Interpersonal Skills for HR Professionals Comprehensive Course

Introduction

Human resources specialists play a role that extends beyond the technical tasks associated with their field. Continuous support must be provided to employees and managers, which is why HR professionals need to leverage their interpersonal skills or soft skills to perform their jobs effectively. The beauty of this course lies in its uniqueness in recognizing situations in organizations that require special care and attention from HR specialists, beyond their technical competencies. This course addresses these situations and shows you how to develop the appropriate interpersonal skills to manage them.

Course Objectives

• Define communication and explain its importance to the work of HR professionals.
• Apply the fundamental principles of business writing and reporting.
• Produce written communications related to human resources and HR report templates.
• Practice essential conflict resolution skills, including influencing.
• Explain the importance of customer service in HR and the steps to build an appropriate mindset.
• Choose the fundamental techniques for training and mentoring in specific HR situations.

Course Outlines

Day 1: Human Resources and Communication

• Define communication.
• Communication in HR.
• Characteristics of an effective communicator in HR.
• Interviewing techniques.
• Listening and empathy.
• Interview techniques:
  • STAR technique.
  • FACT technique.
  • Inquiry technique.
  • Leading technique.
• Fundamentals of public speaking.

Day 2: Business Communication and HR Reports

• Fundamentals of business writing.
• Writing HR reports.
• Common mistakes in writing correspondence and reports.
• Examples of HR-related correspondence and reports.
• Conflict resolution: A necessary skill for HR specialists.
• Define conflict.
• Sources of conflict in HR.
• Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Model.
• Influencing skills.
• Practical applications in HR.

Day 3: HR Sections Central to Clients

• Define customer service.
• Internal clients vs. external clients.
• Importance of customer service in HR.
• Who are HR clients?
• Building a customer service mindset in the HR department.

Day 4: Training and Mentoring Employees and Managers

• Training, mentoring, and coaching.
• Importance of training and mentoring for HR specialists.
• Differences between training, mentoring, and coaching.

Day 5: Five Principles of Training

1. Feedback.
2. Accountability.
3. Challenge.
4. Tension.
5. Systems.

Day 6: Advanced Communication Techniques

• Understanding non-verbal communication:
  • Types of non-verbal cues.
  • Reading body language in HR-related interactions.
  • The impact of non-verbal communication on messages.
• Navigating difficult conversations:
  • Strategies for delivering bad news.
  • Techniques for managing emotions during tough discussions.
  • Role-playing to practice scenarios.

Day 7: Conflict Resolution Strategies

• Advanced conflict resolution techniques:
  • Mediation vs. arbitration.
  • Stress-relief techniques in conflict situations.
  • The role of HR in resolving workplace conflicts.
• Building a positive conflict culture:
  • Encouraging open communication.
  • Promoting a culture of respect and collaboration.
  • Tools for assessing team dynamics.

Day 8: Enhancing Employee Engagement

• Understanding employee engagement:
  • Factors affecting employee engagement.
  • The role of HR in driving engagement initiatives.
• Techniques to enhance engagement:
  • Effective feedback mechanisms.
  • Recognizing and rewarding employees.
  • Creating a culture of inclusion and support.

Day 9: Negotiation Skills for HR Professionals

• Fundamentals of negotiation:
  • The negotiation process.
  • Key negotiation tactics.
  • Common mistakes in negotiation.
• HR-related negotiation scenarios:
  • Salary negotiations.
  • Conflict resolution negotiations.
  • Negotiating with vendors and external partners.

Day 10: Personal Development and Continuous Improvement

• Self-assessment and feedback:
  • Tools for self-assessing personal skills.
  • Seeking and using feedback for improvement.
• Creating a personal development plan:
  • Setting SMART goals for personal growth.
  • Identifying resources and opportunities for learning.
  • Building a support and mentorship network.

Conclusion

This course focuses on enhancing interpersonal skills for HR professionals, making them more effective in handling complex and diverse situations in the workplace. Through advanced teaching methods, this course will help participants develop the interpersonal skills that are essential for success in human resources.