Becoming a Human Resource Strategist
In human resources there are all different kinds of roles you can do. You can be a HR Manager, a Human Resources Officer, a consultant or assistant.
Every role carries with it its own intricacies and challenges. But once you’ve worked in HR for a while and you’ve gained that specialist insight into the industry, where do you go, what is the next step for you?
For many talented HR specialists, it’s becoming a Human Resources Strategist.
What is a Human Resource Strategist?
A Human Resources Strategist is a higher-level employee within the human resources department. Sometimes they are brought in to consult and sometimes they hold an ongoing appointment within the company. They gather research, identify key stakeholders and impacts on the business, design strategic models and create a strategic planning framework for the human resources department.
What does a Human Resource Strategist do?
It’s a Human Resources Strategist’s job to design and implement a human resources strategy that fits within the larger strategic goals of the business. This strategy also needs to deliver on the mission and vision for the human resources department. Increasing engagement within the company and inspiring the workers and management teams alike.
Their day-to-day role can include but isn’t limited to:
- Implementing new systems
- Analysing data and research
- Adjusting the human resources policies and procedures
- Creating reports and monitoring KPIs
- Designing strategies
- Coaching staff
Where do they work?
Human Resource Strategists are needed in every industry. From retail to business, academia to the public service, every organisation has a human resources department. Because Human Resource Strategists are specialists within their industry they are often employed in large organisations, institutions and big companies, rather than small businesses.
How much do they make?
According to Seek, Human Resources Strategists and consultants make an average yearly salary of $90,000. Roles in this disciple tend to have a salary range between $80,000 and $100,000 per year. However, for those who become leaders in this field this salary range can go up, especially for those who are specialists within more lucrative industries.
How do you become a Human Resource Strategist?
Human Resource Strategists are specialists in their field, they will have already gained years of valuable experience working in various roles within the human resources industry. This is the kind of role that you level up to once you’ve already established yourself in your HR career.
In order to push past any career road blocks to pursue this kind of role, you should consider formalising your skill set with a qualification such as the Advanced Diploma of Human Resource Management.
This advanced diploma qualification is only open to RPL enrolment or Recognisied Prior Learning enrolment. RPL is a fantastic way to fast-track your way to your qualification.
The RPL Process
RPL or Recognised Prior Learning is a great way for professionals with extensive experience in their field to gain formal recognition of their knowledge.
The first step is to fill in a free skills assessment. This is a fast and easy online form where you answer a few questions and attach your resume. Then our RPL assessor will review your skills and experience against the qualification you’re interested in gaining through RPL. If they believe you’d be a good candidate, they will let you know, and you can begin the next steps.
Once you’ve enrolled through RPL, our RPL assessor will create a mapping document for you. This will outline the competencies that you need to have experience with, and you provide evidence showcasing your experience with these competencies. The evidence could be things such as email correspondence, reports, PowerPoint presentations, letters of support etc.
The RPL process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months depending on how quickly you can get all your paperwork together.
What kind of skills do you need to be a Human Resource Strategist?
There are all kinds of skills that will help you excel as a Human Resources Strategist, but let’s look at a few key ones below.
Leadership Skills
In this role you’ll need to be leading the charge on change. Being comfortable taking the lead in the team and delegating tasks. In a role such as this, you’ll often be in charge of different teams, including reviewing reports and work and establishing KPIs. Leaderships skills are a must for excelling as a human resources strategist.
Critical Thinking
Human Resource Strategists are responsible for designing the strategy for the whole human resources department. This means they need to research, collate data and find new applications and trends within the industry and then evaluate whether these can be effectively applied within their company.
This kind of research, analysis and evaluation requires critical thinking skills and a passion for their industry.
Communication Skills
Working in any area of HR requires excellent communication skills but especially if you are working as a Human Resource Strategist. In a role like this you’ll need to be able to effectively communicate with a broad range of stakeholders, employees, departments and management teams. You’ll need excellent written and verbal communications skills to excel as a Human Resources Strategist.
Research Skills
In this role you’ll be researching and collating data, analysing trends and looking at how this can be implemented in the company’s strategic goals. You will need to be comfortable collating your research, delivering reports and presenting data-backed solutions for the company.
Big Picture Thinking
Being able to take a step back and review the whole picture will be essential as a Human Resources Strategist. In this role you will have to be able to consider how each choice, plan and action will impact the company overall.
Planning
While a Human Resources Strategist needs to be able to research and design the strategy, they also need to be able to implement the strategy. This means having exceptional planning skills, being able to break down the roll out for a new system or strategy into smaller steps and then assigning the right team members to each task to ensure the successful outcomes of the plan.
Final Thoughts
Becoming a Human Resource Strategist is an excellent path for a human resources professional who has excelled in their field. To get into this exciting area you’ll need an eye for big-picture planning and a head for research and data-analysis.
If you’re interested in knowing more about how you can formalise your skills and experience to go for roles such as this one you can check out our Advanced Diploma of Human Resource Management here, or get in touch with us.