Human Resources (HR) Director Importance for Business | Required Skills

The Human resources (HR) director or recruitment manager defines and applies the recruitment policy of the company by identifying and attracting candidates whose skills and potential correspond to needs. It seeks to accompany their integration. Below are the some other titles of human resources (HR) director that must be in your mind as a business student, especially when you study HR as specialization.

• Recruitment and training manager
• Recruitment and mobility manager
• Responsible for recruitment and skills development
• Recruitment and communication manager
• Recruitment and Business Relations Manager
• Recruitment officer
• Recruitment Consultant

Why Human Resources (HR) Director is Important for Business

Definition of Recruitment Policy

• Participate with his hierarchy and the management of the company in the definition of a policy of recruitment coherent, internal (mutation, promotion) and external, according to the strategic axes of development.
• Evaluate and negotiate an annual or multi-year recruitment budget corresponding to the objectives set.
• Keeping abreast of all structural changes (legal provisions of employment contracts, legal obligations for the company) and cyclical (levels of remuneration on the labor market, scarcity or abundance of profiles

Position Definition

• Establish the definition of the position to be filled with the hierarchy having expressed a need.
• Define a candidate profile in line with all the missions inherent to the position: technical skills, human qualities, experience required, level of initial training
• Specify the need in terms of delays with the hierarchy

Communication

• Manage the dissemination of the recruitment needs of the company: writing and distributing advertisements.
• Define the sourcing strategy: press, job sites, schools, social networks, etc., animate the content of the recruitment site of the company.
• Represent the company in all recruitment events: replies to journalists, participation in trade fairs, forums for schools
• Participate in the communication plan.

Selection of Candidates and Interviews

• Manage all applications submitted to the company.
• Make a pre-selection according to the company’s criteria: specific needs and recurring needs.
• Conduct interviews with candidates carried out by his or her team, or operational or self-supporting, depending on the level of the position.
• Assess their competences and the adequacy of their profile and motivation for the position, in particular with traditional tools (business tests, psycho-technical tests, personality questionnaire).
• Write interview summaries presenting the strengths and weaknesses of an application, intended for operational staff to continue the recruitment process.

Monitoring of candidates’ activities and integration

• Pilot the meeting of the selected candidates with the hierarchical future.
• Supporting the hierarchy in the definition of a hiring proposal, particularly in terms of compensation.
• Conduct negotiations with the candidate to reach an agreement acceptable to both parties.
• Prepare contractual documents enabling the company to integrate the candidate.
• Ensure the follow-up of the candidate until his / her integration in the company.
• Perform regular reporting of its activity.

Possible Activities

When sourcing is not entrusted to a researcher, the recruitment manager uses the various tools: databases, job board sites, school forums, recruitment fairs, co-opting (often awarded a bonus), Social networks, internal mobility, partnerships…

Often, its function is associated with another HR activity: internal mobility management, career management (GPEC), training, school relations, and remuneration.

It can lead to cross-functional projects: HRIS, reorganization, reclassification, quality, and implementation of new tools (e-recruitment software for the management of job offers / internship and applications, automated response …).

It can set up or change the recruitment procedures, define a strategy and sourcing tools, in case of shortage or abundance of profiles.

He may be required to train and support (coach) operational managers in their recruitment activities. 
It can select, supervise and manage the activity of HR providers (external consultants, direct approach or HR communication firms).

It can be in charge of internal communication: charter or procedure for recruitment and internal mobility, drafting of the welcome booklet, elaboration of satisfaction surveys, organization of internal events.
Variability of Activities

Depending on the size of the company and the organization of human resources, the recruitment manager can perform various tasks.

In large groups, a real manager of the recruitment activity, he oversees a team of recruitment officers and administrative assistants. It may retain the recruitment of strategic or rare profiles, often with the help of mandated recruitment agencies, notably for “headhunting”. 
The recruitment officers are more or less specialized: by entity, geographical area, population (young graduates back +4/5, engineers, commercial, non-managerial, trainees …). Their position is then very oriented towards the conduct of the interviews and is very over-represented. Interviews can be numerous (between fifteen and twenty per week).

