HR Recruitment

What are Human Resources Jobs?

In Human Resources jobs, employees develop, advise and implement policies relating to the effective use of personnel within an organisation.

The work involved in Human Resources jobs comprises a number of related policies, all of which are required by organisations that employ people, whatever the size or type of business. These cover areas such as working practices, recruitment, pay, conditions of employment and diversity. 

In Human Resources jobs, HR staff need to ensure that the organisation employs the right balance of staff in terms of skills and experience, and that training and development opportunities are available to employees to enhance their performance in order to achieve the organisation's objectives.

Typical tasks for Human Resources Jobs include:

• Working closely with departments, increasingly in a consultancy role, assisting line managers to understand and implement policies and procedures;
• Promoting equality and diversity as part of the culture of the organisation;
• Liaising with a wide range of organisations involved in areas such as race relations, disability, gender, age, religion and health and safety;
• Recruiting staff - this includes developing job descriptions, preparing advertisements, checking application forms, shortlisting, interviewing and selecting candidates;
• Developing policies on issues such as working conditions, performance management, equal opportunities, disciplinary procedures and absence management;
• Advising on pay and other remuneration issues, including promotion and benefits;
• Undertaking regular salary reviews;
• Negotiating with staff and their representatives on issues relating to pay and conditions;
• Administering payroll and maintaining records relating to staff;
• Interpreting and advising on employment legislation;
• Listening to grievances and implementing disciplinary procedures;
• Developing HR planning strategies with line managers, which consider immediate and long-term staff requirements in terms of numbers and skill levels;
• Planning and sometimes delivering training, including inductions for new staff;
• Analysing training needs in conjunction with departmental managers.

Skills and Personal Qualities required in Human Resources Jobs:

• Good organisational skills and the ability to understand detailed information;
• Basic IT and numeracy skills, with excellent IT skills required for managing/operating computerised payroll and benefits systems;
• Good interpersonal skills to form effective working relationships with people at all levels;
• A proven track record of 'making a difference';
• The ability to analyse, interpret and explain the legal framework regulating employment;
• Integrity and approachability, as managers and staff must feel able to discuss sensitive and confidential issues with you;
• The ability to compile and interpret statistical data and communicate it in a professional and understandable manner;
• Influencing and negotiating skills to implement personnel policies;
• The potential to handle a leadership role.

Qualifications

Human resources (HR) may be entered in a number of different ways. Applying for an HR graduate training scheme is one possibility, with most schemes open to those from any degree discipline. 

It is possible to enter Human Resources jobs without being professionally qualified; a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) qualification is often preferred by employers. It is almost always expected that a candidate has a CIPD qualification when applying for higher level roles.

Career Path

New starters begin their career in HR by working in a general capacity. From there they can move into a more senior managerial role, where they are responsible for a number of HR officers. Others decide to pursue a more specialist career within HR, such as a compensation and benefits managers, employee relations officers, recruitment and selection managers or learning and development. Longer term, HR managers may move into more Human Resources jobs within an organisation and may be promoted to an HR director role, possibly as far as board level.

Salary

Starting salaries for Human Resources jobs vary but are in the range of £25,000 - £37,000. At a senior level with five years' post-qualification experience salaries range from £35,000 - £65,000, and with ten years' post qualification experience, salaries range from £45,000 to £80,000.

For more information contact us on freephone 0800 9553108

or email recruitment@corkgriffiths.co.uk