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Senior director human resources skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Vinh Nguyen Ph.D.,

Anthony Nyberg

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical senior director human resources skills. We ranked the top skills for senior directors human resources based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 10.5% of senior director human resources resumes contained performance management as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a senior director human resources needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 senior director human resources skills for your resume and career

1. Performance Management

Here's how senior directors human resources use performance management:

Customized and implemented salary, bonus/incentive, equity, performance management and benefits programs in support of assigned lines of business.
Designed a global talent acquisition strategy to support organizational design, performance management, leadership development and sustainable field bench strength.

2. Employee Engagement

Here's how senior directors human resources use employee engagement:

Facilitated four cross functional teams in developing/deploying turnaround strategies for sales / service, operations, employee engagement and leadership initiatives.
Result: Defined leadership expectations, reinforced key leadership competencies with emphasis on employee engagement, communications and accountability.

3. SR

Here's how senior directors human resources use sr:

Recruited Senior Executives for key impact positions (CFO, Controller, Sr. Director of Operations, Vice President Product Development)
Report to Sr. VP of HR and serve an associate base up to 23,000 executives, Managers and non-exempt associates.

4. HRIS

Here's how senior directors human resources use hris:

Revamped company recruiting process including implementation of HRIS and Social Media components.
Managed core HR functions including staffing, compensation, benefits, labor/employee relations, EEO, HRIS, relocation and payroll.

5. Workforce Planning

Here's how senior directors human resources use workforce planning:

Led an annual workforce planning process focused on determining strategic workforce priorities and implementing appropriate solutions.
Improved workforce planning tools and practices resulting in improved accuracy and decreased time spent by 50% on the resourcing process.

6. Organizational Development

Here's how senior directors human resources use organizational development:

Led all Human Resources and organizational development initiatives for Microsoft's Windows Mobile and Windows Server divisions.
Focused on building business acumen, influencing, organizational diagnostics, and organizational development expertise.

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7. Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing process of improvement of products, services, and processes with the help of innovative ideas. It is an organized approach that helps an organization to find its weaknesses and improve them.

Here's how senior directors human resources use continuous improvement:

Manage all operational Human Resources initiatives with the ongoing goal of continuous improvement, cost effectiveness and increased customer service.
Created, documented, optimized and standardized human resource policies, processes, and procedures utilizing continuous improvement methodology.

8. Business Objectives

Business Objectives refer to the goals and objectives which a company has set for itself. They could be related to profit, increasing growth of a business, or something else.

Here's how senior directors human resources use business objectives:

Implemented organizational assessments to evaluate performance and created organizational alignment to meet our business objectives that aligned people with the organization.
Developed core business goals for the successful re-negotiation of all collective bargaining agreements delivering key business objectives.

9. Organizational Design

Here's how senior directors human resources use organizational design:

Coached managers and employees through organizational design/change initiatives, complex employee relations issues, year-end compensation processes and staffing initiatives.
Coached and mentored leadership in policies, practices, organizational design and personal effectiveness to continue driving business results.

10. EEO

Here's how senior directors human resources use eeo:

Investigated and respond to formal internal and external EEO complaints and disciplinary cases for the prevention of further legal actions.
Assure compliance with Joint Commission (JCAHO Standards), applicable laws and regulations, including EEO and AA.

11. Organizational Effectiveness

Here's how senior directors human resources use organizational effectiveness:

Increased organizational effectiveness through talent movement and change management efforts during Marketing and Product Management migration from field to Corporate.
Facilitated and enabled global human capital strategies, organizational effectiveness, and substantial restructuring planning.

12. Payroll

Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

Here's how senior directors human resources use payroll:

Developed a payroll audit plan that mitigated the risk of operational inefficiencies and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and audit standards.
Oversee the payroll function, benefits administration, employee recruitment/hiring processes and performance appraisal management.

13. Oversight

Having oversight of someone means to monitor a process or a situation. If someone has oversight of something, they are responsible for the completion of the project. Oversight is usually given to experts as they monitor their juniors or newbies as they go through a project.

Here's how senior directors human resources use oversight:

Labor strategist providing oversight to contract negotiations resulting in 2 successful contract negotiations and achieved significant savings.
Provided oversight and support to union negotiations resulting in alignment of company benefit and pension benefit programs.

14. Leadership Development

Leadership Development is a term for the process of improving the leadership, management, organizational, and similarly relevant skills of somebody working in a managerial or other leadership skill.

Here's how senior directors human resources use leadership development:

Designed and delivered a wide range of professional development programs including leadership development and competency based interviewing courses.
Stabilized employee/labor relations activities via instituting consistent HR policies, processes and enhancing leadership development.

15. Shared Services

Here's how senior directors human resources use shared services:

Reported to SVP of HR, created and led HR Shared Services organization for $2.5B consumer products food company.
Developed organization and led key staffing for shared services centers in Europe, China, Latin America, and India.

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What skills help Senior Directors Human Resources find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on senior director human resources resumes?

Dr. Vinh Nguyen Ph.D.

Professor of Business Administration, Coe College

The most important skills for new graduates, particularly for HRM majors, are adaptability and problem solving. The ability to continuously learn and change is critical during this crisis and with on-going technological advancements. A willingness to face any problems and to find creative solutions is also highly desirable in this changing world. Thus, people who are highly aware and possess a growth mindset will stand out in the labor market.

What soft skills should all senior director human resourceses possess?

Anthony Nyberg

Department Chair and Professor, Program Director, Master of Human Resources, University of South Carolina - Columbia

In general, the "soft" skills are actually the hardest, and the most important of these skills involves strong communication and an ability to work in teams - most jobs and all companies require people to work together, and this is a very challenging skill, but imperative in the modern workforce.

What hard/technical skills are most important for senior director human resourceses?

Anthony Nyberg

Department Chair and Professor, Program Director, Master of Human Resources, University of South Carolina - Columbia

HR, like many work environments, is driven by using data to address challenges. This requires a strong analytical foundation.

What senior director human resources skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Sandi Dornhecker

Vice President of Human Resources, Chicago Zoological Society

Using technology in a work setting (such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams) and a focus on soft skills such as collaboration and flexibility (being willing to learn and contribute any way you can) will become increasingly important.

Do you want to know more?

List of senior director human resources skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a senior director human resources resume and required skills for a senior director human resources to have include:

Performance Management
Employee Engagement
SR
HRIS
Workforce Planning
Organizational Development
Continuous Improvement
Business Objectives
Organizational Design
EEO
Organizational Effectiveness
Payroll
Oversight
Leadership Development
Shared Services
Employee Development

Labor Relations
SVP
Strategic Direction
Process Improvement
Career Development
Employment Law
Human Capital
Conflict Resolution
Compensation Planning
Development Programs
Risk Management
Direct Reports
Succession Planning
Strategic Plan
Compensation Programs
Due Diligence

Training Programs
Global Human Resources
Mediation
Performance Reviews
Tactical Support
Leveraged
Background Checks
Management Training
Management System
FLSA
Workers Compensation
Executive Management
FMLA
Collective Bargaining
EVP

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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