HR leadership is essential in companies both large and small. These leaders see problems from both an employee, customer and organisation perspective.
The best HR leaders understand the needs and concerns of customers just as much as their employees. This means HR leaders work closely with the rest of the organisation to ensure that their new culture, diversity, inclusion or other initiative is known both to the public and employees. That’s why they are one of the main pillars of the organisation.
In this article, we will be talking about what is an HR Leader, their responsibilities, and how to become one.
What is an HR Leader?
A Human Resource Leader is responsible for achieving set goals for the company and doing their best to create a better working environment for all employees. The most effective HR leaders pride themselves on building positive relationships with their employees. And this is what separates good HR leaders from others.
What do great HR leaders do?
HR leaders have evolved significantly over the last few years. and they may struggle to embrace the expectations that come with them. Here are examples of responsibilities and typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.
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Define the strategy and create great cultures.
- Manage all weekly status reports, data tracking, communications, training & internal SharePoint sites to support
- Manage leave-of-absence programs and personnel records.
- Setup and administer HR Software
- Handle employee relations workplace issues.
- Design and optimise performance review plans and evaluations.
- Optimise job descriptions.
- Provide assistance in the interpretation and application of government laws and compliance.
- Engage people by listening to their concerns.
- Foster a positive hybrid work environment
- Forecast employee capabilities and develop employee skills.
- Develop and implement workforce plans and a talent pipeline strategy in diversity.
- Implement a leadership succession planning process to address future organisational and diversity needs through the development of in-house talent and critical competencies.
- Respond to internal and external investigations.
- Monitor the accuracy of timekeeping.
- Manage shift work
- Embrace Data. HR Leaders must take advantage of the tools and technologies they have at their disposal to make more informed decisions based on meaningful data.
- Own the Employer Brand Strategy.
How to step up and become an HR leader
The role of HR is changing. HR has evolved significantly over the last few years and is continuously being called upon to show up in a leadership capacity.
These are some of the actions HR leaders could embrace for success.
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Master the basics
Organisations have always depended on HR leaders’ knowledge of compliance, employee privacy, benefits, compensation, medical and family leave, and other policies. The most effective CHROs will identify when to use internal resources and when to partner with an outside expert to achieve their objectives and understand employee engagement.
- Embrace data
- Enable Strategic Workforce Planning.
- Develop an Employer Brand Strategy.
The best CHROs partner with marketing to communicate company culture internally and externally. In today’s digital world, the lines between recruiting and marketing areas have become increasingly blurred. It is because they both focus on branding.
