The Human Resources (HR) part of an organisation plays a vital role across a broad spectrum of people-centred business needs. It’s involved in attracting and retaining talent, employment law, training and development, and also employee welfare. At our London recruitment agency, we’re frequently asked to help secure talented individuals for various HR roles, from HR administrator and HR assistant up to HR manager and above.
Most HR roles are described as “generalist”, meaning that individuals in these roles take on a wide variety of tasks. In such roles, you’ll perform a diverse range of tasks covering employee relations, recruitment, absence management, contracts, health and safety, training and development, grievances, disciplinary actions, appraisals, and more. It’s a great area for someone interested in business and how people are a business’ greatest asset.
What does a HR administrator do?
Becoming a HR administrator or HR assistant is the entry point for those wishing to work in HR. It’s one of the most rewarding office support jobs and has the potential to launch a great career.
At this level, you’re usually one of the most important “faces” of HR. Employees will come to you with general queries. You’ll also handle all of the personnel paperwork, such as employment contracts and gathering references for new employees.
Most HR administrators have a good level of education, sometimes including a degree. You’ll need to act with professionalism and discretion, and be a skilled communicator.
Career progression in HR
The next step on the career ladder is to become a HR officer. Another rewarding job, a HR officer has a broad range of responsibilities covering all the generalist areas of HR. However, you may be more closely involved in certain areas, such as equal opportunities or employment law, and work on dedicated projects within the HR function.
It’s quite common, at this level, to work towards professional qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). These are usually undertaken whilst working and your employer may encourage and fund this. CIPD qualifications are highly respected in business and are usually required for those working at the mid-to-higher levels of HR.
Ultimately, you can progress to become a HR manager. As HR manager, you take a more strategic view of how HR fits into achieving the objectives of the business or organisation. From here, the next step is HR director.
More about working in HR
HR roles are usually office based, although you may need to visit other sites within the business. At the moment, many within HR are working remotely.
It can be tough at times. For example, if redundancies need to be made, you will be directly involved. This can be tricky to manage when you’re also caring for employee welfare and have bult strong relationships with employees all across the business.
Generally, however, a career in HR is immensely rewarding. You feel like you’re making a real difference to people’s lives at work and are an important part of a team.
We’re HR recruitment specialists. If you’d like to find out more about working in HR and apply for office support jobs in HR, then please get in touch on 020 7870 7177.
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