The 7 Skills an HR Manager Must Have!

It’s often said that a person can be a good HR manager if they appreciate people and enjoy working with a lot of social interaction. While this is a necessary condition, it is not enough on its own.

Here are 7 other skills that every HR manager should have to be 100% effective!

1) Mathematics 🧮

Were you promised that you wouldn’t have to do calculations as an HR manager?

Hmm, I’m afraid they might have told you a little white lie.

It’s true that you won’t need to do as many calculations as in accounting, but having an appreciation for mathematics will definitely be helpful if you want to succeed in this role.

2) Compassion 🫀

You don’t need to be a psychologist to do this job, but listening is incredibly important.

People—especially at work—sometimes behave in strange ways.Judging or attacking someone immediately won’t help you do your job well as an HR manager.

3) Legal Knowledge 🧑⚖️

HR managers sometimes need to make quick decisions.

Should we hire this person? Should we reprimand that other one? Having a solid understanding of the national collective labor agreement (CCNL) and some basic labor laws can be a huge help in avoiding costly mistakes.

4) The Ability to Hire an Employee ✍️

We all know that it’s the HR manager who chooses the right candidate, but few remember that the candidate needs to choose the HR manager too.

HR is the face of the company during the recruiting phase. Making a good impression is essential. That’s why it’s important to be— or become—good at hiring.

5) The Ability to Fire an Employee 📦

Firing someone is much more complicated than just saying, “Today’s your last day.”

The goal of firing an employee is to ensure that the person leaves the company and continues with their life.

A good HR manager understands the second part of this. A bad HR manager only understands the first part.

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6) Discretion 🤫

There’s no legal professional secret for HR managers, but everyone will come to you at some point to discuss a personal issue, whether major or minor.

It’s essential that they feel they can trust you. To gain that trust, it’s important that you maintain confidentiality on personal matters.

7) Management Skills 👔

As an HR manager, you may not have direct reports, but you need to know how to manage people.

You will act as a coach and a confidant for managers; you will need to help them manage their team members.

In some HR roles, you will act as a de facto manager for many people, even if you aren’t the one writing their annual performance reviews.

If you’re looking for a course on managerial skills, know that Wibo offers a service called Leadership Academy, which focuses on this area. Take a look at Wibo’s website.

Conclusion

Learning each of these skills requires more than what a book or a class can teach you. None of them are easy, and no one enters an HR job already capable of mastering them all.

But, to succeed in HR, these are some of the skills you’ll need to work on and (hopefully) perfect.

If you can do this, you’ll become a great HR manager—and isn’t that what everyone in HR aspires to be?