Who is responsible for developing HR Professionals?
Today HR is wearing different hats and Business Leaders expect HR to cover more and more needs and they are pointing at HR for a long list of support related aspects like: advice on how to manage generation mix in the workplace, attracting new talents, increased employee attrition, stronger need for employer branding, new requests for employee development, succession planning, higher pressure on recruitment, remote workers performance management and integration, automation and AI for HR, conflict mediation…
On top of that, Business Leaders expect HR professionals to gain a higher business understanding and staying at the decision making table not only with the ”Partner” generic title but as someone who has a deeper understanding of business operations and trends, as someone able to design the future human resources support that will continue to build the company’s success.
And I am saying this from the perspective of someone who was wearing the Operations Lead hat for 16 years in corporations with global footprint and was major internal customer for HR but also as someone who in the past six years has coached and trained multiple HR teams in terms of strategy, processes and skills improvement.
So, we expect so much from our HR departments but who is responsible for developing the HR Professionals/Leaders?
No matter how you introduce yourself to the world, maybe as Head of HR or Learning and Development Leader, HR Generalist, Talent Analytics Leader, Talent Management Leader, Diversity and Inclusion Leader, Total Rewards Leader, Recruiting Leader, HR Technology Leader…. the questions for you are:
1) When was the last time when you did something for your own professional development?
2) Where or to whom do you ask for career support?
3) Do you have a mentor?
4) Are you a member of any local HR community or business community? If not, why?
5) Do you have a personal development plan in progress?
6) How do you keep up to date with the latest Global HR Trends/Automation/AI?
7) How do you innovate?
8) How do you cultivate the Digital You?
9) Do you act as an Ambassador for your company right now, do you have a strong online presence?
10) Do you use social selling to attract new talents for your organization?
The list can go on because there are multiple opportunities for your development as HR professional/Lead, the big question is : What do you say to yourself when you procrastinate your own development because something else is more important? Your internal customers, your targets, your boss, your personal life…
Do not feel guilty, you are not alone. When we work to support others, in developing their careers for example, we forget something important: that we need to constantly develop ourselves in order to provide guidance to others, at a higher level !
In my recently launched program – Managing Career Transitions for HRI teach HR Professionals/Leaders on how to manage their own careers before supporting others career development. If you follow this program, you will learn how to take ownership of your own career development in correlation with the latest Global HR Trends. Also you are going to learn how to handle and to develop your own HR Team Brand inside your organization in order to minimize the communication issues generated by HR Perception Gap. Exercises and role plays for crucial career conversations will ensure a practical approach of this program. A webinar on the same subject can be held for international audiences via Zoom on May 17th between 3-5 p.m. EET.
Here is a feedback from one of my customers who followed Managing Career Transitions for HR:
“We have started on this journey from the results of an internal engagement survey that showed that both our employees and managers had an expectation that HR would build career plans and career development opportunities for them. ‘How can we address this expectation?’, we wondered. We all know that changing attitudes and behaviors is not easy, however, we decided that making sure that our HR team really understands what a career means and how one can build a career, would be the first step of the way. What we gained through our participation in Amalia’s program was way more than initially expected. We discovered that there are people who want just a job, not a career. We clarified that a career is a personal objective that has to be born out of an individual’s passion and ambition. The HR function and the management teams are there to facilitate the conversation around career development and to offer the support needed, but it’s the employees’ responsibility to decide where they want to go and to invest in their personal brand in order to accelerate their careers. The programme has been packed with valuable insights and revelations for the DRiV TM team and extremely valuable for our organisation. Thank you!” Simona Scutaru – HR Director Federal Mogul Motorparts.
As HR Professional you are fully empowered to revolutionize the role of HR in your company! You are fully empowered to develop your own career as a construction which will pass the test of time! You are fully empowered to educate employees that a career doesn’t mean necessarily to go on company’s verticals, laterals are also attractive! You could be a powerful engine for your organization but before that you need to invest in your own development because no one will do this on your behalf!