peoples lives and careers here, and when a manager requests help with a termination or a compensation recommendation or recognition program, it wont do to say, Ill try to get to that if I have time. HR Management Key Skill #2Multitasking On a typical HR day, an HR professional will deal with an employees personal issue one minute, an intermittent leave question the next, and a recruiting strategy for a hard-to-fill job the minute after. And thats to say nothing of social media, wage/hour, engagement, retention, and a whole host of other things, every one critical to someone. In HR, if its not one thing, its another. Priorities and business needs move fast and change fast, and manager A who needs someone hired doesnt much care if youre already helping manager B who needs someone fired. You need to be able to handle it all, all at once.

HR Management Key Skill #3Dealing with Grey A surprisingly large percentage of the issues HR managers face are in the grey area. Is it discrimination? Is it harassment? Whats a reasonable accommodation? How far over backward do you have to lean to approve intermittent leave? HR managers have to be able to act with incomplete and best available information, and they have to know when to seek the professional help of colleagues, attorneys, and other experts.

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HR Management Key Skill #4Negotiation Along with grey comes the need to negotiatethere are often two or more opposing views, and the successful HR pro can find an acceptable middle ground. Remember, the goal of negotiation is to end up with two parties that are satisfied with the outcome, and thats not often easy to achieve. HR Management Key Skill #5Communication HR professionals have to communicate up to management, over to managers, out to potential employees, and down to all levels of current employees. And they have to do it in writing, while speaking to large and small groups and, increasingly, through social media. They have to be convincing, caring, and believable. HR Management Key Skill #6Discrete and Ethical HR professionals are the conscience of the company, as well as the keepers of confidential information. As you serve the needs of top management, you also monitor their actions toward
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employees to be sure that policies and regulations are followed. You need to be able to push back when they arent in order to keep the firm on the straight and narrow. Not an easy responsibility! Of course, you always handle confidential information appropriately, and never divulge it to any unauthorized person. HR Management Key Skill #7Dual Focus Employees expect human resources professionals to advocate for their concerns, yet you must also enforce top managements policies. The HR professional who can pull off this delicate balancing act wins trust from all concerned. There are times you must make decisions to protect the individual and other times when you protect the organization, its culture, and values. These decisions may be misunderstood by some, and you may catch flak because of it, but you know that explaining your choices might compromise confidential information. Thats something you would never do. HR Management Key Skill #8Conflict Management and Problem Solving News flash! Everyone doesnt always get along with everyone else. High productivity demands that people work together at least civilly. HR has to find ways to allow that to happen. And thats to say nothing of the myriad other problems that hit HRs in-boxyou cant be effective without problem-solving ability. HR Management Key Skill #9Change Management Most companies today are in a constant state of flux. Task forces, matrices, and teams spring into being, do their jobs, and disband as others form. Hierarchies have been squashed, and companies have four or five generations working side by side. A lot of people are freaked out by whats going on. HR has to help everyone cope with the constant changes. Looking for more tips for success? Download HR Daily Advisors 2011 HR Essentials for Success Kit and get 3 FREE special HR reports covering some of the biggest pain points for the HR professional.
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Nine Skills, But Also One Caveat HR is a creature of, and serves, the business strategy, Brady says. Its important for HR people to know what that strategy is and what makes the business tick so the approach to HR can be tailored accordingly. Never think of HR in isolation, he advises. Because if HR professionals think of themselves as just HR, thats what the rest of the organization will think, too. I am new to Manager Tools, and am really loving the casts. I am halfway through the Coaching casts, having already finished O3s and Feedback. I don't know if there is a cast that addresses my questions here or not. I did a search of the forums and premium content documents, but didn't find anything. One thing that I have noticed once or twice in those casts, and backed up in the forum, is that Mark and Mike don't think very highly of HR. Or, as one of them put it (I don't remember if it was in a cast or on the forums), they don't like *bad* HR. I am in a small company (approx. 30 people) in 2 locations. I oversee all the administrative duties including accounting, legal, and yes, HR (we use a lot of vendors for the technical aspects of these). I am trying to pitch to our CEO the necessity of having basically an HR/Office Manager at the location that I am *not* at. We have had some issues with employee stress levels, some employee behavior, and a few other things. We also have trouble with hiring...we either have non-optimal hires (not always, but it's been an issue) or we have to pony up for recruiters (which reflects on my budget and is tight on a small company's cash flow as it's a big chunk of change all at once, especially if we are making multiple hires). We're also a tech firm, with the related headaches of trying to find good developers. So what I'm looking for is: I have some idea of what an HR person can and should do. One thing is to create a comprehensive recruiting/retention plan that works *with* our current management
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team to meet their goals. The other is to be a point of stability in the remote office and a place that employees can go if they are having stress, concerns, etc. Finally, they will be responsible for keeping us in compliance from an HR standpoint. But what else? What do good HR managers do in small companies? Coach? Train? I'm really just fishing for thoughts here, hoping to soak up good ideas from everyone's experience. Thanks all in advance