Posts tagged “People Management”

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The Problem With HR is The H!

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One thing I’ve learned during my time in HR is that things don’t always go how you’d hope, despite your best efforts.

Obviously very few people try and get it wrong, but the reality is that the skills you need to run a business and those needed for and managing your staff are often very different.

The clue is in the name really – Human Resources. It’s dealing with one of the least predictable beings on earth…humans.

It is one of the reasons that it is so important to have the right documents, policies and procedures in place. That’s way if you do need to have a “conversation” with one of your team there, it can be factual and crucially un-emotional. And based on something “tangible” rather than a “implicit” agreement that some many businesses rely on.

I do love a good quote. Yes, while I might not profess to knowing much about football, I did always enjoy hearing what Brian Clough had to say next. He’s responsible for one of my favourite quotes to date:

“I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business, but I was in the top one.”

While Cloughie bristled with a well-intentioned level of arrogance (he did christen himself Old Big ‘Ead when awarded an OBE after all), he did have the stats to back it up. He was a great manager, taking Nottingham Forest and Derby County, two of my local sides, to unprecedented levels of glory.

Like I say though, that’s football. Not my forte. But what about management? What qualities are needed to make a good manager in the workplace step up to become a great manager?

Here are a few small tips that can yield big results:

So HOW Do You DO HR Then?

There's a question. It's a bit like driving a car I reckon. You learn the knowledge and do the basics to get through the qualification and then you learn HOW to do it.

Great ...and that really works IF you are in a large organisation with a tiered management structure of HR professionals but what if you are in a smaller business and there is just you?

What actually if you have never 'learnt HR' and are just 'given it' as part of your job?

Does Google Have the Answer?

You know those days when you just wished you knew the answer.

Well it’s Ok isn’t it, because you can just type the question (or whatever you are looking for) into Google. Can’t you?

Well yes but sometimes you also need to have the confidence that the answer you get is the right one.

You're probably thinking what a ridiculous question from an HR professional. Of course rules are there to be adhered to and upheld or else!

That's true isn't it?

Well I reckon it depends on the rule!

Of course there are some rules which are implicit in maintaining a happy and motivated workforce and are used for appropriate management where non compliance may lead to corrective action

being taken.

However I am not actually talking about THOSE rules!

Posts tagged “People Management”

The Problem With HR is The H!

What Would Cloughie Do? How To Be A Better Manager!

So HOW Do You DO HR Then?

Does Google Have the Answer?

Rules - Are They Made To Be Broken?

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