what is an HR manager?
Human resources (HR) managers contribute to the success of a business by handling issues related to employees and maximizing their value in a company. In your HR manager role, you recruit new employees and manage workers to ensure they become valuable assets to your employer. Aside from performance management, you also handle the training and development of all the staff in the company.
To do an excellent job, you focus on individual employee needs and the work environment. For instance, ensuring workers have a conducive work environment is vital to boost productivity. Aside from supporting the company's staff, your role entails dealing with uncomfortable aspects of employment. You handle human resource violations, laying off workers and disciplining employees.
Your specific responsibilities vary depending on the size of the company. Small businesses usually have one HR manager to cover all the roles, while in a large company, you are likely to handle one aspect of employee management.
Would working as an HR manager suit your people skills? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in an HR manager role.
HR manager jobsaverage HR manager salary
According to Job Bank, the average salary of an HR manager in Canada is $112,464 per year, which is close to $60 an hour. When you first start your career, you begin with an annual salary of $82,508. With experience, your earnings increase gradually. In a senior-level position, you make over $173,902 per year.
what factors affect the salary of an HR manager?
Your salary mainly depends on experience and qualifications. When you have minimal experience, you are likely to start with a lower salary. Your earnings gradually increase as you gain experience and improve your human resources skills. Having additional qualifications boosts your earnings. For instance, having a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) certificate showcases your expertise and increases your salary potential.
Aside from your experience, external factors like company size or industry can affect your earnings. When you work in a small company, you are likely to earn a lower salary. Small companies have limited resources and sometimes cannot afford to pay HR managers a competitive salary. Working in large companies improves your earning potential since you are in charge of a large number of employees. Large companies also tend to have more resources and require additional expertise for complex human resources needs.
types of HR managers
In a small business, you handle all HR tasks alone, but in a large company, you focus on one of the following areas as an HR manager:
- Employee relations: the responsibility of a labour relations HR manager is to oversee employment policies and ensure the company complies with the legislation in union and non-union settings. You coordinate grievances and handle labour complaints affecting the organization. Labour relations also involve negotiating contracts, including wages and benefits.
- Job placement specialist: when you are in charge of job placements in the human resources department, you match skills with job roles. The process starts with recruiting and selecting the best candidates for a position. When promoting workers, you use the performance management details to promote employees according to their expertise.
- Compensation and benefits: your primary role is to ensure employees are compensated for their services. You also ensure your employer keeps up with workers' health insurance payments and the vital benefits required by the law.
working as an HR manager
If you have a knack for recognizing talent and managing large teams, you will enjoy working as an HR manager. Dive into the duties, responsibilities and career opportunities in the role.
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what does an HR manager do?
As an HR manager, your responsibility revolves around the human capital in your company. That means you match the company's workers to the right tasks based on their skills and competencies. The main responsibilities of an HR manager include:
- Recruitment and selection: you work with various stakeholders to fill your employer's business vacancies. Your primary role is to ensure internal hiring policies are adhered to and that the company complies with regulations.
- Handling compensation and administrative tasks: as an HR manager, your administrative tasks include scheduling employees, running payroll and storing employee records. When scheduling employees, you allocate equal work hours based on job groups and ensure everyone gets time off and adequate breaks at regular intervals. Keeping records and maintaining employee files also ensures compliance with the regulations. You ensure employees receive salaries on time and that the company meets the mandated benefits for workers. For instance, in Canada, you ensure the company contributes to the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) for their employees.
- Ensuring health and safety: HR managers ensure employees have all the necessary safety equipment to complete their tasks. By complying with work environments' health and safety standards, you minimize risks from workplace accidents. Ensuring workplace safety also reduces turnover and productivity problems.
- Updating human resources software: as an HR manager, your tasks include administrative duties like updating HR software and analyzing the data generated. You use human resources software to manage payroll and ensure automated employee scheduling or performance tracking.
- Supervising employee training and development: as an HR manager, it is crucial to ensure employees have the necessary skills to advance in their careers. Your job is to plan and ensure the execution of professional development programs.
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work environment of an HR manager
As an HR manager, you have a diverse range of employers to choose from in your career. You can work in government offices, recruiting and managing employees for government institutions. HR manager opportunities are available in professional, scientific and technical consultancy firms. Most manufacturing firms also need HR managers to handle labour relations and safety issues.
