The Essay Highlights The Importance Of Professional Development For HR Managers. (70 Characters)

You will write an reflective account of your Career development / management plan that reflects on learning events that occurred to you in the work place or as part of your postgraduate studies that contributes to your career development. You should address all of the following points in your reflective report; 

1. Identify a job role, job advert, person specification and job description(include in appendix)

2. Reflect on the key person specification & skills requirements of the job role identified above.  

3. How has the learning events contributed to skills development / competencies towards the identified future career plan. 

4. Show linkage between skills & competences required for the future role and current skills & competencies in your current role. Develop a personal development plan to cover the gaps  

5. Identify and reflect on how you will develop the skills and competencies gaps identified above

6. Reflect on how you would leverage on your newly acquired skills / competencies to position yourself for future career opportunities.  

Skills Needed for HR Managers

The term “career” refers to a metaphorical journey through the process of learning, work and other factors of cognition (Leong, 2014). Learning is an important aspect of career development, and helps in regeneration and growth of our cognitive and intellectual abilities. An understanding of the theories of career development or professional development can allow the development of skills necessary for professional competence and foster career growth. I therefore shall elaborate on the importance of professional development in the field of Human Resources Management, reflecting upon the skills needed for the job, how those skills can increase competency, develop a personal development plan, identify how the skills can be developed, and how those skills can attribute to future career prospect. The objective is to understand my strengths and weaknesses, improving necessary skills required for the job and allow self assessment.

Working as an HR manager, different types of interpersonal and professional skills are needed to ensure career growth (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). Organizational skill is one of the most important skills that allows an orderly approach and arrangement of information (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). This helps in developing a personal efficiency. Next is the skill of multitasking, which can allow dealing with multiple activities simultaneously, thereby, reducing the overall time of action (Gurvich and Van Mieghem, 2017). Dealing with gray or poorly outlined areas, where little precedents exist to refer to is a common aspect of management. It is therefore important to be able to act on the “best available” or incomplete data. Negotiation skills are needed in such grey areas, where two or more opposing views can be analyzed, to find an acceptable middle ground. Communication is a key skill allowing proper transmission of information through the organizational hierarchy. A good HR manager should be able to communicate across different platforms and mediums in order to ensure that the information is received and understood (Argenti, 2015). A manager also needs to be convincing, caring, sensible and trustworthy to be able to maintain proper communication. Discretion is needed when dealing with sensitive information or situations, preventing escalations and attempting to resolve conflicts is important. A strong code of ethics can foster development of right skill sets, and prevent dishonest work and any form of inequality among employees (Manroop, Singh and Ezzedeen, 2014). A dual focus is needed to maintain both the company policies while advocating for the concerns of the employees, so that neither of these domains are neglected. Ability to manage conflicts and solving problems are required to maintain optimum productivity while maintaining a civil and professional work environment (Moore, 2014). Also, being able to manage changes in the organization, helps to mitigate any feelings of anxiety over the change (Cameron and Green, 2015). Ability to pass excellent judgment is an added advantage, enabling manager to take the right decision at the right time, especially in difficult situations.

Importance of Organizational Skills

From the learning events, I was able to understand the importance of key skills required for the role of HR Manager. Preparing the business pitch (Assignment 1) allowed me to demonstrate on a wide range of employability skills like negotiation, pitching for business, leadership skills, team building and team working skills (Nahavandi, 2016). Firstly, preparing the assignment with a team, fostered the spirit of team work which in important to any work. Demonstrating an effective pitch also involved good command over communication and required confidence. Often, I had to negotiate between conflicting ideas, to choose an effective idea amongst them, thereby helping me in conflict resolution. The learning process commanded a substantial amount of enthusiasm and energy to work through the assignment. I was able to identify proper strategies and competition related to the business, and thereby helping to generate a working model to generate revenues. An idea of funding helped me appreciate the resources needed to initiate and maintain the functioning of a business.

In the field of Human Resource, professional growth depends on the ability to develop and improvise the skills mentioned above. Moving up the ladder entails the ability to take bigger responsibilities, and undertake more sensitive decisions pertaining to the job. Being able to organize data in a hierarchy can allow specific access to the information, and setting of access protocols. This additionally helps in maintaining the integrity of the data.

As a trainee in management, currently my role is to work within a team of students/scholars on assignments and integrate already established knowledge to work. This will help in future, both to function within as well as lead the group when required. Working with people/ colleagues requires good communication, negotiation, problem solving abilities and social cognitive skills. Understanding behavior can allow valuable insights into a person’s nature as well as help in predicting future behavior patterns. A strong code of ethics is important in order to maintain clarity and integrity of work. This can help to forge trust both among co workers and supervisors. Based on these above requirements, I have devised a Personal Development Plan (PDP) that can be implemented, outlining the objectives, resources, activities and targets that can help in the overall development, both as an individual and a professional (McGrath, 2014).

Setting up of objectives is the first step of PDP. The objective specifies each goal individually. For example, an exit interview with an employee who is leaving the company. Once the objectives have been specified, they have to be arranged according to their priorities. This will allow providing immediate attention to the most urgent agenda. The information should include its criticality, benefit to the current of future role. Next the resources or support mechanisms needs to be identified, that will help in achieving the set goals/objectives. For the given example, the support mechanisms needed for the exit interview is the performance report of the employee and feedback from supervisors. The information can also include financial expenses, individuals involved and probable downtime. For example, the management downtime necessary for the supervisor’s feedback should be noted. Once the above steps are completed, a review and reassessment of the plan is also required. A review can allow assessment of the progress made and to understand if further involvement is required. This can also provide a scope of reflection and identify hurdles towards achieving the goals. The exit interview can provide valuable insights as regarding the functioning of the business. Understand why an employee chooses to part with organization can uncover potential sources of problems, that the employee faces, and identifying issues that that can adversely affect the productivity.

