
My mantra is “know thyself.” I love that in HR, I am allowed the privilege of helping others to better know themselves and to truly embrace and maximize their natural talents, and all the while I am strengthening a team, organization, or culture. What an exquisite connection I get to make with other lovely humans! —Alexandra Ocampo Carr, SHRM-SCP, Bridgeport, Conn.
Human Resources (HR) is a gratifying job that has a lot of significance attached to it. Working in HR can, at times, be tiring and hard, but it can also be enormously rewarding. Each working day in the life of an HR professional includes facing a lot of newer challenges. At the same time, it is this versatile and ever-changing nature of an HR job that helps the company to meet the new strategies and goals continually. Human Resources executives also need to partner regularly with employees and the top management to find new ways of enhancing existing processes to help the company reach its objectives. This makes HR professionals the backbone of the company’s biggest asset – its people.
But what do HR managers feel about their jobs? We connected with many leading HR managers across India to find out what keeps them happy at work and what it is that they like the most about their jobs. We have identified many exciting things that indeed bring cheer to your job and make it worth the many challenges.
Things HR Professionals Love about their Job
#1. An Influential Position
The nature of the job gives HR professionals unique insight into the inner workings of their business vertical. They gain a firm understanding of the priorities of an organisation and the various challenges that it faces. Many HR managers felt that the power and influence they have in spearheading the company towards its goals gives them a sense of pride. Their job starts at the crucial point of recruiting the right people. The hiring decisions made by them have the power to influence the future of the company. Their hiring decisions can either make or break the company. A true HR professional has in-depth knowledge about what is going on inside the company and can make a difference for the employees as well as the workplace. For instance, HR plays a prominent role in helping a company build a reputation as an employer of choice.
#2. A Chance to help improve the lives of Employees
A great HR professional can have an overwhelming impact on the people around them in terms of their welfare and happiness quotient. Many managers felt that they were ideally placed to provide a helping hand whenever needed. Say, for instance, providing health insurance, hiring a good employee who is in dire need of the job, arranging reimbursement for necessities, etc.
#3. Provide Career Advancement Advice to Employees
HR managers can also have a considerable impact on the professional development of employees. Not every entry-level person has a clear plan for his or her career ahead. This is where HR professionals come in. Many HR managers felt that the ability to make a difference to employees’ careers – by arranging various job training programs and providing ongoing counselling to help employees discover their interests and aspirations – gives them a sense of satisfaction.
#4. A Rewarding Opportunity to Develop the Organisation
By conducting performance reviews and interventions such as employee satisfaction surveys, HR professionals can collect valuable information that helps in the company’s performance enhancement and employee engagement plans.
Many HR professionals felt that this ability to not just help improve the performance of the organisation but also to enhance the employee experience gives them a lot of satisfaction.
#5. Foreseeing Issues Before they Emerge into Bigger Problems
HR managers often act as the eyes and ears of the company, sensing trouble before anyone else does. Many HR managers felt that they were happy to be the first ones to spot and address problems and smooth out organisational crimps before they turned into huge knots. Thus, HR managers hope to nip employee problems in the bud by identifying the root cause and acting on it. They are, in fact, true emotional caregivers when employees go through the trauma of stress and social disruption. Many professionals felt gratified to see employees move on from being frustrated to being more positive and appreciated. HR professionals are responsible for finding new ways to solve existing problems, and they also act as enablers who balance both employee and stakeholder interests and create win-win outcomes for all.
#6. The Variety and Challenge of the Job
HR is never a boring job. HR professionals have to be on their toes every day. The nature of work varies each day, bringing in new situations that keep one engaged. True to the maxim, “Variety is the very spice of life that gives all its flavour,” an HR professional typically has a lot on his plate on almost a daily basis.
One day, he/she might be dealing with health insurance policies and helping employees understand tax deductions, while the next day you might see them dealing with compliance issues, employee engagement, technology upgrades, and so on. As a result, an HR professional has to keep himself/herself updated with the latest developments in the corporate world regularly. Many professionals felt that it is this challenge and variety that keeps them engaged on the job, no matter how long they have been in the role.
#7. People-Oriented Job
The very term ‘human resources’ implies that one has to connect with people. The day-to-day role of an HR professional involves interacting with people at different levels, from top management to grassroots employees. Many HR professionals felt that this was indeed an excellent learning opportunity. Also, HR managers foster meaningful and long-lasting relationships across all levels and have the ability to impact the lives of millions of employees.
Takeaway
If you are someone who loves interacting with people, you will have reasons aplenty to enjoy this job. HR is a profession with a lot of meaning attached to it.
We can’t think of any other career that can possibly provide exposure as wide-ranging as HR; making us agree to what Steve Jobs said – “The Journey is the Reward.”
So, what is it that you love to do in life? How does being an HR help you get closer to your goal?