What skills should an HR generalist have?

Question

Zippia Team · Accepted Answer

An HR generalist should have administrative skills, communication skills, and interpersonal skills. Since the HR generalist needs to be savvy in all aspects of human resources, the skills that they need to develop are numerous, but they all center around being able to manage and develop people.

The primary skill that is essential for HR generalists is communication. Communication skills are essential as the HR generalist links the business and the employee.

This means that the HR generalist will be communicating with different stakeholders at different levels of authority and influence. This is why connecting well with all kinds of people, leaving a professional and positive impression, is essential for HR professionals.

After this, knowledge and expertise in Human Resource Management theory are essential HR skills. HRM knowledge underpins many of the other skills and competencies mentioned in this article. It helps to understand recruitment, selection, absence procedures, and data reporting.

This enables other critical HR skills. Such as being a credible and trustworthy advisor to different stakeholders. This HR skill allows an HR generalist to effectively advise employees, line managers, and senior managers on personnel issues.

Another often mentioned HR skill involves recruitment and selection. One of the most important HR tasks is finding qualified candidates, selecting the best, and determining a match between the candidate, the company (culture), and the manager.