HR is building a system
Often I hear: "I go to HR because I want to work with people." I answer this: “Psychologists and psychiatrists work with people. HR is about the ability to create systems for the development and effective work of people. ”
Of course, an HR specialist must understand social psychology and team building, but we do not solve individual employee wishes without reference to the goals of the company.
If HR focuses on someone’s individual interests, HR systems will not work. As a result, employees will leave, and HR will only do what to close vacancies.
Modern HR is a cross-function that intersects with all areas of the company, from finance to sales, if you need to look a Human Resources Job by Function visit web site - https://hrcareersearch.com/browse-by-job-function. In HR, there are six main blocks of examination. I collected them, like “pieces of cake,” the first ten years of work. A universal specialist who is engaged in all functions is called an HR generalist.
The first function is recruitment.
This includes searching and interviewing candidates, hiring and adapting staff. The recruiter should evaluate not only professional experience, but also managerial skills and personal characteristics, must understand the business.
Unprofessional recruitment can lead to disastrous consequences. Once I collaborated with a company that worked in the home appliance market. There I saw that top managers do not seek to solve problems, but to defeat each other.
For example, at a meeting it was necessary to determine which sales channel to go to and with which product. However, instead of finding a solution, the tops asserted themselves and looked for the right. And while everything dragged on, a competitor entered this sales channel.
The company went into minus. For three months I persuaded to replace the tops and build a team on the principle of not “struggle”, but “additions”. But they did not listen to me. Then I watched this story from the side. Management realized the problem only a year later when the collapse came. The team was replaced, but the business had to be reformatted.
Novice specialists often ask how to determine at the interview stage whether a person will create problems in the future. My answer is this: if there is no psychological education - no way. The attempts of HR managers to build psychotherapists and psychologists from themselves are ridiculous. An experienced manipulator knows how to properly present himself.
But there are simple techniques that test the candidate’s words. You need to ask to tell about practical experience. It is necessary to formulate this way: “Give an example of a situation where you needed to avoid conflicts”, “Give an example of a situation when you yourself solved a difficult task”.
The second function is personnel assessment (performance)
We value two things: actual results and competencies.
Results are tasks that employees perform on a regular basis. To understand whether a specialist is achieving results, you must first develop key performance indicators (KPI), which determine the effectiveness.
And competencies are the knowledge, skills, which are manifested in behavior. They are divided into hard and soft. Hard skills are required to complete work tasks, as well as for business development. For a programmer, these are programming languages, for a lawyer, knowledge of the laws, for a hairdresser, the ability to cut.
Soft skills - competencies that are often called personal qualities. For example, sociability or business management. The importance of soft skills is often underestimated. A common example from the IT business. A programmer who brilliantly performs KPI is promoted to the head of the development team.
And he seems to perform direct functional tasks - all projects are completed. But two people a month leave his team, and employees speak of him as a bad leader. That is, before upgrading the specialist, the HR manager did not adequately evaluate his competence and did not organize his training.
The third function - training and development of personnel (training & development)
There are many different systems: corporate university, external training, internal training system. Each business chooses its own path.
I worked as a HR director at the RedHead Family Corporation holding, which includes the Antoshka network. 45 stores, two thousand people staff. We wanted every employee of the retail chain to be able to talk about the contents of the products and recommend to mothers the most suitable products.
All this mass of people needed to be trained. New people who came, and in retail the biggest turnover - up to 15%, had to be adapted
The fourth function is a system of salaries, bonuses and compensations (compensation & benefits)
Many HR managers in Ukraine do not know how to count bonuses. They don’t know how salaries are paid and taxes are paid. Traditionally, accountants were engaged in salaries, and managers were engaged in bonuses. It is not right.
Firstly, there is a bias, and secondly, managers do not know whether the salary and the bonus system they offer are competitive in the market and are eager to save. As a result, employees can go to competitors only because of salary.
HR is required to monitor the level of salaries and bonuses. This does not necessarily mean that salaries need to be raised if they are below market. You can compensate for the level of salaries by something else. For example, medical insurance or product discounts. But this indicator cannot be ignored.
In order to effectively fulfill this function, an HR manager must understand the business. He must understand what kind of business model the company has, what margin this or that product or service has.
If he does not understand this, he can offer a bonus system that harms the company. For example, a business suffers losses, but is forced to pay bonuses due to an incorrect system.
Fifth Function - Corporate Culture & Internal Communication
Corporate culture includes such things as the mission and vision of a company, social responsibility. Roughly speaking, the company must answer through all these points to the key question: how does it differ from others in the market, what value does society and the country bear. This information needs to be conveyed to employees - they are the bearers of corporate culture.
Every action within the framework of corporate culture and social responsibility should coincide with the marketing strategy. Otherwise, it is a waste of money that does not support the image of the company.
I am exaggerating, but if this is an IT company, then you should not go to the field to dig potatoes to help the poor. It’s more logical to open children's IT clubs. Although both methods alone are good.
If the corporate culture of the company is no different from its competitors, its employees will not regard the work as something important. They will go to those who pay more or give the best buns.
Sixth Function - Interaction with the CEO
I call it “executive coaching” or strategic HR. The CEO is also a person, he can be tired of the banal, and he needs a partner to manage the team. Signaling problems and suggesting ways to solve them is a direct HR task of a high order.
Of course, not everyone can coach a leader. This requires at least ten years of experience and business knowledge. My practice shows that HR either gets involved in the business and feels the need to influence the strategy or not.
I recommend that all HR managers decide for themselves whether they want to become HR generalists and subsequently HR directors, or they want to develop one thing and become really cool: either in recruiting, or in evaluation, or whether in corporate training. This will help the specialist correctly position himself in the labor market.
