Great HR Is a Mindset, Not a Department Size
Achieving excellence in Human Resources is not determined by the size of your company or the resources at your disposal. Great HR is obtainable for any team—even a team of one—that decides to make incremental, positive changes. It stems from a commitment to lead, empathize, and strategically improve the workplace.
Great HR has very little to do with traditional HR functions and much more to do with being a great leader, regardless of your official title.
Six Strategies for Becoming a Great HR Professional
Based on observations of what the best in the field do, here are six things to know to make your HR department great.
1. Develop and Sell Your HR Vision
The best HR professionals are compelling storytellers who have a clear vision of what their department should be. Take time to write down exactly what you want your HR function to look like. Once you have this vision, you can effectively communicate and "sell" it to your executives and the rest of the organization to get them on board.
2. Understand Your Internal Customers
Your customers are your employees and your hiring managers. To serve them effectively, you must constantly try to see the organization from their perspective. Feel their joys and pains. Understanding their daily struggles will enable you to design HR programs that truly support them, rather than programs that only serve HR.
3. Work Hard and Work Smart
While a strong work ethic is essential, working smart is just as important. Modern technology can and should handle every transactional and administrative task in HR. By leveraging technology to manage this busy work, you free yourself to focus on strategic HR deliverables that add real value.
4. Fix What's Broken
Identify a process in your organization that everyone dislikes and replace it with something everyone loves. This broken element does not have to be an HR process. Our leaders and employees face many frustrations; find one, get rid of it, and you will demonstrate significant value.
5. Find the Path of Least Resistance
HR professionals can sometimes create conflict by rigidly enforcing policies. Instead, great HR finds the path of least resistance—the one that ensures the greatest adoption and makes people feel the most comfortable. This practical approach is often more effective, even if it isn’t the "perfect" solution on paper.
6. Lead with Empathy
HR should be the group in the organization that understands. Understand that people have bad days and may say things they don't mean. Understand that everyone is under pressure and that the 75% of life that happens outside of work can create havoc. Ditch the rigid enforcement mindset and just be nice.