If in the previous article I chose to talk about my personal experience with customers, that is with HR people with whom I collaborate, this time I want to show my appreciation for them, towards those who work in this field.
Working in HR departments is a challenge, especially these times. I see that, I feel that, and I can tell that from the discussions I have with my customers. In the following, I want to present some of the challenges that I consider occur in HR departments now more than ever.
HR is a field with and about people and we humans are different from one another.
This means that those who work in HR have to adapt in constantly, be flexible and open to any changes. HR not only needs to pay attention to the needs of the employees in the company they work in, they need to know each employee and know what is motivating them. I believe that, using very creative methods, they use this knowledge to increase the commitment and involvement of colleagues in their daily work. At the same time, I think they need a lot of attention to detail, that is to see the small changes that occur in certain behaviors of their colleagues, which, when it comes with a good solution, can lead to the prevention of certain less pleasant situations.
People who work in HR most of the time come up with ideas to improve and increase performance.
I am referring here to different ideas of internal trainings (definitely on the side of soft skills), maybe organizing events, parties, team-buildings, etc. Definitely, not in all situations HR is the one who comes up with the idea of developing a training on the side of soft skills. Maybe it is coming from a team’s Team Lead or it can come from management. Even so, in many situations, HR is responsible for the effective development of the training, its implementation and support.
Recruitment is also part of their tasks.
I’d definitely have a lot to say here. Perseverance is one of the words that can sum up recruitment. Given the current situation, given the labor market and the countless opportunities that exist, those in HR departments need to be persistent and manage to keep their confidence. It often happens that the first filter is the interview with HR. In this, it is necessary for the HR professionals to see beyond what they like or not regarding a candidate and to see the benefits the candidate can bring to the company, the extent to which that candidate would manage or not to integrate into the team. If for the technical side there are some tests that show the level at which the candidate is, in terms of personality, temper or character of a candidate, it is a little more difficult to measure. For these too there are tests that can be applied or not. The interesting and challenging part is that in these early interviews HR must see beyond the tests (if used), they have to discover people and personalities, motivations and needs. Personally, what I find very interesting is that all this needs to happen in a relatively short time. On top of that, if you think that COVID19 crisis made hiring processes easier, think again! People experience fear and uncertainty these times, and that makes the whole recruitment process a lot more difficult.
COVID19 crisis made hiring processes not easier, but harder! People experience fear and uncertainty these times, and that makes the whole recruitment process a lot more difficult.
HR professional are present throughout the recruitment process of a new employee
HR departments is the link between the company and the candidate. HR professionals are the ones who give feedback, whether it is a positive or negative one, presents the offers and helps integrate a new colleague into the company. This means that the work of onboarding is also the responsibility of the HR department. This means that HR reassures and encourages, provides confidence when the new employee experiences uncertainty.
In addition to activities that involve working with people, HR professionals are responsible for countless administrative tasks.
I am referring here less to the personnel management part because most of the time for this there is a person responsible only on this side. In many of our companies we work with HR professionals deliver reports and statistics that support the activity and productivity of employees. Not to mention that in situations like the one we all live in, situations with Covid-19, they are responsible for ensuring the environment necessary so that every employee can return safely and in the best conditions to the office. And this is most certainly, uncharted territory.
Working in HR is very challenging by default, I can assure you this. The satisfaction that comes with colleagues that are happy with their job, new team members satisfied with their choice and the company with the desired results, can overcome difficult situations and any challenge. In other words, the more challenging, the more satisfying. Perhaps in these troubled months we have all experienced, we tend to forget how important are all these things HR professionals do for their, so that they can focus on their work and tasks. They are also and also the fact that they are to keep things as smooth as possible
I am Teodora Tus, IT Recruiter and Branch Manager at AMS, and I love my job!