In medium-sized companies, it intervenes on the whole process, from the definition of function with the operational to the selection and then the integration of the candidates. He manages all the recruitment: temporary, fixed-term or indeterminate contracts, supervisors or managers … 
He often has other responsibilities around recruitment: sourcing, management of internal mobility or training, optimization of Procedures, preparation of function sheets, follow-up of school contacts, implementation of an integrated management software package (ERP), relations with trade union organizations (social dialogue groups, for example, revision of status or classifications) Annual interviews … 
The recruitment manager manages the administrative tasks related to his job:

In companies recruiting young graduates, the implementation of the junior employment policy is often entrusted to a school relations officer, also designated as responsible for the junior HR programs or campus manager, responsible for various questions: Access to employment (apprenticeship / alternation, employment forum, …), sponsoring, partnerships (academic relations), event communication, integration.

Required Skills for Human Resources (HR) Director

Technical Skills

• Good knowledge of the organization and operation of the company. The recruitment manager must have a good knowledge of the company’s professions and the interactions between the departments.
• Mastery of the various tools and techniques of maintenance to practice all types of interviews (face to face, collective, telephone, directive, semi-directive …).
• Sensitivity or technical culture corresponding to the sector in which he / she moves, with a view to credibility, vis-à-vis candidates and operational staff for whom he / she recruits.
• Practice of application management tools (SIRH) and sourcing.
• Social legislation and jurisprudence: respect for personal information, the principle of non-discrimination, competition in practices and documents (sourcing, interviews, announcements, reports
• Skills in budget management and procurement and negotiation of service prices (selection of external firms and temporary agencies)
• Fluency in English, especially in groups with an international dimension
• Analysis and synthesis, writing: for reports to managers or operational
• Quality of listening to conduct recruitment interviews

Personality Traits

• Height of view to drive the recruitment policy of the company or evaluate with a maximum of objectivity the candidates
• Psychological qualities and intuition, to identify the personality of the candidates, to evaluate them
• Strength of conviction, qualities of communication: to know to convince of the assets of the company and the interest of a position
• Resistance to pressure: very exposed within the company, it collaborates with the operational, on subjects sometimes sensitive; A delay, a recruitment error can generate serious consequences
• Sense of organization: it can manage large volumes of applications and carry out numerous recruitments.
• Respect for professional ethics
• Culture of innovation (engineering of means of sourcing of talents)

Required Diplomas

• Bachelor’s degree in management, administration, economics
• Back +5 (master) specialized in psychology, sociology, social sciences
• Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources

Duration of Experience

• The position of recruitment manager is for candidates with a minimum of five years experience in recruitment, including recruitment.
• A more junior (recruitment) position may be open to beginner profiles.

Professional Evolution

• Responsible for internal or international mobility
• Career Management Manager
• Training Manager
• HR Development Manager
• Head of HR
• Director of HR (more rarely)

Factors in the Evolution of the Profession of Human Resources (HR) Director

The development of the Internet offers the recruitment manager a wide range of tools. Sourcing is better suited to targets (especially generation Y): publication of offers in Smartphone and tablets, web 2.0 collaborative communication (blogs, social networks), job boards. 

As a community manager, he is responsible for facilitating exchanges on the job site of his company or contributes to it.

He can now assess the candidate’s online (tests of attitudes and behaviors, professional situations or serious games).

These tools have helped to strengthen its marketing and communication culture.

Employee image management, coupled with employee awareness of e-reputation, provides a competitive advantage in a highly competitive market (notably information technology).

The challenge is to attract the best talents by communicating on company values, quality of life, well-being at work, respect for ethics or diversity (“employee citizen”), and Performance recognition.

Now a business partner with managers and operational staff, he acts as an in-house service provider, with a strong customer culture.

In a context of control and monitoring of costs, for outsourced services, the use of a buyer, often specialized in intellectual services, tends to develop.

The RPO (recruitment process outsourcing) proposed by the service providers can represent a solution by the flexibility of the process: the recruitment consultant of the firm provides a service by managing the recruitment tools made available to him (recruitment and application management software).