5 Essential HR Manager Skills in 2024
An HR manager is an essential role in any organization or company. Their skills include overseeing employee relations, talent recruitment, and workforce training. They also participate in conflict resolution, administration, and human resource program development.
Due to the nature of the job, HR managers must possess diverse skills, including communication, management, and organizational skills, to manage the team.
Since it’s a unique combination of hard and soft skills, a good HR manager takes courses throughout their career to hone the necessary business skills. If you want to learn more about human resource manager skills via video, watch the video below. Otherwise, skip ahead.
Unlike other human resources professionals, human resources managers are responsible for how things work. Thus, they must keep a cool head to make calculated decisions.
Essential HR Manager Skills in 2024
In addition to the usual skills, such as leadership, hiring talent, onboarding new hires, and conflict management, we’ll list the essential skills they need in 2024 to supervise successful business management.
1. Empathy as the Key Skill for Human Resource Managers
According to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the unemployment rate in April 2020 hit a level last seen in the 1930s.
For human resource managers, that meant handling issues that weren’t as prominent just half a year ago while struggling with similar problems. However, by including empathy in their leadership HR skills, many HR leaders found a way to develop a plan to maintain the needed employee performance.
The leader’s job is to know what their workers are going through in their careers. By sharing their experiences, managers can develop a healthy workplace instead of acting like average employers.
This will become even more important for human resources management in 2024. As companies recover, they will need HR professionals who can lead and provide necessary training and development that is different from a couple of years ago.
Candidates should be onboarded strategically. This applies to conducting talent interviews, measuring performance, and even checking an average resume.
Although managers don’t conduct interviews or do resume checks, they need to be able to communicate with the HR assistant or HR generalist doing the job. Human resources managers emphasize working with existing co-workers to hire the right new talent. If leadership crumbles, everything else follows.
Since all HR professionals work with humans, empathy is an essential skill (HR). But this becomes even more crucial for managers leading the team.
2. Emotional Intelligence & Understanding When Things Go Wrong or Right
Although somewhat related to the previous ability, having vital emotional intelligence is more than proper employee communication. According to a study, managers and employers with strong emotional intelligence tend to have better leadership skills that yield better financial and productive results.
Uncertain times require laser-sharp decision-making and professional management skills. This means that it’s important to have the skill to recognize both positive and negative moments.
When low employee morale, acknowledging even the slightest positive bump becomes a vital skill in the leader’s arsenal.
Managers already have countless tasks, including securing sensitive information, managing HR software, and acting as the communication bridge between the workforce and the organization or business higher-ups. But it’s a key part of the job to develop and maintain a productive workplace.
HR professionals need to improve their productivity but the efficiency of their employees as well—that’s where emotional intelligence takes a pivotal part alongside other most important HR skills.
Even before 2020, human resources had to deal with uncertainty throughout their careers. But the anxiety ramped up with many jobs moving online, and it will take time to recover in 2024 and beyond. To become successful, human resources management needs leaders who will lead by personal example.
It all boils down to how long the recovery will last.
3. Developing & Implementing DEI Policies
Diversity and inclusion are other matters that became more prominent in 2020. When it comes to hiring, compensation, benefits, and overall approach, a company has both outside and inside the HR field. If you’re looking to master diversity and inclusion, don’t forget to check out our top-rated diversity and inclusion certification course:
Vigorous DEI policies create security for employees, making them more productive and enabling them to develop more confidence not only in their careers but also in the company.
That said, creating a strategic DEI program that works for everybody is tricky. A young talent knocking on the door with a resume can have a different view than current employees. Similarly, one HR professional can also have a different opinion than another.
However, data shows that inclusive companies and employers have 120% more chances to hit financial goals than those that aren’t.
In a way, 2024 is the starting point for refurbishing HR skills towards that. HR professionals who know how to collect sensitive information from their employees will have a better overview of required tasks. This goes back to solid communication skills and empathy.
Employees who do not trust employers will not share the information or, even worse, will share the wrong information, jeopardizing the company’s performance and relations.
However, a professional human resource manager with the right HR skills will communicate and develop a program that implements the data into practice.
Human resources professionals need to be aware of the personal and emotional needs of their employees and new recruits.
It’s still uncharted waters, so an HR professional doesn’t want to engage in a DEI policy development that might go outdated a year later. But that’s where genuine management and skills take part.
