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How to become an HR Manager

HR Manager

Career progression and salary expectations for an HR Manager

1

HR Manager

| Up to £40,000
2

HR Business Partner

| Up to £50,000
3

HR Director

| Up to £65,000

The role of an HR Manager

All about the people? You should become an HR Manager…

HR Managers oversee and manage all aspects of HR practices, processes, and strategies; dealing with employee relations as well as the recruitment of new staff.

Whether they’re working on job design, recruitment, performance management, talent management, employee wellbeing, or training and development, it’s an HR Manager's job to ensure strategies and initiatives are in line with company goals.

They’re also responsible for ensuring all processes are compliant with legal regulations.Typical duties for an HR Manager could include:

  • Assessing the need for training and development
  • Designing and implementing training sessions
  • Managing the recruitment, selection, and induction process
  • Resolving employee grievances
  • Developing filing systems to record and retrieve data
  • Monitoring and developing HR strategies
  • Maintaining a pay and benefits programme
  • Overseeing and managing appraisal systems
You’ll need to be an excellent communicator with the ability to solve problems, think critically, and come up with strategic ideas.

As HR management centres on communication with all kinds of people, you’ll also need to be understanding, empathetic, and able to diffuse difficult situations.

In other words, if your approach to comforting someone mostly consists of a pat on the back, this might not be the best role for you.

HR Managers will also need to have:

  • Sensibility
  • Excellent morals and ethics
  • Negotiation skills
  • The ability to multitask
  • Honesty
  • Organisation skills
  • Good judgment
  • Discretion
"Being an HR Manager is the perfect fit for me, having started out as an HR Assistant and moved up the ranks over the years. Not only do I get to work with people every day, I also get to make their working lives better – whether it’s current employees in the need of training and development or candidates looking to be welcomed into company. My role is also vital to ensuring my company is adhering to employment law, so I also spend a lot of time carrying out research and updating job ads, contracts, and other documents. And although there are some tedious tasks, the fact that my job is helping towards a happier working environment is a great feeling."

Get qualified as an HR Manager

Some employers will look for candidates with a minimum of 5 GCSEs (A*-C) including Maths and English, with others placing precedence on your relevant experience. Gaining industry specific qualifications, such as CIPD, is also a great way to break into this role.

Recommended HR Management courses

  • CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management HR Training

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  • CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management

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    Become CIPD qualified 100% online. We match any other online provider's price. The fully online CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management will provide you with the knowledge, understanding and skills to progress your career in HR management. This prestigious qualificati …
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