For an organisation to operate at its optimum level its employees need to be content and productive in their working lives. HR assistants play a key role in maintaining a happy workplace, assisting with every aspect of employee management.
HR assistants work closely with all members of the HR team to provide a variety of services and to ensure projects are successfully completed and delivered. This article explains the role of HR assistant in detail and provides information concerning the various responsibilities they are assigned with.
By signing up with a recruitment agency and taking advantage of the services offered by; for example, Randstad Business Support, the entire process of identifying, applying for and being successful recruited for HR assistant jobs is made as effortless and efficient as possible.
The role
On a day-to-day basis, HR assistants must be prepared to carry out a diverse range of tasks. They might spend the morning contacting and researching potential candidates for a new position within the company, before shifting their attention to dealing with a disciplinary issue in the afternoon.
The HR team is responsible for organising employee training and development, so HR assistants are often required to arrange and perhaps even conduct, training courses for employees. The HR team also has to ensure that the organisation complies fully with employment law and that employees have somewhere confidential to go should they need to make a complaint or ask questions relating to their employment status.
These responsibilities mean HR assistants need to have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to empathise with a wide variety of people, while remaining objective and professional. Having the discretion to handle sensitive and confidential information is a hugely important skill for this type of position. To be successful, HR assistants need to be respected and trusted by everyone within their organisation.
Depending on the size of the company, the roles assigned to HR assistants can vary quite significantly. In smaller organisations, due to the limited resource pool available, HR Assistants are often given a high level of responsibility and are heavily involved in all areas of the HR team's practical work.
Bigger companies and multi-national corporations, on the other hand, are likely to employ a number of HR assistants to work as part of their much larger HR teams. As a result, these HR assistants may work in a more specialised manner; for example, focussing mainly on recruitment or be given a lower level of responsibility and asked to spend a higher percentage of their time working on administrative and research issues.
Career development
The career development potential for HR assistants is generally very high and there are numerous opportunities to move up the pay scale, assuming they demonstrate the appropriate skills. Many HR managers work the way up to the top of their organisations after initially entering as HR assistants or administrators.
Starting as an HR administrator individuals are able to develop their skill and experience levels, steadily moving up the ranks of the company they are employed by. In addition, HR assistants can often increase their earning potential by moving on to larger companies as their careers progress, taking advantage of the extra resources and opportunities available to them when working as part of a bigger team.