Can you interview a candidate, attend a strategic planning meeting with the top brass, discipline that lazy guy on the third floor, and ensure contracts are compliant with local labour laws all before your lunch break? If so, this career could be for you.
We’re going to detail the human resources skills and attributes that you need to get a high-paying job in the modern world. These are 10 practical, specific, and immediately actionable HR skills that relate directly to HR in the 21st Century.
Without further ado:
1. Organization
Firstly, when you’re dealing with people’s careers, company direction, and legal compliance, organization is necessary. We’re talking about time, budget, project, and new candidate management. Knowing when to schedule a meeting, when to allocate time to a pressing task, or when to put something on the back burner is essential, and so is organizing files in a way that makes for quick retrieval. This is the leading human resources strength.
2. Recruiting & Onboarding
In HR, you’ll be tasked with helping companies find, recruit, and eventually integrate new candidates into the organization. You need the patience to find the right candidate, great IT and social media savviness, be a keen judge of character and be able to whip up some awesome welcome packages to get your prized recruit acclimated (Pro Tip: Soda PDF is perfect for winning the hiring war. Manage job descriptions, create some great job ads, use E-Sign for quick signatures, and more. You can speed up your hiring process and make a great first impression on new recruits).
3. Administrative IT Skills
The content explosion and big data have driven demand for HR professionals with administrative IT skills through the roof. Want to really make a company swoon over you? Get good at spreadsheets, word processors, database management, Google Docs, Dropbox, and other popular administrative tools. Google the most common tools and get a feel for them.
4. Practical Creative Skills
One of the top skills for human resources is creativity — copywriting for job descriptions (Job Manager for WordPress is fantastic!); photoshop for company flyers; art design skills for PowerPoint presentations, etc. Check out this blog to see how Soda PDF can help you make user-friendly company policies, a creative challenge for all businesses these days!
5. Conflict Management
Ongoing conflicts are a drain on an organization, and resolving them is on your plate. You need to keep a level head, be firm with those in conflict about company policy, be able to objectively view the facts, and be a good mediator.
7. LinkedIn Mastery
Social media skills are in high demand (not posting cat pictures), but none are more important than knowing your way around LinkedIn. Want a great human resources tip? Learn how to filter applicants with keywords, create a showcase page for your company, SEO your profile, connect with people the right way — it all matters, big time!
8. Performance Evaluation
Can you set employee expectations, monitor performance, and give a tactful evaluation? These tie heavily in with your interpersonal skills.
9. Social Media
You’ll be responsible for communicating with managers, current employees, and potential recruits. Study up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram communication tips. This is one of the most in-demand human resources skills needed these days.
10. HRIS Software
Human Resources Information Software (HRIS) is a tool that is the intersection of HR and IT. It helps companies manage HR tasks like payroll in a more efficient way. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the most popular ones.
11. Salary Negotiation & Evaluation
It’s all about the money. That’s the bottom line. Learn how to evaluate the market, an employee’s worth, and your leverage in the situation. You need to strike the balance between making an employee feel needed and keeping your employer in the black.
With these 10 essential human resources skills for the 21st Century, you’ll be head and shoulders above the competitions. Flexible skills, deep knowledge, and access to the most advanced tools on the marketplace (like Soda PDF) can help take your HR game to the next level.