Last week, a final year MBA student wanted me to coach him, as he was keen to move into HR, in itself a little unusual as a career choice. In talking to his university career manager, he was an excellent student with a passion for HR. Now HR is not always seen as the preferred choice for ambitious, talented and commercially orientated graduates, which is his profile.
At times, I am still amazed and also a little disappointed, when I read the criticism by HR people of HR and it’s value to the business. The ability of HR professionals to denigrate their own profession is simply a mystery, and a classical case of being your own worst enemy.
Choice of Industries
HR is one of the few career disciplines, where you can move from one industry to another, with little difficulty, using your HR toolbox to make a company a great place to work.
During my HR career of 30 years, I have been privileged to work in a multiplicity of industries:
- institutional sector (Air Force, a scientific research company, an university) – using the intricacies of precedents to develop policies;
- services sector (two IT companies) – trying to understand the complexities of frame relay systems;
- the tough world of manufacturing (a secondary steelmaking operation – explaining the shaking of the office building during interviews after the pouring of each heat; and a carpet manufacturer – getting used to the smells of making rubber underlay);
- the dangerous mining sector (drilling, shaft sinking and tunneling group – going 2 miles underground in a new gold mine shaft); with
- a major stint in FMCG (two dairy companies and an international brewer – hearing 30,000 bottles filling per hour on the packaging line and developing an incredible thirst).
Choice of Roles
Though the career path of HR has changed with various specialization fields, such as Employee Relations, Learning and OD, a generalist role really shapes the bread and butter operational skills, such as recruiting.
Working my way up from an entry position as a Personnel Officer with a Psychology degree, it didn’t take too long before manager was added to my title. As Industrial Relations was the fast track in the early eighties, I decided to do a post graduate degree, and soon after, got my first CHRO role at the age of 26, and the youngest executive in the company (who says you can’t be ambitious in HR!). Functional specialist roles in Talent Management and OD contributed to further studies, before moving again into CHRO roles in NZ and Australia.
Choice of Countries
Despite different employment legislation, it has been great to live and work in different countries, including South Africa, New Zealand and currently Australia. One major benefit with a change in government is a major review of employment legislation, which is presently the case with the Fair Work legislation in Australia. A similar situation occurred in NZ when Labour came into power in 1999.
Choice of Careers
Being in HR and wearing many hats, made the transition into a line management role with P&L responsibility possible. It is only when you have 500 real (external) customers, that you understand the various priorities our internal HR customers are facing on a daily basis. Due to specialization in OD, there has also been the bridge to external consulting, working with some great companies and clients.
A Final Observation
There are great opportunities to develop a long and rewarding career in HR, where you can play a significant role in developing capability within organizations, by attracting and developing people.
HR offers great choices, and if I could have my career over, I wouldn’t hesitate to again work and achieve success in HR. My oldest daughter is also working in HR. Would you recommend HR to your son or daughter or to a keen student?
Showing posts with label roles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roles. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Not all roles are created equal
Life is just not fair. There are some roles that get the best out of a person, and then there are roles that were designed to make your life feel at times like hell on earth.
The best roles are those with a great company and with a great boss. However, some roles are just not equal. In two of my roles I only stayed for one year, but started looking around after one month, as I realized my unfortunate mistake.
To cope with the demands of different roles, you almost need to live in the skin of Tara, changing constantly to deal with different situations.
Here are some interesting roles that you may be recruiting for:
1. The Explorer. A new role is always risky. Often the business is unsure of what the role is all about. You need to shape it to fit the business. They will either love it or hate it. Usually takes leave at the end of a role. Ideal for adventurers keen to explore new territory. Must be a problem solver par excellence.
2. The Actor. Role has been revamped as the previous person failed to make it. Look for murder weapon. Role may have been vacant for years until need have finally been reestablished. Now includes all the odd jobs nobody wants to do. Takes leave every few months to look for another role. Ideal for those that still believes in fairy tales.
3. The Rower. This is an on-going role. The seat was still warm and everyone expects you to simply pick up where the last person left off. Works best if you share the same name as the previous incumbent, saves on working to create an impression, as well as email – charles@. Needs to take three weeks leave every year to recharge the batteries. Ideal for those looking for a comfortable role and keeping things steady.
4. The Diplomat. Your manager had too much to do and all delegated/unwanted tasks have been packaged in this role. Great title but no responsibility. Will spend most of your time in endless meetings. Takes leave one day at a time so job insecurity remains undiscovered. Ideal for a go-between. Previous marketers please apply.
5. The Slave. Often carries title such as Administrator. Low risk role but heavy workload. Previous person knew everybody. Need ability to write down long list of things to do. After every meeting will have an action list. Takes all their sick leave. Ideal for those who likes extreme sports.
6. The Player. Great role and you are part of the team. Your role is well-defined and every one knows your role and how it fits in with the rest of the team. Last incumbent was promoted. Leave is planned months in advanced. Ideal for hard-working and ambitious person.
All roles need to be filled. Badly designed roles will often do little to enhance a candidate’s CV or help the recruiter with more roles.
It has been said that people join good companies and leave bad managers. Most of my roles have been great, largely because I got on well with my manager. A good manager can make a bad role tolerable and will promote you if do a good job. A bad manager will quickly make a good role feel like you are part of a losing team.
Finding a great role with a great company is like finding a great script with a great producer. It makes for a great story!
The best roles are those with a great company and with a great boss. However, some roles are just not equal. In two of my roles I only stayed for one year, but started looking around after one month, as I realized my unfortunate mistake.
To cope with the demands of different roles, you almost need to live in the skin of Tara, changing constantly to deal with different situations.
Here are some interesting roles that you may be recruiting for:
1. The Explorer. A new role is always risky. Often the business is unsure of what the role is all about. You need to shape it to fit the business. They will either love it or hate it. Usually takes leave at the end of a role. Ideal for adventurers keen to explore new territory. Must be a problem solver par excellence.
2. The Actor. Role has been revamped as the previous person failed to make it. Look for murder weapon. Role may have been vacant for years until need have finally been reestablished. Now includes all the odd jobs nobody wants to do. Takes leave every few months to look for another role. Ideal for those that still believes in fairy tales.
3. The Rower. This is an on-going role. The seat was still warm and everyone expects you to simply pick up where the last person left off. Works best if you share the same name as the previous incumbent, saves on working to create an impression, as well as email – charles@. Needs to take three weeks leave every year to recharge the batteries. Ideal for those looking for a comfortable role and keeping things steady.
4. The Diplomat. Your manager had too much to do and all delegated/unwanted tasks have been packaged in this role. Great title but no responsibility. Will spend most of your time in endless meetings. Takes leave one day at a time so job insecurity remains undiscovered. Ideal for a go-between. Previous marketers please apply.
5. The Slave. Often carries title such as Administrator. Low risk role but heavy workload. Previous person knew everybody. Need ability to write down long list of things to do. After every meeting will have an action list. Takes all their sick leave. Ideal for those who likes extreme sports.
6. The Player. Great role and you are part of the team. Your role is well-defined and every one knows your role and how it fits in with the rest of the team. Last incumbent was promoted. Leave is planned months in advanced. Ideal for hard-working and ambitious person.
All roles need to be filled. Badly designed roles will often do little to enhance a candidate’s CV or help the recruiter with more roles.
It has been said that people join good companies and leave bad managers. Most of my roles have been great, largely because I got on well with my manager. A good manager can make a bad role tolerable and will promote you if do a good job. A bad manager will quickly make a good role feel like you are part of a losing team.
Finding a great role with a great company is like finding a great script with a great producer. It makes for a great story!
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