HR Skills for HR Assistant or Officer

You’ll receive an authoritative workshop manual that will become your valued desktop reference, a Certificate of Attendance and the opportunity to get your specific questions answered by a human resources experts and industrial relations lawyers

In a nutshell, this programme is designed to cover all aspects of the work of a modern HR and is designed to serve as an introduction to PRACTICAL HR for HR Assistants / Officers. The subjects covered will include all aspects of a modern employment policy presented from the point of view of the HR function.

Course objectives

Following completion of this course, you will know how to:

• Excel in your role and responsibilities as HR Assistants / HR Officers
• Develop HR policies which meet the strategic aims of your organisation
• Apply HR practices which fit the needs of your organisation
• Develop a set of HR policies that will reflect the local context
• Adapt the best HR practices from best in class Companies.
• Identify critical issues in your organisation that will need to be addressed
• Recruiting and retaining: Best practice and legal issues explained
• Training and development: Your role in building a top class team
• Employee relations & performance management: How to reduce turnover and boost morale
• Get a thorough knowledge of the Employment laws (Employment Rights Act / Relations Act) and take precautionary measures as per law.

Who should attend?

• HR administrators
• HR assistants
• HR Officers
• Managers and supervisors with personnel responsibilities
• Newly promoted HR Managers

The programme content

Day 1 

9:00 am: Registration

9:30 am: Trainer's welcome and program commences

Module 1: Overview of the HR Function and Your Role in Today’s Organization

As the role of HR continues to expand, your job responsibilities are being redefined and becoming increasingly specialized. This gives you the opportunity to wear many hats, and in turn the responsibility for a variety of critical tasks. In this session we will clarify the emerging role of HR in today’s organization:

• Examining how the HR function has evolved from being a necessary expense to a true business partner
• What are the core competencies a personnel/HR assistant must possess – or learn – today?
• What career opportunities are available to you? – An overview of the different HR specialties

Module 2: Understanding What the Fundamental Employment Laws Cover and How They Overlap [EMPLOYMENT LAWS]

HR professionals must negotiate a minefield of laws and regulations such as discrimination, retaliation, harassment, discipline & termination… the list is endless. And a single misstep can result in expensive litigation. As part of the HR team you will be asked complicated employment law questions. It is therefore critical that you have a good understanding of the laws that impact your job and your organization. Before we move on to the individual issues, this session will provide you with an overview of what the various laws cover and how they are intertwined.

Module 3: Recruiting and Hiring Top Candidates for Your Organization While Staying Liability-Free

As a result of the tight employment market, the recruiting process has become one of the biggest challenges facing HR professionals today. In this session you will discover the latest innovative recruitment strategies that will enable your organization to attract the best employees while staying in compliance with the law:

• Writing job advertisements that will attract the best applicants
• The major sources for advertising and their pros and cons
• Discovering the latest techniques for internet recruiting as well as the emerging legal issues
• Dealing with headhunters and employment agencies
• Screening applications quickly and detecting resume fraud by developing techniques for separating fact from fiction
• Administering employment testing and conducting successful interviews that comply with the law: Knowing what questions you can and cannot ask
• Tips for conducting thorough reference and background checks: Obtaining candid information from reluctant past employers
• How temps and part-time employees fit into the staffing picture

Module 4: How to Effectively Train and Develop Your Team

The HR department is often responsible for employee orientation and training. You may be called upon to explain new policies, practices or benefits, or to facilitate meetings. This session will provide you with strategies for planning and implementing successful training programs and techniques to ensure that your meetings run smoothly.

• Getting your employees on board from the start: Developing and implementing thorough orientation programs
• Setting up successful mentoring programs to keep your new hires on track
• How to convince employees and supervisors to “buy-in” to training
• Planning and implementing a successful training program
• Mastering the key elements of the instructional process
• Facilitating meetings: Ensuring that your agenda is covered and the meeting runs smoothly
• Career growth and professional development

Module 5: Everything You Need to Know About Compensation and Benefits Practices

To keep a competitive edge and attract and retain employees, many employers are considering a variety of compensation and benefits options. This session will provide you with a guide to understanding the basics of pay systems and salary surveys as well as an overview of the new and emerging trends in employee benefits and reward systems:

• Understanding the nuts and bolts of pay systems
• What is a salary survey and how can it help you attract and retain employees?
• Emerging trends in employee benefits and reward systems

Day 2 

9:00 am: Recap of Day 1

9:30 am: Trainer's welcome to day two and program commences

Module 6: Critical Employee Relations

A large part of the responsibility of HR involves managing the performance of employees and handling day to day employee interactions and complaints. In this session you will discover best practices for dealing with your most challenging employee relations issues.

Your carefully honed employee relations skills will enable you to have a powerful impact on employee morale, improved productivity, and reduction in turnover:

• Measuring performance using effective employee appraisals
• Alleviating tension and employee conflict before it infects the rest of your workforce
• Communicating with your most difficult employees
• How to encourage your workforce to suggest ideas – empowering the team
• Innovative techniques for keeping employees motivated

Module 7: Recognizing the Essential Steps You Must Take During the Discipline and Termination Process to Avoid Liability and Retaliation

When preparing to discipline or terminate an employee, critical procedures must be followed, and HR has the daunting task of handling such transactions with both sensitivity and firmness. In this session, we will take you through the essential steps of a lawful discipline and termination process that will eliminate the threat of liability:

• Protecting your organization from wrongful discharge and retaliation suits
• Creating the paper trail: Why you must 4:00 pm: Concluding remarks document all significant performance problems
• Understanding how a corrective action policy works for your organization
• How to communicate with employees who are losing their jobs: The human side of termination
• A checklist for conducting exit interviews that cover the legal bases and provide you with valuable information
• The most common mistakes made when terminating an employee – and how to avoid them

Module 8: Increasing Your Value to Your Organization: Staying Up-to-Date with Emerging Trends in HR

With the numerous tasks that HR professionals are charged with, staying up-to-date with emerging trends can be a major challenge. However, the tangible rewards of networking and staying abreast of important HR developments will increase your value to your organization and ensure that your department is cutting-edge:

• Why it is essential that you stay up-to-date on the latest HR trends
• Using networking opportunities to ensure that your department is cutting-edge
• The increasing role of technology in human resources
• Pulling together a personal priority checklist to take back to the office for immediate action

4:00 pm: Concluding remarks

Approach, deliverables & training method

• Comprehensive course notes classroom style lecturing - combining lecture, discussion & practical exercises utilizing course materials, digital projector & flipchart
• This course is weighted as follows: 1. 40% Theory 2. 60% Practical