By Brillian SK, Chief People Officer, Times Professional Learning

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The pandemic underscored the importance of human resource leadership in an organisation. HR leaders played a crucial role in facilitating the transition towards remote working while ensuring smooth coordination between employees. It highlighted the changing role of HR professionals as strategic leaders, who had to ramp up talent strategies, employee engagement, compliance management, employee training, development, and wellness programmes.

The changing nature of the role necessitates a shift in the essential skillsets of an HR professional. As we move from an administrative to a strategic role, HR aspirants must stay abreast of these changes by instilling skills that empower them to succeed in the profession.

For those looking to make a career in HR, it is vital to be an “ACE”:

Active Listening

HR teams act as a bridge between the senior leadership and employees and are responsible for driving key policies and decisions. HR professionals need to understand concerns and challenges of the diverse teams and members. In a remote working environment, as non-verbal cues are non-existent, reliance on their writing and listening skills to gauge the other’s concerns becomes critical.

The active listening approach views communication as the art of gathering information rather than only dispensing it. As an HR Professional, it is vital to develop active listening skills, pay attention to responses, eliminate distractions, and recap key issues. HR professionals can take varied approaches to hone their listening skills. By asking questions, they can develop an open attitude and actively navigate issues before it blows up. They should acknowledge the concerns of employees by developing trust and seeking opinions and feedback on crucial issues.

Critical Thinking

HR professionals must have the ability to think critically and objectively to analyse or evaluate in a rational, reasonable, and empathetic manner. They need to be non-judgemental when one deliberates and without any preconceived notions. Since HR professionals are often required to deal with enormous amounts of data, including performance metrics, critical thinking skills hold the key to extracting relevant information and gaining actionable insight.

Critical thinking emphasises the application of facts and data to a given situation and the ability to view it from multi-dimensional perspectives, considering the inputs from various stakeholders and sources. Fostering an open mindset that is receptive to new ideas and alternative views also mitigates the risk of rigid and blinkered thinking while encouraging the ability to adapt to changes. At the same time, the focus on facts and verifiable data minimises the influence of conscious or unconscious bias, misleading assumptions, or questionable sources on the decision-making process.

Empathy

Empathy is a non-negotiable HR skill in managing the fast-changing workplace dynamics. The emergence of an unprecedented health crisis, economic uncertainty, and societal shifts have further sharpened the focus on empathy as a foundational skill among HR leaders. Other than encouraging collaboration and cooperation, empathy is also crucial in fostering inclusion and diversity in the workplace. The 2021 State of Workplace Empathy survey in the US revealed that 77 per cent of employees and 84 per cent of the CEOs believed that empathy resulted in better business outcomes.

Empathetic leaders stay conscious of experiences, challenges, thoughts, feelings, and ambitions. It empowers them to view their decisions and actions through multiple perspectives and discourages arbitrary decision-making. Empathy is also valued in the HR role because it can be a powerful tool in conflict resolution. An empathetic HR team ensures that employee opinions and feelings are acknowledged and respected, thereby fostering a collaborative spirit in the workplace.

While every HR professional must have the required technical knowledge, including expertise in labour laws, management theories and practices, today, HR Managers are increasingly looking for HR professional who ACE these core skills.