Role of the HR and Line Manager

‘The key fact about a policy of good human relations at work is that it is not primarily concerned with the nature of the work which the employee does but with the state of mind, the spirit in which he or she does it. A policy of good human relations at work is not about jobs it is about people.’ ((Lord) Marcus Sieff, 1991).

‘If the HRM function is to be effective there has to be good teamwork and co-operation and consolidation between the line manager and the HR manager.’ (Mullins, L.J 2007, Management and organizational behavior, Prentice Hall)

Benefits of a line manager being more involved in HR activities:

· Improves employee relations i.e. communications with staff, consultation and negotiation, trade union relationships, participation and involvement etc.

· Improves ability to deal with day to day issues such as lateness and any other problems.

· Provides a link to higher management.

· Line Managers involvement in HR activities is likely to result in a stronger workforce with more suitable candidates, as the Line manager has a greater understanding and knowledge of exactly what attributes to look for in potential staff during recruitment and selection.

· Line managers see and deal with employees on a daily basis meaning that they have a thorough understanding of the staffs needs. Based on this, line managers would be more effective and constructive for the organization and workforce in certain aspects if they were more involved in HR activities. For example, they would know what skills are lacking in individual employees therefore enabling them to decide on the appropriate training and development to improve employee performance. This is beneficial to the organization as they would have a more qualified and skillful workforce.

Drawbacks of a line manager being more involved in HR activities:

· A possible drawback of line managers being more involved in HR activities is the fact that line managers are not specialists in Human Relations. This may result in line managers not being as effective as HR managers as they don’t have as much knowledge, understanding or experience.

· It is possible for line managers to make bias decisions rather than fairly looking at the whole situation before coming to a conclusion as a HR manager most likely would.

· Line managers are more suited to operations management and therefore are less likely to possess the skills necessary to deal with HR matters.

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What skills do you think that line managers need to develop in order to effectively manage people and why?

One of the most vital skills a line manager needs to develop in order to effectively manage people is a strong employee relationship, an essential tool in being a successful line manager. Certain basic steps must be taken by the line manager in order to develop strong employee relationships, for example; establishing a clear and fluent communication within the workforce, employee participation such as involving staff in more important aspects such as decision making, and generally making the workforce feel more valued and motivated. In order to achieve these objectives, line managers must be able to do several key things; effectively lead employees, develop excellent listening and communication skills, allow employees to make recommendations/ voice their opinions and respond to these suggestions in a fair fashion. Furthermore they should increase the value of their workforce by doing things such as training and development which increase employee performance making them better at their jobs, thus motivating them as well. Another important trait and skill which line managers must acquire according to CIPD (2009) is a strong sense of self confidence and security within the organization.

Go on to the prospects website and research the job roles of a HR manager. Do you feel your skills are more suited to the role of a line manager or a HR manager?

After researching the job roles of a HR manager on the prospects website I believe that my skills are more suited to the role of a line manager rather than a HR manager. What I learnt was many job descriptions for the position of a successful HR manager stated that candidates are required to control all HR aspects such as payroll administration, recruitment, writing reports etc...I believe that due to my skills being more suited to the line manager position, I would not feel motivated in this job as the tasks that would be required to do are tedious, repetitive and don’t make a difference to workers on a personal level in my opinion. The role of a line manager however is something which I think I would connect with more. This is due to the opportunity it offers to be involved in having a positive influence on staff performance and being able to see the effects. These are all things which genuinely appeal to my personality.

In conclusion I now have a clear understanding of the differences and comparisons of the roles between HR and Line Managers. Something I have learnt from this study is that organizations reap more benefits by operating with a combination of expertise from both managers.