The Value of Multitasking and Dealing With Gray Areas

I have identified several personal attributes to grow in the Human Resources job role. These attributes include: Decisiveness (ability to quickly come to decisions), Ability to influence (which allows to gain trust and commitment from others), Personal Credibility, Collaborative, Motivated to deliver (a focus in delivering the best result, being determined, resourceful and having a sense of objective), Courage to stand ground and challenge if needed,  and being a role model for others (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang, 2014). Based on these personality requirements, the different domains of work need to be implanted and mastered. These domains are: Service Information and Delivery (efficient management of information), Organization Design and Development (Managing changes in structure and ensuring the design is made efficiently. Also to ensure the workforce, values and culture of the organization will meet the standards, and provide strength and growth), Planning resource and talents (allowing the organization to attract more resources and talents), Learning and Development (ensuring the employees have the necessary skills, and can use them towards personal and organizational growth), Performance and Reward (Ensuring the efforts of the employees are appreciated, and a productive work culture is maintained by rewards and recognitions) (Sheilds, et. al., 2015), Employee Management (Keeping good communication, and support with the employees allows meaningful engagement and forge appropriate employee relations. It is also pertinent to be able to understand, and address any concerns the employees might have.

I have selected the 70-20-10 rule for the development plan. This rule suggests that 70% of the development should be from on job training/ learning as well as action learning. 20% of the development should be due to interpersonal interactions, for example involving mentors, leader and other organization staffs. Finally 10% of the development should be due to training, and theoretical knowledge, mostly imparted through classes, seminars, conferences or podcasts.

The principle methods by which individuals skills can be developed are Education & Training and Experience. Education and training can help to gain trust of the management. Completing advanced levels of degrees, can imply higher level of cognitive ability and competency of the employee (Kulkarni, 2014). It can also help to acquire subject matter knowledge and expertise. The education/ training can consist of advanced professional degrees or certifications, computer skills, independent study, seminars, or workshop attendance.

I have identified a number of on job experiences that can help to develop skills for the job. Being an effective HR Manager entails involvement in different activities, and one needs to be prepared for such (Wilton, 2016). This can be done by any of the following activities: filling in for the supervisor when they are absent (this can allow learning the managerial duties), managing a project from beginning to end (this can allow independent work), making lateral movement to a different domain of the organization (this can allow diversification of knowledge, and learn the organization better), Help to start up a new program or business (this can provide the confidence in dealing with different scenarios), help to improve an underperforming project (this can allow the identification of strengths and weaknesses, and thereby development appropriate development plan), Teach the team (only with a good grasp on the subject can any training be provided. This tests the level of knowledge), Conducting meetings and briefing sessions. In addition, it is necessary to look for critical feedbacks, and being able to implement them to work. Being able to represent my team in the seminar, provided me a sense of responsibility towards my team mates, and the team performance. Pitching for the assignment, helped me learn how to prepare and manage budgets, while identifying the key competencies required. Often, the progress of other teams would act as a benchmark to check our progress. This helped us being neck to neck with others, and being able to complete the job on time. Getting feedbacks from coworkers, or identifying key components of projects that are under-performing, helped in proposing developmental plans for them. Also, acting as a backup contact in the absence of the supervisor, prevented any lags in the project. It also helped me understand the communication hierarchy, and assist effective information exchange.

I have also planned the certain activities to have a more effective development, professionally. Helping the supervisors, managers or team members with their work, whenever possible. Setting up meeting with supervisors and creating development plans with them. Review of the set development plans to check the progress. Communicating with the supervisors of any changes in the plan. Identifying avenues where the supervisors/ managers can provide additional help. Seeking feedback after the project is completed, to identify the positive and negative aspects of the plan, and any key skills for the project (Knowles, Holton and Swanson, 2014). Based on these evaluations, future plans can also be made for a new experience. 

Reference:

Argenti, P.A., 2015. Corporate communication. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.

Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.

Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.

Gurvich, I. and Van Mieghem, J.A., 2017. Collaboration and multitasking in networks: Prioritization and achievable capacity. Management Science.

Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S. and Jiang, K., 2014. An aspirational framework for strategic human resource management. Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), pp.1-56.

Knowles, M.S., Holton III, E.F. and Swanson, R.A., 2014. The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Routledge.

Kulkarni, A.U., 2014. A study of hr training activities and perception of shop floor workers in large scale industries.

Leong, F. ed., 2014. Career development and vocational behavior of racial and ethnic minorities. Routledge.

Manroop, L., Singh, P. and Ezzedeen, S., 2014. Human Resource Systems and Ethical Climates: A Resource?Based Perspective. Human resource management, 53(5), pp.795-816.

McGrath, M., 2014. Personal development plan. Leading the Way, 11(1), p.21.

Moore, C.W., 2014. The mediation process: Practical strategies for resolving conflict. John Wiley & Sons.

Nahavandi, A., 2016. The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson.

Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., Johns, R., O'Leary, P., Robinson, J. and Plimmer, G., 2015. Managing Employee Performance & Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press.

Wilton, N., 2016. An introduction to human resource management. Sage.