Human resources officers play an important role in their organizations by monitoring employment law and ensuring the company is complying with both the letter and the spirit of those laws. Human resources officers are also responsible for filling vacancies, dealing with employment disputes, working with employees on short-term and long-term leave and disciplining workers. This unique job requires a number of special qualities, including excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Strong Interpersonal Skills
In order to perform their duties, human resources officers need excellent interpersonal skills. Much of the job consists of working with a variety of individuals in a wide range of positions, from entry level job applicants to executive recruiters. Human resources officers must be courteous, friendly and able to deal with many different personality types.
Strong Communication Skills
Effective communication is critical to the job of the human resources officer. A misunderstanding between an employee and an employer could cause serious problems for the company if not handled properly, so the human resources officer needs to articulate the company's position clearly, both verbally and in writing.
Time Management Skills
The human resources officer typically works alone, with little direct supervision. In order to be effective in the position, the individual displays strong time management and organization skills. Human resource officers also set clear priorities in order to get everything done in a day's time. They follow up on any outstanding items without delay.
Knowledge of Employment Law
Successful human resources officers stay current on all aspects of employment law, since those laws are changing all the time. They remain familiar with federal mandates and state laws, which might be stricter than those federal guidelines.
