The Six Personas of HR

To say that HR professionals need to multi-task is an understatement.

Recruitment, disciplinary, redundancies, pay reviews, employee engagement… the list is endless.

So, we’d like to raise our hats to all the superstars in HR, and reflect on the many personas they bear.

1. Police Officer

Kerfuffle in the office? Blatant

disregard for social media policies?

Goods going out the back door?

Harassment?

When it all goes pear-shaped, HR is

usually called to sort it out.

Who said HR was just about the soft and

fluffy stuff?

2. Nanny

Staff who insist on calling weekly to

check how much holiday they have,

rather than getting to grips with the

new HR system…

People who are in a pickle because

they’ve had a disagreement with a

colleague and need a mediator…

Employees who, for whatever

reason, have reached a breaking

point and need a listening ear…

Patience is a virtue for anyone in HR.

Making sure everyone is behaving

and getting along can be a full-time

job in itself!

3. Evangelist

You know that a revamp for the

reward and benefits strategy would

make a massive difference to

retention.

You’re convinced that a new

HR software system would save

hours of admin and make the team

so much more effective.

You’re passionate about the need to

re-energise the training programme

to make learning more timely and

relevant.

Is the board listening?

No.

But there’s a steely glint in your eye

and you’re determined to make

them sit up and take notice this

year.

4. Mentor

HR is a bit like the three wise men

(or women) all rolled into one.

You’re a guiding light for newly-

promoted managers who need help

understanding how to get the best out

of people.

A beacon of hope for ambitious

employees who are hungry for a

promotion and need advice on how to

get there.

Not to mention, a wise sage for new

recruits to the HR team—who haven’t

quite grasped the realities of the front

line.

5. Mathematical Genius

With budgeting in hand for many,

HR is the first call for managers

looking for critical information about

their teams.

Some of the questions may have you

reaching for your crystal ball: e.g.

what will Brexit’s implications be on

recruitment.

Others require you to roll up your

sleeves and get stuck into data

analysis.

Either way, you’re expected to have

the facts and figures at your

fingertips, and a firm understanding

on what the data is telling you.

6. Firefighter

It’s HR to the rescue when a manager

calmly announces they’ve just sacked

someone from their team

(Procedure? What procedure?).

You’re ready to swing into

recruitment action when a senior

manager decides to leave… and take

half the team with them.

And when the fire alarm really does

go off, HR is there shepherding

everyone out of the building.