What Makes a Great HR Manager

One of the key tasks of HR is not just general recruitment for the company, but bringing in the right HR staff in the first place.

The Personnel Today Awards 2014 may offer some insight into just what makes a good HR manager, as well as how to compile a successful team.

One of the nominations for the team of the year is the HR set-up tyre company ATS Euromaster, which has played a key role in helping the business recover from a position of financial peril to one of stability and success over the past five years.

Beginning with the appointment of a new HR director, the business made a series of changes in his staffing policies that have turned the loss-making firm around, with a 27 per cent rise in revenues meaning the company is on course to turn in a profit for 2014.

Among the measures it devised were equipping line managers to be more self-reliant, working with the finance sector to find ways to develop more efficient performance among operation managers, removing staff who did not support company values and working to put the right people in the correct jobs.

Given the success this has brought the company and the recognition the HR department has had, those seeking HR management jobs may benefit from looking at this example. The other nominees may also offer many case studies of best practice that act as templates for those who seek to plan strategies to improve the operations of whatever company they work for.

Candidates may find working with a skilled recruitment agency could help them prepare for applications with this kind of visionary approach in mind.

Other nominees included Barclays, where the HR function has been transformed following revelations from whistle-blowers that there were legal and compliance issues with the bank's hiring process, while stakeholders were unhappy with the quality of the staff recruitment process.

Their response has been to develop a better recruitment process with a dedicated website emphasising company values, create a mobile jobs app and even develop a new candidate management tool, to identify the best talent.

The list of nominees also included Biffa, Virgin Money, Homeserve, Nationwide Building Society, Village Urban Resorts & De Vere Hotels and London Overground.

About Ortus HR:
Ortus is an international HR recruitment specialist providing global talent with a personal touch where originality, understanding, leadership and personality are a way of operating. It is through this approach and our meticulous delivery that we are able to support clients and candidates alike to make the right decisions.
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