Rules of Excellence for HR Managers Anil Kaushik, Management Expert & Chief Editor, Business Manager-HR Magazine In today's competitive business environment where people management has become a priority, excellence in discharging HR functions is on high demand from HR managers. There cannot be any magic stick by which any HR manager can be transformed into an excellent one. It is only by proactive mindset and practice, HR manager can bring excellence in him. It is not necessary that only a highly qualified manager from a premier management school brings with him the guarantee of excellence. I have witnessed many persons with average upbringing, educational and social background proving themselves to be excellent HR managers. What is required is the quest for learning and attitude. The following are the rules of excellence for HR managers: 1. Become leader not a manager. The basic skills of excellence in HR require a manager to build people and bind people together with hearts, minds and souls. For this, he has to become a leader and not a mere manager. Every organisation that has maintained its excellence over a period of time has been able to do so because it had a leader and not a manager who was able to transform the culture of excellence. While a manager does things right, as a leader, HR manager should always do right things. While a manager may be efficient to move in a right direction to achieve excellence, as a HR manager you should have a vision to choose that direction. While manager may use the authority to discharge his functions, as a leader, you should use your power derived from employees respect. HR manager has to develop the capability not to lose balance in times of crisis. 2. Be careful, honest and sincere while selecting a person. Engage right person at the right job. Don't try to fit a square in a hole. Discourage favouritism in recruitment. Don't compromise with the quality and requirement of the job. Always prefer attitude in a person. Engage for attitude and train for skills. It is the attitude of the person, which makes a difference while performing his/her job. 3. Don't make induction a ritual. Most of the HR managers do this exercise as a ritual and leave it to subordinates, which ultimately turns out to be a utter failure in achieving the purpose. This is the time for HR manager to mould and attune a new employee to the organisation culture. In most cases, employees quit an organisation within a short period of time after joining due to poor/negative induction. 4. Make the employee clear what is expected from him. It is for the HR manager to ensure that employees working in the organisation are well aware of what is expected of them. In one of the reputed organisations, after observing its work culture, I found everybody doing everybody's job; nobody new what he/she was doing. HR Manager has to be cautious about this silent killer of the organisation culture. 5. Be firm and fair. While dealing with employee relations, HR Manager has to exhibit and display his firmness & fairness even in sensitive situations to command respect from all corners. He has to champion the cause of employees and employer too. 6. Confront Problems. HR manager who escapes from tricky situations and problems cannot excel in discharging his functions. He has to confront the problems head on, as they arise. Avoiding problems and sweeping them under the carpet will not pave the way of excellence. HR people who pass the buck are bound to face more complex situations, which may explode causing irreparable loss to organisation culture. 7. Apply the principle of 20-80. As a HR professional, it is not necessary all the time to use your technical knowledge for achieving excellence. What is required is skill of dealing with people and this ratio is known as 20-80. 80% is your people handling skills in all situations with common sense management of human dignity and 20% is your technical knowledge. If you reverse this ratio, you may never achieve excellence.