Everybody can benefit by collecting the correct data, training, and reading between the lines of a resume. HR professionals take pride in acknowledging issues before they happen, and employees feel more comfortable, even if they are working remotely and online.
DEI training and development is the key to success in 2024, and creating a strategic approach that benefits everybody will result in more significant financial profit.
4. Using Business Intelligence Tools in Human Resources
The manager makes key calls and prepares the playing field for employee tasks, recruitment, and sometimes even how substantial an employee compensation can become. Just as managers rip the rewards due to their human resource skills, they also take the hit if, for example, a hire goes wrong.
AI has been making its way into every part of human resource management. AI can accelerate hiring, training, onboarding candidates, resume analysis, and payroll management.
While some HR professionals fear AI’s efficiency, others develop skills that make their job easier. Instead of looking at it as fewer work opportunities, AI-supported decision-making can release tension in management.
Many human resources skills might indeed become redundant, but it is also true that new job opportunities and related skills will arise.
According to a study on AI’s impact on human resource management, AI will benefit HR professionals because businesses will be able to make better organizational decisions.
AI allows candidates to present their skills in an enhanced way. Instead of perpetually submitting the same information, both talents and management can become more efficient. It also reflects on creating more transparent communication between the employees and the company.
Furthermore, a company can create a better skill training program, ensuring that candidates start their jobs earlier.
This means that HR managers’ human resources skills will have to change as well. Instead of making decisions based on experience, they will decide based on a mixture of experience and cold AI data.
The key is that although AI has superior information collecting and organizational skills, that isn’t enough to connect with employees. The human resources department must be able to act as a bridge between the data and the employees.
When conducting online recruitment, AI is faster at locating key resume points, but it’s the HR professional who needs to make the hire.
The human-machine relationship redefines how an organization does business, but it depends on the manager’s HR skills and how beneficial the shift will become.
5. Adapting Human Resources Skills to Remote Work
Whether it’s an IT business or a health organization, everybody has had to move a portion of their work online. While some organizations struggle, some have found ways to make the most of remote work.
It’s fascinating to think about how remote work changed human resource management. Although an unpleasant surprise, many employers realized that their employees are as efficient from home as they are in the office.
Although required skills are the same in human resources, HR workers need to fine-tune each skill. This changes the way human resource managers engage with employees and communicate. Software that wasn’t necessary before became a required skill.
Since remote work is here to stay, HR professionals must be able to maintain efficiency even if they can’t interact with employees on-site.
While measuring employee performance and conducting recruitment is still the key to success, it is easier to overlook than before. An unprepared manager can lose out if they lack the skills or knowledge to do their job.
HR managers need to learn how to exploit their existing knowledge in the new environment to stay effective. Otherwise, they’ll overlook critical parts of the latest digital workspace.
Conclusion
Apart from the above mentioned technical skills, here’s a list of what skills are essential for success in human resources that a human resource manager must exhibit:
- Communication skills
- Organizational skills
- Finance skills
- R&D skills
- Proactive skills
- Mentoring and coaching skills
- Administrative skills
- Management skills
As clear from the name, HR managers need to be proficient at managing their HR team so that no disturbances arise in the HR department.
FAQs
Here are the most frequently asked questions about HR management skills.
What are the most important HR management skills?
Strong communication, active listening, conflict resolution, and empathy are the most important HR management skills. Soft skills are crucial in handling employee relations effectively, while strategic planning, performance management, and talent acquisition are also critical competencies for HR professionals.
Why are soft skills important for a human resource manager?
Soft skills are essential for a human resource manager because they help build trust, manage conflicts, facilitate effective communication, and create a positive work culture. These skills make it easier to connect with employees, understand their needs, and foster an environment that encourages growth and productivity.
How does strategic planning play a role in HR management?
Strategic planning in HR management involves setting long-term workforce goals that align with the company’s overall business objectives. It includes analyzing workforce needs, identifying skill gaps, and implementing plans to develop and retain top talent to ensure the organization remains competitive.
What skills are needed for effective performance management?
Effective performance management requires skills such as giving constructive feedback, setting clear expectations, setting goals, and providing consistent support for employee training. Additionally, HR managers must have good interpersonal skills to inspire and motivate employees to achieve their performance targets.
How can HR managers develop their HR management skills?
A human resources manager can develop their HR management skills through continuous learning, training programs, and gaining experience in handling different HR functions. Participating in workshops, joining HR networks, and seeking mentorship opportunities are also great ways to enhance technical and soft HR skills.
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