Often I hear: "I go to HR because I want to work with people." I answer this: “Psychologists and psychiatrists work with people. HR is about the ability to create systems for the development and effective work of people. ”
Of course, an HR specialist must understand social psychology and team building, but we do not solve individual employee wishes without reference to the goals of the company.
If HR focuses on someone’s individual interests, HR systems will not work. As a result, employees will leave, and HR will only do what to close vacancies.
Modern HR is a cross-function that intersects with all areas of the company, from finance to sales, if you need to look a Human Resources Job by Function visit web site - https://hrcareersearch.com/browse-by-job-function. In HR, there are six main blocks of examination. I collected them, like “pieces of cake,” the first ten years of work. A universal specialist who is engaged in all functions is called an HR generalist.
The first function is recruitment.
This includes searching and interviewing candidates, hiring and adapting staff. The recruiter should evaluate not only professional experience, but also managerial skills and personal characteristics, must understand the business.
Unprofessional recruitment can lead to disastrous consequences. Once I collaborated with a company that worked in the home appliance market. There I saw that top managers do not seek to solve problems, but to defeat each other.
For example, at a meeting it was necessary to determine which sales channel to go to and with which product. However, instead of finding a solution, the tops asserted themselves and looked for the right. And while everything dragged on, a competitor entered this sales channel.
The company went into minus. For three months I persuaded to replace the tops and build a team on the principle of not “struggle”, but “additions”. But they did not listen to me. Then I watched this story from the side. Management realized the problem only a year later when the collapse came. The team was replaced, but the business had to be reformatted.
Novice specialists often ask how to determine at the interview stage whether a person will create problems in the future. My answer is this: if there is no psychological education - no way. The attempts of HR managers to build psychotherapists and psychologists from themselves are ridiculous. An experienced manipulator knows how to properly present himself.
But there are simple techniques that test the candidate’s words. You need to ask to tell about practical experience. It is necessary to formulate this way: “Give an example of a situation where you needed to avoid conflicts”, “Give an example of a situation when you yourself solved a difficult task”.
The second function is personnel assessment (performance)
We value two things: actual results and competencies.
Results are tasks that employees perform on a regular basis. To understand whether a specialist is achieving results, you must first develop key performance indicators (KPI), which determine the effectiveness.
And competencies are the knowledge, skills, which are manifested in behavior. They are divided into hard and soft. Hard skills are required to complete work tasks, as well as for business development. For a programmer, these are programming languages, for a lawyer, knowledge of the laws, for a hairdresser, the ability to cut.
Soft skills - competencies that are often called personal qualities. For example, sociability or business management. The importance of soft skills is often underestimated. A common example from the IT business. A programmer who brilliantly performs KPI is promoted to the head of the development team.
And he seems to perform direct functional tasks - all projects are completed. But two people a month leave his team, and employees speak of him as a bad leader. That is, before upgrading the specialist, the HR manager did not adequately evaluate his competence and did not organize his training.
The third function - training and development of personnel (training & development)
There are many different systems: corporate university, external training, internal training system. Each business chooses its own path.
I worked as a HR director at the RedHead Family Corporation holding, which includes the Antoshka network. 45 stores, two thousand people staff. We wanted every employee of the retail chain to be able to talk about the contents of the products and recommend to mothers the most suitable products.
All this mass of people needed to be trained. New people who came, and in retail the biggest turnover - up to 15%, had to be adapted
The fourth function is a system of salaries, bonuses and compensations (compensation & benefits)
Many HR managers in Ukraine do not know how to count bonuses. They don’t know how salaries are paid and taxes are paid. Traditionally, accountants were engaged in salaries, and managers were engaged in bonuses. It is not right.
Firstly, there is a bias, and secondly, managers do not know whether the salary and the bonus system they offer are competitive in the market and are eager to save. As a result, employees can go to competitors only because of salary.
HR is required to monitor the level of salaries and bonuses. This does not necessarily mean that salaries need to be raised if they are below market. You can compensate for the level of salaries by something else. For example, medical insurance or product discounts. But this indicator cannot be ignored.
In order to effectively fulfill this function, an HR manager must understand the business. He must understand what kind of business model the company has, what margin this or that product or service has.
If he does not understand this, he can offer a bonus system that harms the company. For example, a business suffers losses, but is forced to pay bonuses due to an incorrect system.
Fifth Function - Corporate Culture & Internal Communication
Corporate culture includes such things as the mission and vision of a company, social responsibility. Roughly speaking, the company must answer through all these points to the key question: how does it differ from others in the market, what value does society and the country bear. This information needs to be conveyed to employees - they are the bearers of corporate culture.
Every action within the framework of corporate culture and social responsibility should coincide with the marketing strategy. Otherwise, it is a waste of money that does not support the image of the company.
I am exaggerating, but if this is an IT company, then you should not go to the field to dig potatoes to help the poor. It’s more logical to open children's IT clubs. Although both methods alone are good.
If the corporate culture of the company is no different from its competitors, its employees will not regard the work as something important. They will go to those who pay more or give the best buns.
Sixth Function - Interaction with the CEO
I call it “executive coaching” or strategic HR. The CEO is also a person, he can be tired of the banal, and he needs a partner to manage the team. Signaling problems and suggesting ways to solve them is a direct HR task of a high order.
Of course, not everyone can coach a leader. This requires at least ten years of experience and business knowledge. My practice shows that HR either gets involved in the business and feels the need to influence the strategy or not.
I recommend that all HR managers decide for themselves whether they want to become HR generalists and subsequently HR directors, or they want to develop one thing and become really cool: either in recruiting, or in evaluation, or whether in corporate training. This will help the specialist correctly position himself in the labor market.
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