The best HR managers combine great people skills with the backbone to be tough when necessary. It’s a delicate balance, writes Ken Gunn
What makes an outstanding HR man
ager? What personal qualities, skills,
experience and training should a
CEO look for when appointing a person to this
crucial role?
It is tempting to think of an HR manager
as being at the soft end of management – the
people person who relates well to others.
There is no doubt that people skills are es
sential – but so too is having backbone. As a
syndicate chairman and independent direc
tor Peter Jollie says: “If you have a whole lot
of nice HR people who are too gentle and fair,
nothing will happen.”
Achieving results
Backbone probably has more to do with na
ture and birth order than nurture. In that sense,
Jollie suggests that firstborn children – who
are used to assuming responsibility from a
young age – tend to make the best HR man
agers. And people from the country who have
to achieve results with few resources can also
do very well.
Jollie is keen on people who have had ex
perience managing a busy environment such
as supervising a call centre. “That type of role
is invaluable in giving a feel for what happens
in the real world.”
Effective HR managers are organisation
ally and politically savvy. They understand,
reinforce and support the organisation’s val
ues. At job interviews, good HR managers see
beyond qualifications and experience and in
tuit how well the candidate will fit into their
firm’s culture. They also need to have genuine
empathy for people, seeing them as individ
uals rather than job titles.
The Noni B experience
David and James Kindl – the twin brothers
who jointly manage the clothing manufactur
er and retailer Noni B – create a sense of be
longing and flexibility. And they understand
how hard it is to earn a dollar on the shop floor.
David, a CEO Institute member, explains:
“We know that Noni B ranks down the list of
priorities in employees’ lives; we know that
family is the most important thing. If a store
manager has a son who plays footy on Sat
urday, we will be flexible with rosters to give
her that time off, even though it is a busy time
in the shop.”
During tough economic times many com
panies try to cut costs by firing head office
staff. But at Noni B hard times are seen as pe
riods when staff members most need head of
fice support, empathy and training. Constant
open, honest and quality dialogues through
line management, memos and newsletters
helps to keep staff members at the 211 stores
inspired, connected and informed.
Of course, costs have had to be cut. David
and James have pruned expenses by nego
tiating cheaper rents and closing down 20
of their La Voca stores, which were launched in 2006 and did not become profitable before
the economic downturn.
The best HR managers are adroit jugglers,
according to David Kindl: practical, consis
tent, experienced in their industry, able to lis
ten to all points of view, champions for em
ployees and they know their legal and
compliance responsibilities. Is this the soft
end of management? No way!