What Are the Main Types of HR Managers?

To become an HR manager means to be responsible for the human resources functions of an organization, e.g., recruitment, employee relations, performance management, and general compliance with employment laws. Depending on the size and structure of the organization, there are some specializations within HR management:

• Generalist HR manager: His/her main role is mainly recovering legal actions, doing loss control for employees’ claims, claiming insurance for accidents (if any), and managing recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, payroll, training, and benefits. They manage all aspects of HR and work closely with the top management in the company to help the HR policies suit the company’s own goals and interests.
• Employee Relations Manager: This HR manager manages the relationships between workers and employers, settling disputes, resolving grievances, handling disciplinary action, and ensuring that the company is a happy and productive working environment.
• Recruitment Manager: Recruitment managers handle a company’s hiring process, managing the job advertisement, interview process, candidate selection, and onboarding to ensure that the company is able to attract and retain top-notch talent.
• Compensation and Benefits Manager: These managers are experts in setting up and administering an organization’s salary structure, benefits packages, and incentive programs. They also track the employment market to ensure that the organization remains competitive with the best employers in the area.
• Learning and Development Manager: Learning and development managers are responsible for employees’ training and career development. They work to identify skill gaps and arrange training for their personal and professional growth.
• HR Compliance and HR Policy Manager: This HR manager ensures that the organization complies with all employment laws and regulations. They are responsible for developing and updating HR policies, managing health and safety protocols, and handling any legal issues related to employment.

What Does an HR Manager Do?

An HR manager is primarily responsible for ensuring the efficient running of HR functions in an organization. The scope of responsibility varies depending on the organization’s size and structure, but below is a generic overview of the essential HR manager’s duties.

• Hiring, Recruitment, and Talent: Human Resources managers oversee hiring. They publicize job vacancies, conduct interviews or assessments, and train new employees to onboard them.
• Design and implement HR policies and procedures: HR managers create and implement workplace policies that support an organization’s goals and respect employment laws. These might include how employees should behave, act, or leave, or diversity and anti-discrimination policies.
• Oversee Employee Relations: HR Managers handle employee relations issues, including conflict resolution, managing grievances, and disciplinary actions. They work to ensure a positive and productive work environment.
• Manage Compensation and Benefits: The human resource managers of an organization will be responsible for devising the pay structure, benefits package, and employee incentives. They will aim to keep the organization’s pay structure competitive to attract and retain a workforce.
• Training and Development: Ensure that all employees receive the right instruction and educational experience to perform their jobs successfully. Managers must become expert trainers and find ways to coordinate employee training needs to ensure that everyone is performing as well as expected.
• Keep the company on the right side of the law: HR managers must ensure that the company is complying with all regulations governing employment (including health and safety, data protection, and equal employment opportunity acts) and keeping HR practices up to date with legal standards.
• Monitor Employee Performance: HR Managers help design performance management systems that help monitor employee productivity, allow for goal-setting, and conduct performance appraisals.
• Facilitate Organizational Change: An HR manager’s role requires professionals to facilitate organizational change within the company. Examples of this change include when one company merges with another or plans to rely on information technology, like cloud computing, tomorrow. HR professionals are called upon to help employees transition through the changes.

Average HR Manager Salary

In the UK, an HR manager’s salary depends on the company’s size, the industry, and the number of years of experience the manager has. Larger companies and specialized industries tend to pay higher salaries. Here is an overview of an HR manager’s salary:

• Entry HR Manager: The salary for an entry HR manager will range between £30,000 and £40,000 on a yearly basis. They are usually found in the hierarchy as junior members of bigger or smaller employee teams.
• HR Manager with several years’ experience: With several years of experience, HR Managers can earn between £40,000 and £60,000 annually. These roles often come with more responsibility, such as managing a team or overseeing multiple HR functions.
• Senior HR Manager: Senior HR Managers or those working in larger companies can earn £60,000-£80,000+ per year, including bonuses, particularly if they are also HR Managers for a large number of people or work in specialist industries such as finance or technology.

HR Manager Skills

To be a successful HR manager, you need a combination of leadership and verbal and body language communication, such as understanding the tone of voice, body language, and company HR targets. They also must serve as a point person for employees and be able to manage numerous tasks simultaneously, resolve issues, and set up HR practices aligned with the employer’s objectives. The most crucial skills you need to have to have a career as an HR manager are:

• Leadership Skills: An HR manager requires strong leadership skills. The manager must lead a team effectively, mediate employee conflicts, and ensure a productive and efficient work atmosphere.
• Communication Skills: HR managers must have strong verbal and written communication skills to interact with their employees, management, and external stakeholders. They should be able to explain HR policies to employees and communicate sensitive issues, such as disciplinary actions, tactfully.
• HR Expertise: HR Managers need a deep understanding of HR functions, including recruitment, employee relations, compensation and benefits, and employment law. They must be able to advise leadership on HR best practices and ensure compliance with legal requirements.
• Conflict Resolution Skills: Since the HR manager often handles disputes between staff or between staff and management, they need to be able to resolve disputes and reach an amicable solution for everyone.
• Organizational Skills: HR Managers oversee a wide range of HR duties, including, but not limited to, the recruitment process, performance management, and employee training. Consequently, they need to be highly organized to keep all these tasks under control and ensure that the general operation of HR activities is seamlessly carried out.
• Problem-solving skills: You must be able to think clearly and unravel issues related to staff relations, recruitment problems, and compliance risks.
• Flexibility: The HR field is volatile and constantly changing, and the HR Manager must be flexible and adaptable to your firm’s current laws, workforce trends, and needs.