Regardless of your industry, most of your roles are office-based with minimal off-site duties, like attending conferences and training workshops. As an HR manager, you can work from home or complete many of your tasks remotely. Teleworking is made possible with the increased adoption of HR management technologies.
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who are your colleagues?
Depending on the industry, you work alongside communications managers, operations managers and project managers. You also rely on accountants, recruiters and payroll administrators to perform your duties. You work with production managers and production supervisors to determine the workforce needs in production departments.
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HR manager work schedule
As an HR manager, your typical workday begins at 9 am and ends at 5 pm. If you have deadlines or some work to catch up on, your schedule might extend to evenings and weekends, resulting in a few overtime hours. You may also attend company events or parties at night. Most HR manager positions are full-time, but getting a part-time or remote working HR job is possible. Your HR manager job also involves travelling to organize training and development workshops or attend conferences. Unless you work for a multinational company, overseas travel is rare.
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career opportunities as an HR manager
HR managers have significant influence at the leadership table due to their crucial contributions to achieving business goals. When you are an HR manager, you have a promising career path in higher managerial positions if you gain the required skills and expertise, similar to the role of an HR business partner. From an HR manager position, you can become an HR director, responsible for supervising the implementation of human resources policies. You can also become the Vice President (VP) or chief human resource officer in an organization, where you work alongside top-level executives to develop HR policies that affect the company. An HR manager role also allows you to specialize and become a consultant in labour relations, payroll, recruitment, and diversity and inclusion.
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advantages of finding a job as an HR manager through randstad
Working with Randstad offers you a range of benefits.
- Always a contact person you can fall back on and ask for help from
- Many training opportunities
- A range of jobs in your area
HR manager skills and education
The educational requirements of an HR manager include:
- Education: to work as an HR manager in Canada, you require a bachelor’s degree in any field related to HR, such as business management, commerce or human resources. Credentials in sociology or psychology may also be useful for the role.
- Certifications and experience: aside from a bachelor's degree, having professional certifications will improve your HR skills. Pursue certification and become a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR). You can also advance to senior HR roles by acquiring a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certificate.
competencies and characteristics of HR managers
Aside from academic qualifications, you need exemplary technical and soft skills to become an HR manager. Some of the skills include:
- Communication skills: you require excellent communication skills since you link the company with the best talent in the industry. Your communication ability will help you provide clear instructions to employees and report the progress in your department to stakeholders. Knowledge of various modes of communication is crucial to your success and promotes transparency.
- Administrative expertise: since your role involves scheduling and filing, good administrative skills help you manage your tasks more efficiently. You should organize your tasks to avoid missing deadlines and forgetting important details.
- Proactive: if you are not proactive, you will miss red flags and signs of problems until they escalate. You should pick up employee issues as they arise and deal with them promptly. With proactiveness, you can keep up with emerging work culture and technology trends.
- Coaching skills: employee training and development ensures growth and motivates workers. You need coaching skills to train employees and organize workshops for professional development. The skills are also helpful for onboarding.
FAQs
Here, you will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the profession of an HR manager.
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what is the primary role of an HR manager?
As an HR manager, you lead and direct the functions of the human resources department. Your duties include hiring and interviewing staff, conducting administrative duties, and enforcing company policies and practices.
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what are the five responsibilities of HR managers?
As an HR manager, you are in charge of five main duties: talent management, compensation and employee benefits, compliance, workplace safety, and training and development. The human resources department juggles these five duties to ensure organizational structure and manage the employee life cycle.
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is HR manager a high-paying job in Canada?
Working as an HR manager is a promising career that attracts a good salary. The mean salary of an HR manager in Canada is $112,464 per year. The most experienced HR managers in Canada take home over $173,902 annually.
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what skills does an HR manager need?
To be an effective HR manager, you require exceptional communication skills. Being a good listener helps you develop and maintain relationships with various stakeholders. You should also possess technical skills in order to manage computer systems and utilize HR software.
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is HR manager a good career for the future?
Yes. Human resources jobs are important in various industries, and HR professionals are crucial in matching people with the company's needs. Even with the advancement of technology, companies still rely on HR managers to build their human capital.
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how do I find a job as an HR manager?
Finding a job near you as an HR manager is easy. Search our job offers. Have you found what you're looking for? Then submit your application using the ‘Apply’ button top right on the page. No jobs available right now? Send us your resume and we'll pass it on to a recruiter who will contact you if an opportunity opens up for you.
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