A Human Resource Manager is the overall overseer of the human resources department in an organization. They ensure that tasks and functions are carried out properly by the human resources within the entity. Importantly, they are perceived as the link between the management of an organization and the employees in the course of their work. It must be noted first that Human Resource Managers attract, motivate and retain the most qualified workers through offering directions and administrative guidance (Delery & Roumpi, 2017). Based on the supervisory nature of their position, these managers handle all services related to the works of an employee, ensure compliance with regulations, and manage relations among employees. The human resource manager primarily ensures that there is proper administration, coordination, and assessment of the plans that have been put in place for the human resources. Moreover, they assure that all these objectives are realized. In other words, human resource managers play three important roles: the conceptualize and administer human resource plans and processes that are related to the personnel within the company, plan, organize and control the actions and activities within the human resource departments, and, finally, contribute to the development of goals, objectives, and systems that concern the workers or employees within the organization.

Job Description

Almost all organizations must have a person charged with handling the workforce. Human Resource Managers are the ultimate leaders of any organization’s human resources department or unit. The significant role is that of coordination of the people that an organization initially recruits. Apart from having a significant role in issues concerning staffing, they also review the ethics and policies within these organizations. Furthermore, they negotiate and review other matters affecting organizations such as their benefits amongst others. In summary, the human resource managers administer, manage, and assess human resource strategies and programs that have to be realized. From the preceding, it is imperative that these managers are at the centre of the overall running of an organization and their role cannot be ignored or even gainsaid.

Job Specifications

Necessary Tasks Performed:

Every organization irrespective of its size is under an obligation to have a human resource manager. This position is mainly supervisory and would require one to focus on maximizing the value that can be obtained from the employees. It also entails ensuring that they are productive and perform appropriately and efficiently as much as possible. These roles include the following:

• Conducting the overall administrative and management functions of an organization
• Offering guidance on the day to day running of the affairs and functions of an organization concerning the role of employees and workers.
• Maintaining the staff of the organization through the establishment of programs for recruitment, testing and interviewing.
• Counselling managers on how to select candidates and to carry out as well as analysing exit interviews and recommend necessary changes.
• Preparation of employees for assignments by creating and conducting programs for orientation and training.
• Maintaining a pay plan through conducting periodic surveys concerning payment, scheduling, evaluation of jobs, preparation of budgets and revising the pay structures.
• Preparing, monitoring, and assessing the work of employees through training, mentoring and coaching.
• Handling the employee benefits programs and assesses their needs for claims, insurance and other benefits that accrue to them.
• Guarantees compliance with the human resource laws and regulations.
• Maintaining the management guidelines through preparation, updating and offering proposals for improving the human resource policies and processes.
• Maitaning the entire human resource record through filing and an easier retrieval system
• Scheduling and assigning duties to employees and following up on them.
• Counseling on issues pertaining to discipline and disputes related to employees.
• Implementing and revising the compensation program that a company implements.
• Maintaining the affirmative action policies, programs, and policies of the organization
• Revising the company directory, charts, and documents that can be used to ensure that it attains its objectives.
• Recommending new policies, procedures, and approaches to performing tasks.

KSAO LIST

Knowledge: Apart from the educational and training qualifications, the Human Resource Manager is required to possess the necessary expertise in the following areas to perform the tasks:

• Standards and procedures for recruitment of personnel, selection, training, benefits, and compensations
• Employment laws, labour relations, and negotiation as well as the personnel’s information systems (excellent knowledge).
• Structure and language content used within the organization
• Administrative and clerical processes as well as systems used within the entity.
• Various management functions including human resource modelling, leadership and organization of people and resources (Brewster, 2017).
• Personalized services and customer relations through evaluation of customers’ needs, level of satisfaction and attaining the quality standards (Soltis, Brass, & Lepak, 2018).

• Computer software and hardware, applications and programming as well as electronics.
• Applicable laws, legal codes, procedures of court and regulations (at least working knowledge).
• Standards and mechanisms for training, teaching, and instruction of employees on how to conduct their tasks.

Skills: Human Resource Managers also need to possess some skills, whether learned at the beginning of the job or over time, so that they can perform their duties well, the following are the most essential for them as they carry out the major management role:

• Proper organization skills that help them to have an orderly approach for every function.
• Strong time management skills and personal effects to ensure tasks are done within set time limits.
• Skills to multi-task or handle many employee issues at the same time.
• Skills in judgment and decision-making that helps in choosing the most appropriate action that has potential benefits to the organization (Bruce, 2006).
• Social perceptiveness that allows the manager to be aware of other people’s reactions and the reason why they do so.
• Dealing with grey areas concerning the employee welfare such as employment laws and other human resource management functions
• Proper negotiation skills that can reach an amicable settlement whenever there are two opposing views on a single issue.
• Possess proper written and verbal communication skills that can be directed to employees at all levels of the organisation (Bruce, 2006).
• Focus on enforcing the management policies of the organization based on its culture and values.
• Selection and use of the most appropriate instructional and training methods and procedures for any situation.
• Skills in conflict resolution and solving problems whenever they arise within the organization.
• Can initiate change management if necessary for the human resource department
• Work under pressure or highly stressful situations in the organization
• Use of critical thinking and emotional intelligence to solve employee issues whenever they arise (Poon, 2002).