HR Manager Tips

Here are some practical tips for aspiring HR Managers who want to build a successful career:

• Gain Broad HR Experience: Before becoming an HR Manager, gain experience across various HR functions, such as recruitment, employee relations, and compliance. This will give you a strong foundation to oversee all areas of HR.
• Get Professional HR Qualifications: For example, if you need to start managing HR teams or making strategic HR decisions, you can increase your knowledge with professional HR qualifications such as the CIPD Level 5 or Level 7 Diploma in Human Resource Management.
• Build leadership skills: Effective HR managers need to lead, so you should aspire to participate in a leadership development program or look for leadership opportunities within your current role.
• Keep up with employment law: Keeping up to date with employment law will help you anticipate and avoid problems. Therefore, the HR manager must be informed about the latest developments, for example, by attending a workshop on the current situation in HR law.
• Increase Employee Development: Developing your employees will be critical to creating a productive and enthusiastic workforce. Learn how to develop and deliver training to create career paths and promote employee engagement.

HR Manager Requirements

There are generally specific requirements for applying for a job as an HR manager. This includes specific educational qualifications, years of experience, and possibly some professional qualifications. Employers will usually look for candidates with enough HR experience and leadership gifts. Here are the usual requirements for becoming an HR Manager in the UK.

• HR Qualifications: The CIPD Level 5 or Level 7 Diploma in HR Management is considered the minimum required for HR managers, as it covers leadership, HR strategy, and employment law.
• Needed HR experience: Employers often expect candidates to have 5-7 years of relevant HR experience, either as an HR Advisor, HR Coordinator, or HR Business Partner, before they can be promoted to an HR Manager role.
• Leadership Experience: Subject-matter expertise in managing teams or leading HR functions and initiatives (for example, leading recruitment processes, managing employee relations issues, or driving organizational change strategies).

How to Become an HR Manager

Here is a step-by-step guide to becoming an HR Manager in the UK:

• Gain a Degree or HR Qualification: Begin by completing a degree in Human Resources Administration or Business Administration (BA) or another related degree, or gain a CIPD qualification such as the CIPD Level 3 or Level 5 Diploma in HR Management.
• Obtain some experience via junior HR roles: Ensuring your competency in HR functions is key. Completing some HR junior roles, such as HR assistant or HR advisor, is fundamental to gaining the level of experience that you will need to build upon as you progress up the career ladder.
• Get a more advanced HR qualification: A CIPD Level 7 Diploma in HR Management, or some other type of more advanced qualification, can add clout to your resume and increase your competence as an HR professional.
• Build leadership experience: Find opportunities in your current HR role to manage, such as employee relations, running training, or managing a recruitment team. This will help you develop the supervisory/management skills so prized by an HR manager.
• Apply for HR Manager Positions: Once you gain enough experience and qualifications, apply for positions in industries of interest. Customize your CV to demonstrate your leadership experience, HR competency, and ability to execute strategic objectives.

Get Qualified as an HR Manager 

New Manager Certificate, Certificate in Automotive Services Manager, Duty Manager Essential Skills, Duty Manager Online Course

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Should You Become an HR Manager?

It means being the architect of the organizational culture, the arbiter of talent, and the overseer of the legislative burden. It is a fantastic career choice for a people person who enjoys the process and problem-solving and leading the HR function. As an HR manager, you can majorly impact company culture, employee engagement, and organizational growth.

Is Being an HR Manager a Good Career Choice for You?

If you enjoy leading a team, troubleshooting problems, and making policies that affect an entire organization, an HR management career is for you because it encompasses all these things and more. HR management also typically involves a great deal of external interaction with managers, employees, and external stakeholders. As a result, an HR manager is often a central player in making a business’s major decisions, helping to shape the organization’s workforce and culture.

HR Manager Salaries

HR Manager salaries in the UK can reach anywhere from £30,000 to £80,000+ per year, depending on experience, industry, and the organization’s size. You tend to find that individuals in an HR Manager role with less than two or three years of experience will naturally be paid less, probably £30,000-£40,000 a year. However, if you are an experienced HR manager with more than 5-10 years of experience, looking to progress further into a senior role, your salary will likely be £60,000+. It could even be £80,000+ if you work in finance or a large technology firm.

Which Qualifications Can Help with a Career as an HR Manager?

Many HR Manager roles in the UK require or strongly recommend an HR qualification at Level 5 or 7 Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD), as well as a degree in HR or related fields, such as business administration or organizational development, and some experience in HR roles such as HR Advisor or HR Business Partner.

Do I Need Experience to Get Started as an HR Manager?

So yes, becoming an HR manager takes time and experience. For jobs that can be considered an entry point into HR, such as an HR Advisor, an HR Coordinator, or an HR Business Partner, it is normal to have several years of experience working in HR. However, this long-term experience helps you understand the details of HR functions and allows you to develop the leadership skills you might need to manage HR teams and HR policies for a bigger company.

HR Manager Career Outlook

The demand for HR managers is high, with some of the most popular jobs on LinkedIn describing a role as an HR manager. CIPD reports a 5 percent increase in HR Manager roles in the UK in 2020. Some of the fastest-growing industries for HR managers currently include healthcare, finance, technology, and retail, with good career progression. You can move from an HR Manager to a Human Resources Director, a Head of HR, or a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

HR Manager Hierarchy and Progressing Within the Role

Over time, with experience, you can increase your levels to become a Senior HR Manager, HR Director, or Head of HR, and with the right experience and leadership abilities, a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)—the senior executive responsible for the overall people or HR strategy of the organization.

HR Manager Exit Options and Opportunities

HR managers quite often progress in their careers or into related roles such as organizational development, employee engagement, or change management. Some HR managers enter consultancy roles, providing strategic HR advice to businesses, or into more senior leadership roles within their organizations.