One of the most favorite things that I love about writing is the opportunity to interact with my readers. Their comments provoke me to question my thoughts and always provides new ideas to write another post. For example this post you are reading is one I am writing in response to Luke Bradley (@motleyblogger) comments on my post Skills HR should learn from other functions of Business. Have it a read here!
What he said was totally true. We talk about HR learning new skills from others all the time. But we don’t see many articles that talk about the opposite.
This is a common perception – ‘HR’s role is simple, easy and doesn’t require much brains to do the job’. Well, this quote is not from anybody else but my very own dear Husband. I won’t blame him. If you ask a random employee in your organization they would probably tell the same. Sometimes this the case with other functions of the business as well. They know HR is for hiring, firing and of course someone to approach when Ms.Susie, one of their team membesr did not get the salary for this month. Or if anything goes wrong they sent it to HR. Most often people don’t know of the capabilities that their HR possesses to deal with human beings who think and act differently. And you should know there is much more to it!
Now if we were to learn from each other, what are some skills that other functions of business should learn from HR! Well, I didn’t want it to sound monotonous so I reached out to a few HR thought leaders who I totally admire. Here are a few skills that HR thought leaders think other functions of business should learn from HR
Empathy, Compassion, Listening
@TheHrbuddy I think that others can learn “approach” and “empathy” – meet people where THEY are. #ff
— Steve Browne (@sbrownehr) April 18, 2014
@TheHrbuddy #HRBuddyInteview in 143 characters #Tact #Empathy #Ability2Listen & embarcing all types of diversity. We can talk 4 more 🙂
— Dave Ryan, SPHR (@DaveTheHRCzar) April 19, 2014
@TheHrbuddy Hmmm. Good question. Empathy. Compassion. Patience. Listening.
— Jason Lauritsen (@JasonLauritsen) April 18, 2014
Empathy is on the top of my list too and I was really glad to see how Steve, Jason and Dave mentioned it holistically. When your sales leadership gives more importance to numbers and leads, HR will teach you how to treat your people like humans. Observe and listen to your employees so you will know why they act the way they do. It is an essential management skill and leadership attribute. Be sure to meet your employees where they are! As a leader, letting your employees know that you have come down to meet them can make them feel valued and mattered. People are your fundamental means and if they are not happy at what they do and how they are treated chances are you sales figure may not mean much.
Coaching and Mentoring
@TheHrbuddy How to coach employees to higher performance.
— Tim Sackett (@TimSackett) April 18, 2014
The most frequent and common issue that HR has to deal with is the poor relationship of manager and employee. And developing an employee is often left in the hands of HR. Instead of being a dictator know what your employees what out of his job. What are his career aspirations? Use that to create a win win situation and to bridge the gap between where he is and where you want him to be.
Rules are same for everyone
@TheHrbuddy They need to learn there are laws that govern how people are to be treated and there are consequences to violating them.
— Mike Haberman (@MikeHaberman) April 18, 2014
When HR raises voice against bad management or gets rid of bad managers/employees, they act in the best interest of employers. And that is to stop and protect the organization from any legal problems before they happen. Knowing the consequences and negative impact that can happen from harassment or illegal behavior can help restrain one from committing those. No matter if you are the CEO of the organization or a common employee, if you violate a law it can cost you huge.
People & Networking
@TheHrbuddy I think that prioritizing people – through a variety of different means is the best learning to take away from HR
— Michael VanDervort (@MikeVanDervort) April 18, 2014
@TheHrbuddy networking… #hr #ff
— Ben Martinez (@HRHound) April 18, 2014
HR folks are naturally good at networking inside and outside the organization. Getting out of our seats and meeting with people across various functions help us get to know our employees and feel the pulse of everyone in the organization. Well, this would also mean building our own sphere of influence by knowing who is who and who is what. And that’s how we get others to support us when it comes to collaborating with other functions and getting the buy in from them when you are implementing organization wide initiatives.
