The Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours Required to Be an Effective HR Practitioner within HSBC - Case Study Example

Human Resource Management, simply put, is an organizational function that concerns itself with employee and management functions including compensation, training, hiring, communication administration, performance management, wellness benefits, as well as organization development. The main functions that HR practitioners prioritize therefore include recruitment, providing organizational direction, and sound management (Goldsmith, 2010). At HSBC, HR plays a crucial role in performance management. HSBC Holdings is a multinational corporation dealing with financial and banking services. Although the banks origins lie in Hong Kong, it has its headquarters in London. HSBC is a public limited company, and when ranked with total assets, it is the fourth largest globally. The company has a presence in over 80 countries, and it has four-business groups namely commercial banking, global private banking, investment banking, as well as retail banking. Despite the intention competition that the bank has had to contend with globally, its highly competent HR practitioners have been instrumental in giving it the much-needed competitive edge. Given the scale of human resource management within such an organization, it is essential that certain skills, knowledge and behaviors be possessed by HR personalities. This paper clearly outlines the characteristics essential to running and managing the expansive workforce under the HSBC umbrella.

LO1: Understand the knowledge, skills and behaviors required to be an effective HR practitioner

Currently, HSBC boasts of over 26,000 employees, and this underlines the importance of maintaining an employment status that is well rounded for effective operations. By prioritizing the wellbeing of employees through the preservation of their rights, the company has managed to create a positive working atmosphere that is reflected in the attitudes and productivity of employees. At HSBC bank, the main functional areas are appropriate identification and selection of effective skills, motivation and appraisal, as well as investment in training. Even though the HR field is a diverse one, HSBC always encourages their employees to keep abreast with industry developments, especially since the banking and financial services sector is constantly changing (Kynaston, 2015). With regards to this, two core professionals have to be applied. These core areas include leading HR, and Insights, Strategy and Solutions.

With regards to Insights, Strategy and Solutions, the company ensures that HR professionals deliver situational HR solutions and develop insights that are actionable. The company is well aware of the fact that as a business discipline that is applied, this particular core professional area underpins the profession’s direction (Martin, 2010). HSBC encourages all its HR professional to be aware of the overall performance of the corporation, and in order to do this effectively, there is need for the business functions effectiveness to be maintained, while at the same time demonstrating development requirements. Understanding the daily operations of the business is also critical because it gives HR practitioners the capacity to investigate potential risks and address them conclusively before they impact the business negatively (Goldsmith, 2010).

On the other hand, regarding leading HR, HSBC makes certain that all HR practitioners demonstrate effective leadership qualities. The role-played by knowledge and experience with regards to this can therefore not be underscored. There is need to conduct a regular self appraisal by looking for ways for leading oneself so as to make sustainable contributions to the corporation’s performance. Before engaging others to engage in positive change, there is need for HR practitioners to be able to drive themselves first. This way, HSBC reckons, it will be easier to provide solutions and insights needed for service delivery. This is a professional area that prioritizes personal leadership, and leading others (Smith, 2010). It also covers areas like organizational design, employee engagement, organizational development, as well as learning and development.

Teamwork is critical in HR settings, and this is evident that HSBC. This not only enables learning, it is also critical for talent development. Further, it boasts skills such as leading, presenting and engaging in group discussions and generally looking for better ways of improvements. The company ensures that employees frequently sharpen their skills by identifying their goals and needs with the aim of motivating them to learn and grow. In order to fit perfectly in the HR field, there is need to encourage certain behaviors and skills (Goldsmith, 2010). For instance, it is important that HR practitioners show curiosity that will enable them keep growing. It is important for everyone to show a willingness to learn, as this interest ultimately translates into growth within the corporation. One is also expected to be a decisive thinker by using the available information to make decisions that are defendable (Martin, 2010).

HR practitioners at HSBC are also expected to be skilled influencers. This implies that they should have persuasive skills by making people be confident about the points that are raised. Personal credibility is yet another behavior expected of them. Building a reputation that encourages professionalism ranks highly among the behaviors of HR practitioners, especially since it goes a long way in adding to organizational value. There is also need to be collaborative by being team players at all levels (Smith, 2010). The drive to deliver should also be maintained at all times as HSBC encourages all HR practitioners to use all the resources availed to them to deliver the best possible outcomes. It is also important that HR practitioners act as role models. Leading by example is a responsibility that everyone in that position should take, as this enables them to deliver precision, excellence and accuracy, while at the same time acting in a manner that is professional.

