7 Ways to Lead Your HR Team to Success
Asa human resources (HR) manager, you have one of the most important jobs of all: to be a role model for employee engagement. When HR managers hold themselves to a higher standard and stay visible in their daily activities, their employees find it, in turn, easier to improve their game.
And because HR touches everyone in the company, that improvement can quickly spread and enhance the company as a whole.
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1. Set SMART Goals
You set the standard for the entire company when you set your quarterly and yearly goals. So remember to make your goals SMART:
_ Specific
_ Measurable
_ Achievable
_ Relevant
_ Time-based
Your goals should be to create concise statements of the results you are working to accomplish. Be clear on what successfully achieving those goals looks like. These objectives should include both performance and development goals:
Performance goals should be appropriate to your position, related to your job responsibilities and deliverables, and aligned to the higher-level ambitions of your company.
Development goals should be learning-oriented and support better performance in your current job, as well as career advancement.
2. Intentionally Develop Talent
When you intentionally and strategically develop talent within HR, you not only end up with higher-caliber employees, but your employees also get the benefit of seeing how this is done first-hand. This sets them up to better develop talent within other parts of the organization.
Be a talent-development mentor to help your team achieve their potential.
3. Be a Change Agent
Change is inevitable within any company and any organization. Your HR employees are charged with leading teams through change – so show them how it’s done.
Help your employees learn how to navigate change by enacting change. Be open to new and different points of view and don’t be afraid to try new strategies. Guide your HR team through the change process so they can, in turn, guide others.
4. Share Your Secrets
Communicate openly with your employees whenever possible. Share your insights on situations that are occurring within your department and encourage people to have open conversations with you about them.
In cases where you cannot yet divulge company strategy, tell your employees what you can and let them know you will share more as you are able to. If at all possible, let them know when they can expect to get that information from you.
Most importantly, don’t avoid talking to people just because you have information you can’t share. If you do, your employees may start to assume you have bad news.
5. Confront Hard Situations with Diplomacy
Confrontations of any kind are difficult, but they can be especially challenging when you are a leader because jobs often hang in the balance. Care enough to confront anyway.
Whether you are delivering bad news or mitigating office politics, do so with diplomacy. Take individuals’ feelings and unique situations into consideration. Have conversations in private and never scold an employee publicly, even in an email.
Teach your HR team how to handle difficult conversations with grace by doing so yourself.
6. Boost Morale
Especially during times of change, keep employee morale at the top of your priority list. Remember that your team will be leading other organizations through change. They will need positive examples of how to help others:
_ Adapt to new organizational priorities
_ Improve working conditions
_ Use creative approaches
_ Recognize employee and team achievements
7. Put Learning First
Your team is responsible for organizational training and development – so build a culture of learning in your HR department.
Personal and professional development will help your team perform better and encourage them to share their ideas. When your HR team gets this experience firsthand, it’s much easier for them to do this for other departments.
Set the Example
You set the employee engagement example for your HR team, and they go on to do the same for the departments they serve. You are a role model for your entire team, and they, in turn, are role models for the overall company. Identify opportunities to help your team grow by conducting employee feedback surveys regularly and frequently.
