In today’s competitive business environment where people management has come on priority, excellence in discharging HR functions is on high demand from HR managers. There can not be any magic stick by which any HR manager can be transformed into an excellent one. It is only by proactive mindset and practice; HR manager can bring excellence in him. No one is born with the excellence value. Practically it is developed slowly by passage of time.
It is not necessary that only a highly qualified manager from a premier management school brings with him the guarantee of excellence. I have witnessed many persons with average upbringing, educational and social back ground proving themselves to be an excellent HR manager. What is required is the quest of learning and attitude of taking ownership of the problems in the organization by the person.
The following are the rules of excellence for HR managers:
1. Become leader not a manager.
The basic skills of excellence in HR require a manager to build people, bind people together with hearts minds and souls and for this he has to become a leader and not a mere manager. Every organization that has maintained its excellent over the period of time has been able to do so because it had a leader and not a manager who was able to transform the culture of excellence. While a manager does things right, as a leader HR manager should always do right things. While a manager may be efficient to move in a right direction to achieve excellence, as a HR manager you should have a vision to choose that direction. While manager may use the authority to discharge his functions, as a leader you should use your power derived from employees respect. HR manager has to develop the capability of working well without loosing balance in times of crisis.
2. Be careful, honest and sincere while selecting a person.
Engage right person at the right job. Don’t try to fit a square in a hole. Discourage favouritism in recruitment. Don’t compromise with the quality and requirement of the job. Always prefer attitude in a person. Engage for attitude and train for skills. It is the attitude of the person which makes a difference while performing his job. Problem starts from this point.
3. Don’t make induction a ritual.
Most of the HR managers do this exercise as a ritual and leave it on subordinates which ultimately turn out to be a utter failure in achieving purpose of this exercise. This is high time for HR manager to mould new employee and tune him with the organizational culture. Most of the new employees leaving organization in a short tenure reveal the startling fact of their poor/negative induction at the time of joining making their prime cause demotivation.
4. Make the employee clear what is expected from him.
It is for the HR manager to ensure that employees working in the organization are well aware of what the organization expects from them. In one of the reputed organization when I was called as an expert to diagnose the problem in people management, after observing the work culture I commented, ‘In your organization everybody is doing every body’s job and no body knows what he is doing’. HR Manager has to be cautious about this silent killer of the organization culture.
5. Be firm and fair.
HR manager has to practice this policy down the line all the time. While dealing employee relations he has to exhibit and display his firmness and fairness even in sensitive situations to command respect from all corners. He has to champion the cause of employees and employer too.
6. Confront Problems.
HR manager who escape from tricky situations and problems can not excel in discharging his functions. He has to confront the problems as they arise and disseminate them. Always remember that avoiding problems and keeping the dust under the corpet will not pave the way of excellence. In any organization where HR people pass the buck and shift the burden of problems like shuttle cock are bound to face more complex situations which may explode in a more aggressive way causing irreparable losses to organization culture.
7. Apply the principle of 20-80.
As a HR professional it is not necessary all the time to use your technical knowledge for achieving excellence but what is required is skill of dealing with people and this ratio is known as 20-80. 80% is of your people handling skills in all situations with common sense management of human dignity and 20% is of your technical knowledge. If your reverse this ratio, you may never achieve excellence.