Honing Your HR Communication Skill

This is something that a lot of people will deny.  I've seen many HR practitioners struggle in their roles because of their failure to communicate effectively. See if any of these are familiar:

• Management disapprove proposals after proposals for well meaning HR projects
• Employees are either unaware or griping about HR policies
• HR is the source of organization's intrigues and bad politics
• Employees laughing at how funnily incoherent HR memos are.
• Employees find it painful to listen to HR presentation.

We are not just talking grammar here. If you've been reading my blog, you'd know I have no authority in that area. If you are looking for impeccable English, go to Grammar Pulis. It is however, undeniable that HR professionals need to achieve a decent level of English communication skill both orally and in written form.The amount of defensiveness I get whenever I discuss this need with someone is unbelievable. The reaction I get range from incredulity to making excuses on how they have no time to address this need. I find it sad that people who are in charge of developing others resist their own need for development. Don't you?

If you are an HR professional and you acknowledge your own need to enhance your skill in communication, consider these suggestions:

• Improve your grammar skills everyday. Have a dictionary or thesaurus handy. Know how to use the web for this purpose. When in doubt about the proper way of saying it, Google it. There are hundreds of website that can help you say things right. See ExeQserve's English as a Business Language Workshop
• Learn to write and speak in business terms. Many HR proposals fail because of the inability of the writer to justify the cost of the project. I often see companies go to the lowest training service bidder because HR failed to justify the cost of a better training program that looks like it costs a little bit more on paper. So, HR needs to learn the skill in proposal making and the necessary preparation for coming up with one that is worth approving. Find a good business writing program that will address this need. See ExeQserve's Business Writing Workshop
• Hone your public speaking skills. I find the Toastmasters program as a very effective way of helping bumblers progress into professional level speakers. It takes some hard work of course. You can't improve just by sitting in meetings or paying your dues, you have to get yourself in the thick of the action. Deliver speeches play roles, observe your improvement areas, well, improve. Find a local chapter here or Check out my home club, Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club.
• Learn to follow the code of HR ethics. Know that whatever comes out of your mouth can be taken in a bad way. Learn restraint and honor confidentiality. See my article on HR Ethical and Behavioral Standards.
• Learn how to be assertive. If you are to serve as an effective internal consultant, you should be able communicate assertively with both management and employees. This means having a heightened listening skill and communicating with tact. Assertive people are confident but but not conceited or obnoxious. You should know the difference between being assertive and aggressive. (See ExeQserve's Assertiveness Training Program)
• Learn the rudiments of change management and organizational communication protocols. One of the main reasons HR programs fail is because HR professionals keep on ignoring these. When you ignore them you run the risk of getting fragmented buy in and lack of clarity. When that happens, every body loses. HR, Management, the employees, everybody. See ExeQserve's  Change Management Workshop

If it is not obvious enough that your success as an HR professional is hinged on your ability to communicate effectively, let me tell you now that it is. We all need to continually grow the skill. It won't just happen. Have a personal communication skills development plan and follow it.

Ethical and Behavioral Standards for HR Professionals

Human Resource Practitioners hold a critical position in their organizations. The way the carry themselves and go about doing their work can have significant impact on culture, morale and performance.

Let me share with you my thoughts on this topic. I also invite you to share yours by commenting below.

Maintain high professional and personal conduct
In the Philippines and in many parts of the world, HR is thought to be the guardians and enforcers of company policies. While I have always expressed that this should not be the sole responsibility of HR, they are still responsible. It is important therefore for all HR staff no matter what rank to demonstrate compliance to these policies. If HR is unable to model the way, how can we expect other employees to follow the rules?

Guardians of fairness
The question of whether HR should be pro-management or pro-employees keeps on popping up. Let me say that HR should be neither. I disagree with the idea that HR must maintain a balance between looking after management and employee interest. I believe that management interest is employee interest and employee interest is management interest. When decisions are made that does harm to one, it will also harm the other. I have seen this to be true several times. When this happens, It is HR's job to take a position and that position should be "pro-what's right." Sometimes taking this kind of position put a lot of risk in the HR practitioner's job security but HR practitioners should accept that part of the risk, otherwise they will not be able to embrace that important role of being the organization's conscience. There's one thing going for HR when they push for what is right and that's the law. Whether people perceive HR's position as favoring management or the employees, when HR points to the law, it's something that's hard dispute.

Position of confidence
In the process of carrying out its tasks, HR gets the privilege of knowing confidential information. HR is trusted not to divulge these to people who are not authorized to know. It should demonstrate a high degree of ethical standard keep such privileged information confidential. These information include, salaries, employees' medical records, disciplinary actions, confidential decisions and others.

Organizational glue
HR is the only department that focuses mainly on people. While other departments engage their people more often than HR does, they are sadly more focused on the task and results delivery side of it. In the organization's effort to push for results, it is easy for people to develop conflicts. HR people should be capable of handling such issues without being partisan. HR's goal in this case should always be how people can resolve issues and work together more effectively and harmoniously. When I was an HR Director, quarreling parties often call me to listen their issues and ask me to put the other party in their place, so to speak. Unless a law or rule is broken, I always aim for reconciliation. Even when a rule is broken I still aim for reconciliation after suitable sanctions are made. HR Should hold the organization together, it should not be the source of divisiveness. I also believe that in order for HR to serve that role, the people inside HR should be able to model cohesiveness. When HR fails to do that, its ability to hold the organization together also declines.

Demonstrating leadership
It doesn't matter what position HR professionals hold in the department, I believe that they should be able to demonstrate leadership in the organization. When I say leadership in this regard, I mean constantly and consistently choosing to seek moral high ground. Because they are principled, they are able to demonstrate what Kouzes and Posner found to be the practices of exemplary leaders such as modeling the way in demonstrating commonly held values, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process and allowing others to challenge the process, enabling others and encouraging the heart. Leadership is all about influencing and inspiring others to choose a more productive attitude. When HR professionals become the source of negativity in the organization, they stop demonstrating leadership. One other thing that I would like to emphasize here is that HR practitioners should never use their position for inappropriate gain. When people see HR as corrupt, it loses its moral ascendancy to lead.


Ensuring law compliance
Since we are in the topic of laws and regulation, HR should strive to know all laws related to human resource management and ensure that the organization is complying. When the company's owner refuses to follow the law, HR should be able to give fair warning. If the owner despite all the warnings refuse to follow the law, I believe that HR should stand by moral principles and leave the company. This is a personal belief that I wish to share with fellow practitioners.

Continuous learning
The HR practice is evolving. Any self respecting HR practitioner should know it and act on it. When HR practitioners fail to continue educating themselves, they get stuck in mediocrity. When they do, their organizations lose opportunities to increase returns on their human capital. IF you are an HR practitioner and you are not abreast with the latest goings on or not trying out or experimenting on new concepts, you should start considering updating yourself or moving out to another career that requires less dynamism.

Did I miss anything? Please add your own thoughts or comment on what I shared here.