Jobs in Personnel

Working in the personnel department used to be thought of as the soft option, the place where employees went when they needed a shoulder to cry on, staffed by kindly souls who didn’t know much about the business but who were useful as a resource when staff displayed inappropriate emotions. Large organisations might have had one individual in the personnel role, middle-sized companies persuaded the Managing Director’s PA to take on the staff issues, and small companies were sure they didn’t need to do anything because they were all one friendly team with no staff problems.

Times have changed. "People are our most valuable resource", that over-repeated and under-appreciated dictum nevertheless reflects the truth that the most significant expense on the balance sheet in most companies is the cost of recruiting, retaining and rewarding employees. Why then would any senior management team, with their eye firmly on the profitability of the business, not require professionally qualified and experienced staff to deal with all aspects of employing people, in the same way that they would look for managers with proven skills in other business areas?

It is no longer enough for the candidate expressing an interest in a role in personnel to cite being a "people person" as their main attribute for the job. While an ability to communicate well with people at all levels remains essential for the job, today’s personnel manager will be expected to have an interest in and an understanding of issues as diverse as employment legislation, training initiatives, staff reward schemes, data protection, salary surveys, systems developments, drugs and alcohol issues, budgetary requirements and constraints, pension developments, motivation theories, and many other areas. Additionally, they should have a relevant professional qualification.

Times have also produced change in relation to the title for the role: is it ’personnel’ or ’human resources’? There are those who feel that ’personnel’ sounds old fashioned - still resonating with the image of the comforting cup of tea and the box of tissues administered from a small back office tucked away from the main core of the business; while others believe that ’personnel’ clearly describes the main body of work in dealing with all aspects of employing the people in the organisation. ’Human resources’ is believed by some to support a professional image that reflects the increasingly high profile, both of the role of people management and of the individuals in that role. Others feel that it creates a perception of employees as just another resource, along with the office space, the computers and the furniture. There has been much debate about whether personnel management and human resource management represent different forms of people management; and to date, there is limited empirical research and no consensus as to whether the differences are real - or hype.

However, whether described as personnel or HR, there are many routes into a career in the area - not all of them obvious. With the increasing number of courses now available locally and nationally, it is possible to gain a qualification at a young age and to begin work in a personnel department in a junior role, with a defined career path ahead. In the future, it may well be that senior personnel managers have spent most of their career in a directly related HR role. However, many of today’s senior managers have come into the role after relevant experience in very different careers such as teaching, training, the armed forces, the health services, or having already had a successful career in the business world. The common factor is a ’people-management’ background combined with a high degree of personal and professional competence to which the specialist knowledge can be added.

That specialist knowledge becomes more important in an increasingly legislative environment. Until recently, there was no specific employment legislation locally - with the result that most companies would try to follow a non-specific best practice guide, which could be ignored when expedient, and a few could and did treat their employees unfairly without fear of reprisal. Many local senior business managers, particularly those without experience outside the islands, have gone through their careers without the need to consider employment legislation, and they are dependent on the knowledge of their HR/personnel managers to help them avoid potentially damaging legal proceedings. There will be more than a few personnel managers who have attempted to dissuade an irate managing director from a course of action that is perceived as a right, to be met with a "you cannot be serious" response!

It is perhaps fair to say that the diversity of the job is one of its main attractions. Large companies with large HR departments may have several specialist areas, such as training, pensions, recruitment or payroll. Smaller companies will have just one or two people who will be generalists, covering all aspects of employment from the starting point of recruitment and selection of employees through to their departure from the organisation. Whether specialist or generalist, there is unlikely to be such a thing as a typical day, given that the role is about people and people are not predictable.

What is typical is to arrive in the office anticipating a structured day consisting of pre-arranged appointments, attendance at meetings and time to work through the in-tray, only to be greeted by a development of some kind which requires immediate attention and which may have ongoing implications which take up most of the day - or week. This situation might be generated by issues as varied as a resignation, a new project, a disciplinary issue, a request for complex information, a personal problem, a systems failure. The interesting part is that it is unexpected.

Very few jobs do not have their routine aspects, and personnel is no exception. There will always be an administrative element, which can become boring. On the other hand, having spent a morning in interviews with several different people, all with their own (and from their perspective, entirely reasonable) view of how what might have appeared to be a fairly simple task should be achieved, it is sometimes a relief to spend an hour collating sickness absence figures for the last quarter, a task which requires very little tact or diplomacy!

One of the complexities of the role is the need to walk as straight a line as possible between the needs of the business as seen by senior management on the one hand, and the needs of employees on the other - to be respected by both sides and to be able to remain objective. It is not always possible, or appropriate, to be liked by everyone: something that can be difficult for individuals whose innate skills are about forming good relationships with those around them. Success in the role is about delivering fair and equitable treatment for employees while remaining pragmatic about business needs. This can be a great deal more difficult than it sounds, given the inescapable reality that the HR professional is an individual working with other individuals, all with subjective emotions, perceptions and reactions.

Most advertisements to recruit human resources/personnel managers will include the need for the candidate to be a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Full membership is attained after two years of study to achieve the Postgraduate Diploma in Personnel Management plus three years of experience in a managerial position. Other levels of qualification are available within CIPD, which may be more appropriate for those who are at the beginning of their HR career, for people wishing to specialise in training, or for those whose job does not require full membership. In Guernsey, details can be obtained through the Guernsey Business School and the Training Agency. The Certificate in Personnel Practice or the Certificate in Training Practice offered by these agencies are an excellent starting point on the road to full membership, both for individuals with some experience in the area and for people who are considering a career move into HR.

So is it all worthwhile? Undoubtedly, yes. In contrast to many other business areas, there are very few people working in a personnel role who would rather be doing something else. As in any other job, there can be moments of frustration, disappointment or routine - but overall, a career in personnel offers variety, interest and huge scope for personal and professional development. Different people will be suited to different aspects of the role, and it may take a while for each individual to discover what type of organisation would best suit their skills and personality; but each job on the career path will bring new learning, new opportunities and a broader perspective.

The increasing weight given to the HR/personnel role by managing directors means that the job is constantly changing as HR is included in more senior-level thinking. For some of us, the ideal role is one that incorporates both the "soft" skills of communication with employees, but which also affords an opportunity to be involved at a strategic level: something which would have been unthinkable a few years ago. This change has come about through recognition that linking the personal development of employees to the organisational strategy can produce benefits for both employee and employer. This is an interesting time - full of opportunity - to consider a career in the HR/personnel world.

Miranda Rock MCIPD
Former chairperson of the Guernsey branch of the CIPD

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