LO2: Know how to deliver timely and effective HR services to meet users’ needs.

The methods of communication that HR practitioners choose to use should also not be underscored. Among the most common means are email, telephone calls and intranet. Emails are easy to use and they also reach people quickly. It is possible to keep the evidence and it does not have any limits. Telephone conversations also save time, have voice mail options, and they also minimize understandings. Intranet has increasingly been gaining popularity, especially given the ease in which it can be used to contact all staff members. It is also possible for regular updates to be carried out to show relevant information and the latest news (Kynaston, 2015). At HSBC, effective service delivery is paramount. This enables the corporation to compete favorably in an industry that is constantly changing. A keen analysis of the industry reveals that customers have become very particular regarding the type of services they want and to satisfy the high expectations, it is important to provide services that are helpful and proficient. This way, the company has been able to generate good work ethos as well as consistency in all operations to benefit all users. The HR approach that HSBC employees take constantly tweaks the system to keep everyone happy according to the feedback received.

Among the advantages of effective service delivery by the company’s HR practitioners include delivering effective services using the set budget. As consequence, the organization stands a better chance of meeting its set goals including any expansion to capture the market. This also makes it easier for the company to handle difficult clients in a manner that is assertive, professional, firm and consistent. There is need to make all customers feel understood, appreciated and valued, and this is an area that HSBC prioritizes because the company understands it is the customers who enable their very existence. The HR practitioners have over the years build a reputation of being desirable, trustworthy and plausible, and these qualities have been instrumental in enabling the company holds to its leading status (Kynaston, 2015). Timely delivering of services, coupled with an honest way of resolving complaints have always featured highly on the corporations expected behavior, and this way, the company has managed to remain unbiased in its service delivery. By meeting expectations and keeping promises, the HR professionals at HSBC have given the corporation the much-needed competitive edge, and this has been helpful in building confidence in the company’s services (Goldsmith, 2010; Kynaston, 2015; Smith, 2010).

LO3: Be able to reflect on own practice and development needs and maintain a plan for personal development.

CPD proves the dedication of HR Practitioners to their jobs by showing the development that they making in their careers. In order to gain a competitive edge, there is need to enhance one’s skills. This is the action that individuals take to grow, maintain and update their skills and knowledge for career progression. It is therefore an ongoing commitment that enables people to remain professional. Through CPD, it becomes easier for people to concentrate on specific areas of learning. Further, it enables people to reflect on their learning, and consequently apply that to their professional life. The CPD concept therefore reflects both the learning cycle and the training cycle. Among the potential benefits include enhanced job satisfaction and reputation, improved career prospects, improved professional status, improved employee engagement, as well as better quality training. CPD represents lifelong learning process whereby individuals can gain both personal development and career security.

Among the options that interested me was Fundamentals of Employee Relations. As far as further development is concerned, this is an area that provides a good opportunity for exponential growth. I therefore feel that this module is instrumental in adding to my understanding of employment law. It adds to the understanding of the employee individual rights, as well as issues relating to employment contract termination. Since I have ambitions of holding managerial positions, it is my intention to build my knowledge in these areas. Resourcing Talent is yet another area that I intend to build my knowledge. This will enable me to gain the expertise and knowledge required for future professional growth.

Conclusion

The discussion above clearly outlines the knowledge, skills as well as behavior that is required in the management of human resource within a company of HSBC’s status. A company of such status needs essential characteristics in an attempt to ensure that everything runs smoothly. The HR personalities have to have an effective way of influencing those around them in order to accomplish their tasks and develop teamwork. In addition, it is essential that they have good management and communication skills. Evidence shows that with such skills, it is possible for a company with an expansive reach in teams of operations, to run effectively and efficiently. In addition, challenges arising out of employee concerns are avoidable and easily manageable if the skills discussed exist. The advantages of such skills, knowledge and behavior are unquestionable when it comes to assessing company performance. Applying any and all of the skills gives any organization and advantage over organizations that ignore them. As a consequence, HSBC is certain to remain a force to recon with in the finance industry, given the set of knowledge, skills and behaviors that it employees in HR management.