7 Habits of an effective HR – based on Stephen Covey’s 7 habits

One of the most important challenge for a Human Resource professional is human resource itself. We not only deal with numbers and technologies, we deal with people –  the humans. The job is provocative yet satisfying. At times, while performing our role of attracting, managing, developing and retaining employees, we tend to lose the balance between task and people.  An HR can retain that balance by learning the powerful tips or habits given by Stephen Covey .

1. Be Proactive – To be a successful in HR, one must be good at taking initiative and controlling the situation instead of responding to it afterwards. When you have a hint of an upcoming open position, start scanning your references even before the formal JD is raised. It saves time. If you come across a good consultant or freelance trainer, save his relevant details for future requirement. While still negotiating with a leaving employee, work on internal movement possibilities.
2. Begin with end in mind –  Don’t just focus on task, focus on the result . When you focus on quality of result, the quality of your effort automatically increases. Like, while working on a hiring assignment, if you focus on lining up more interviews than the fellow team member, you might miss on the quality of your candidates. Instead, aim at hiring a good employee and work on it with a positive approach. Even if you miss at numbers, you will not miss in quality.
3. Put first things first – Interviews, meetings, ER activities there’s a lot to do and moreover its an important audit today ..Confused. Whenever caught in such a situation, prioritize, set first things first. Delegate the tasks you can’t focus on. This lets you concentrate on more important jobs.
4. Think Win-Win – For an HR professional, two things always move parallel, organization and employees. You have to work for employee but within the norms and policies of the organization. If you are caught in situation where it’s difficult to choose between the two, follow a Win-Win approach. Like, when addressing an employee grievance, don’t get consumed by his problem neither refuse help on policy grounds. Of course, you can’t change policies but you surely can work on alternative.
5. Seek first to understand, Then to be understood – This statement holds true everywhere but specially for HR profession. Be it taking interviews, attending or delivering trainings, employee counseling, grievance, exit interviews etc, an effective HR professional is the one who tries to understand and analyze before responding.  If your employees feel that you don’t tend to listen it means they are losing trust in you.
6. Synergy and attitude – Synergy defines positive team work. With the right interaction and cooperation, a team can accomplish what an individual cannot. As HR is the face of an organization, it’s important to work together and represent strength.  Another important thing is the attitude. A right attitude sets things right. Like, while dealing with employee problem, it good to stay positive and confident, this way you think rational as well as generate trust in the employee.
7. Sharpen the saw – With globalization and technological evolution, it has become important for an HR professional to evolve himself with the ever-transforming business environment. Social media and technology help a lot to keep one abreast with the job expectations. One must learn and adapt to new means of updating knowledge and not just relying on conventional leanings and methods.

The 7 habits by Stephen Covey are truly helpful for everyone and in every profession. All it’s needed is to practice and follow them .