Abilities: Abilities are inherent to a person and are crucial for Human Resource Managers as they undertake their general mandate of administration and management within the organization. These are as follows:

• Attentive to detail by being careful and thorough in the completion of tasks.
• Integrity in that the HR manager must be honest and ethical.
• Cooperative, good-natured and cooperative attitude.
• Dependability and being reliable, responsible and able to fulfil obligations (Soltis, Brass, & Lepak, 2018).
• Sensitivity and showing concern for others’ needs and feelings.
• Self-control and show composure.
• Ability to take challenges and responsibilities.
• Ability to exercise social orientation and be a team player.
• Ability to tolerate stress and criticism.
• Establish and maintain individually challenging achievement goals and focus on accomplishing them.
• Persistence.
• Adaptability or flexibility in both positive and negative situations concerning employees.
• Proper analytical thinking capabilities through analysis of information and use of logic to handle employee-related challenges.
• Innovative, creative and able to adopt alternative thoughts towards different situations.

Other Characteristics: Ability to embrace a multi-focus that emphasizes attainment of organization’s objectives, employee and individual needs.

• Understand different work situations when the organization’s objectives and ideas conflict with that of employees (Soltis, Brass & Lepak, 2018).

• Deal with issues arising and not relying on anticipations.
• Ability to implement new human resource management practices in a dynamic world of operations.
• Be compassionate in advocating for worker’s rights and liberties.
• Ability to build consensus whenever workers take industrial actions such as strikes and boycotts.
• Balancing independence of thought and embracing consultation if required.
• Possess attitude that supports teamwork and willingness to help workers when they cannot accomplish tasks alone.
• Sympathy or empathy to appreciate the role of employees in the fulfilment of the organization’s objectives, goals, and mission.

Sub Specialization

            The role a Human Resource Manager confers entails performing general administrative and management functions of a business or organization. However, it is a wide field that generally covers specific tasks aimed at ensuring that workers or employees carry out their roles according to expectations. There are different aspects of managing employees which any HR manager can be allocated to perform specific tasks. For example, there are managers charged with overseeing the supervisory roles, the payroll or handling the labor relations issues concerning the workers. Also, the human resource manager ensures that the needs and interests of the human resources within the organization are taken care of under best practices. A brief explanation of different human resource management specialization is advanced below

• Compensation and benefits manager. Develops and administer the reward policy of the organization. This include management of salaries, pension, bonuses and insurance
• Recruitment and placement specialist. Recruits and place employees into various departments and branches. They interview and pick the best candidate for various positions
• Training and development manager. Manage employee training and development programs
• Employee supervisor. Conduct orientation sessions, arrange for training courses and create performance enhancement measures for the employees.
• Employee assistance manager. Manages the welfare of the employees including work-life management
• Human resource information system manager. Organize and coordinate any changes in the human resource information systems
• Human resource administrator. Define and implement the human resource policies
• Performance appraisal manager. Reviews and assess the performance of the employees

Worker Characteristics

 A Human Resource Manager must possess some qualities that help them in the daily running of their affairs. There are multiple of them, but the most important are the following:

• Exercise of authority – the manager, must possess the ability to exercise an enhanced level of power to direct the functions that have been stated above so that the employees carry out their roles as expected or asked.
• Communication skills – the manager must be able to pass over information to those whom he or she supervises or manages through written or verbal means and implied conduct, which should embody clarity, precision and in the simplest terms possible that can be taken up by the employees in the shortest time possible.
• Emotional intelligence – the manager should possess the ability to read and understand the worker’s needs and make decisions that are in their best interests and that of the organization (Poon, 2002). This must be done with an understanding that all the workers are human beings that can act rightly or wrongly in the course of their employment or engagement with an entity.
• Passionate – such a manager should like the job that he or she is carrying out and understand that it is significant in reaching the set targets and goals of the organization.

Conclusion

Human Resource Managers are important workers in any organization. Usually occupying the middle-levels structures, they are charged with the task of handling and managing the needs of workers, especially those that concern the way they work and their needs. However, to succeed in this effort, they are required to possess certain knowledge, skills, abilities, and attributes that enable them to operate well or be successful in an ever-changing employment scenario. There are opportunities for specialization, but all of them are meant at increasing the operational efficiency of such units as long as they achieve their goals and at the same time ensure that workers are comfortable at the place of work. Through their roles, employees have often found a better way of engaging the owners or their employees in employment-related issues.