HR Challenges

Here is a really worthwhile read on the writer's key learnings from working in HR. In summary:

• The importance of excel, pivot tables and access
• HR clients expect the right answers – and quickly
• Work shifts from a few big projects to one never-ending series of tasks
• HR is a 24/7 job
• HR Generalists have to know a lot about everything
• The value of a strong HR admin, HR VP, and a supportive team
• An effective HR pro really needs to understand the business
• HR can be a lonely, isolated role
• What it’s like to struggle in a job
• Finally, I learned the value of HR and a competent HR pro

Most of this looks fairly sound to me. The only thing I would say is that excel isn't really the answer to HR analytics. Proper reporting tools based on sound information stores (eg pure databases or data warehouses) are the best solution of this. You can be an excel genius, but it's too volatile an environment for reliable business reporting. Access is simply not a professional database, so I wouldn't even waste the time waiting for it to install.

Linking to the article above, this post praises HR generalists for the skills they bring to bear in the organisations they work in and their ability to deal with the unique role they have to play. In particular it lists:

• Compartmentalisation (switching from one topic to the next to the next in rapid succession over the day)
• Helicopter thinking (zooming in and out from detail to the big picture - again in rapid succession over the day)
• Judgement (in acting professionally and in confidence with the many stakeholders involved in HR issues).

Again - I found this to all be fairly valid material.