Question: What is one quality an internal HR manager must have in spades, and why?
Approachability
"HR managers have the very difficult task of implementing policies and keeping the workplace safe for all employees, and they can't be effective if they're unapproachable. A manager should have an open door policy, the ability to listen and encourage honesty and never, ever be found gossiping about the company or its employees. It takes some time to build up this trust but it is invaluable."
@krazevedo
Ethics
"HR Managers have to protect both the company and its employees at all times, and that means being honest, compassionate and fair. They have to understand how to treat people fairly but also in line with company policies, and that means being a good person above all. If there's a sensitive problem that requires confidentiality, employees and managers need to trust that they can go to someone ethical."
@jaredbrown
Comfort With Ambiguity
"Ambiguous issues confront HR managers because they involve more than one perspective -- questions of discrimination, reasonable accommodation, intermittent leave; they all require the ability to take general rules, apply them to conflicting points of view and incomplete information and find a solution. Internal HR managers have to be able to work with the gray areas of a situation."
@dnevogt
Patience
"People are going to screw up over and over and over. You're going to have multiple people with the same problem. If you aren't a patient person you're not cut out for HR. You will also have to be patient when listening to people to figure out what the true problem is and try to help them solve it."
@peterdaisyme
The Ability to Communicate and Embody Values
"A company’s brand is its business card, and its culture is its handshake. A company’s culture is a social contract layered on the foundation of basic HR policy. HR managers must be able to effectively onboard and integrate employees into company culture and tactfully reinforce policies and norms while advocating for both employees and the company."
@JasonKulpa
Empathy
"To empathize with someone is to fully understand their situation and where they are coming from. HR management is all about understanding, relating and working with people. They are evangelists of the culture and help build a community."
@RandyRayess
Integrity
"Employees are quick to sniff out an HR manager who truly cares about them and will keep the things they say in a safe place. It's important for an HR manager to be able to keep secrets, too. Not everything is supposed to be said all of the time."
@cardcash
Aligned Values
"If your HR manager understands company values, they create policies to strengthen your firm and solve challenges while staying true to the culture and goals. As a recruiter, they can be a second set of eyes and ears. Recruitment is an imperfect science, so having someone on your team whose opinion you trust can help decisions of hiring, or sometimes firing, when you are on the fence about a candidate."
@shr4dha
Toughness
"A common stereotype of an HR manager is that they have to be empathetic, soft-hearted and kind. While these are indeed great qualities, the ideal HR manager also needs to be tough, forward and strong. Doormats get taken advantage of. As the company peacemaker and port of entry for most new hires, HR managers need to be friendly yet firm and authoritative."
@firaskittaneh
Comfort With Lean Startup Principles
"Our HR manager applies lean startup techniques to recruiting and working with internal teams. Just as we run A/B tests and continuously validate hypotheses to improve our products, we love that our HR team is willing to explore new techniques, measure their effectiveness and then discover new improvements -- applying the build-measure-learn principles to everyday HR management."
@emersonspartz
