Important behavioural competencies for human resource professionals in South Africa

Abstract

Orientation: The job inherent requirements for Human Resource (HR) professionals, as is for any role, are constantly undergoing change due to the dynamic environment that we work and exist in. With the transition from traditional Personnel Management to more contemporary and strategic HR Management, these adjustments required for the role and of the incumbents have become more and more pronounced. It is important that, as HR professionals, one frequently reassesses and clarifies the inherent requirements for the role, based on the needs and demands from the broader world of work and its roleplayers. The concern is however whether HR professionals realise and understand which behavioural competencies they should display in order to meet the changing demands and whether they actually are ‘living’ these. Research Purpose: The aim of this paper is to determine the relevant behavioural competencies for HR professionals based on the analysis of various views gathered from current HR professionals. Research Results: It was found that competencies such as ‘Planning and Organising’, ‘Problem Solving and Analysis’, ‘Specialist and Technical Knowledge’, ‘Strategic Thinking’ as well as ‘Interpersonal Sensitivity’ are all important in order to ensure effective service delivery for HR professionals. An additional competency, ‘Leading and Supervising’ was also identified as important, although related more to managerial HR functions. From these results it is however also evident that competencies relating to adapting and responding to change in the workplace, and the importance of being able to deliver and achieve results, were omitted from the ideal profile. This, in comparison to various articles and research presented by authors on the exact importance of such competencies in order for the HR discipline to add value to the organisation, makes it evident that many HR professionals have still not completed the transition from the traditional Personnel Management to the more strategic HR Management.