INTERVIEW FOR HR MANAGER
…A pre-job talk
What it takes to be an HR Manager ? [Key Skills]
Flexibility/Adaptability to Change
Continuous Learning/Development
Displays Vision
Leadership/Initiative
Interpersonal Skills
Recognizes Others’ Achievements/Contributions
Understands Others’ Perspectives
Resolves Conflicts Constructively
Planning/Organization
Problem Solving/Judgment
Makes Effective Decisions
What it takes to be an HR Manager ? [Key Skills] [contd.]
Takes Responsibility
Achieves Results
Communicates Effectively
Coaches/Counsels/Evaluates Staff
Identifies Areas for and Supports Employee Development Opportunities
Encourages Teamwork and Group Achievement
Leads Change/Achieves Support of Objectives
Enables and Empowers Staff
Understands Diversity Issues and Creates Supportive Environment for Diverse
Employees
A Typical Job Description of a Manager (HR) [ CISCO Communications]
Key Responsibilities
•Partner with senior leaders in the UK to identify the HR priorities and ensure
their delivery
•Work collaboratively with European HR Business Partners and lead the
implementation of any European led changes or initiatives
•Develop the leadership and people management skills of the Leaders
supported, challenging behaviors which are contrary to Cisco’s values and
culture
•Provide proactive support and solutions to complex Employee Relations
matters such as complex terminations and reorganizations
•Provide support to managers to enable the effective application of the
recruitment, performance management, compensation and talent
management processes
A Typical Job Description of a Manager (HR) [ CISCO Communications]
•Identify and take actions to develop leadership capability and facilitate talent
reviews
•Provide interpretation of the Employee morale survey and provide input into the
action plans
•Provide input into complex compensation decisions
•Lead improvements in UK HR policy
•Reinforce and act as an ambassador for the new HR Operating model referring
line managers to the appropriate sources of help rather than necessarily resolving
the issue
•Contribute to and lead, the development of country HR projects, programmes and
process improvement
• Manage local acquisitions and on-board transferring staff
•Coach and support the professional development of an assigned HR
Representative with matrix reporting relationship
Core Competencies
Communication and Influence
• Ability to build rapport and communicate effectively at all levels
• Ability to construct logical, credible and winning arguments that will persuade decision makers
Teamwork and Collaboration
• Working effectively with Country HR teams, Centers of Excellence and other key stakeholders
to achieve against personal and organizational objectives while supporting others to achieve
wider business/HR goals
True Business Partner
• Ability to partner at senior levels within the business and provide commercially aligned,
pragmatic solutions to business issues
• Confidence to coach the senior players in order to move the business forward
The successful candidate is likely to have
• Generalist HR Business Partner experience (in country, regional or above country level)
• Experience in working in a fast-moving sales-led culture is desirable (Technology experience not
essential)
• Experience of working in matrixed, complex, constantly changing and progressive HR environment
• A good practical understanding of Employee Relations / Employment Law and experience of
acquisitions
• Ability to 'see the wood from the trees' and to focus on creating that bigger picture in order to deliver
against priorities
• A positive, can-do and pragmatic approach to challenges and complexity
• Experience of engagement with Senior Leaders with confidence and credibility
• An organized approach to work with good prioritization skills
• A high degree of emotional intelligence, self awareness and a commitment to their personal and
professional development
THE HUNT BEGINS…
STARRING:
KUMARIL BHOWMICK & PARTHA BANNERJEE as INTERVIEW PANNEL
PARTHA DAS as HR – MANAGER CANDIDATE
ANKUR SARKAR & DIPTENDU CHAKRABORTY as NARRATORS.
Flexibility/Adaptability to Change
Tell me about a decision you made while under a lot of pressure
Tell me about a situation in which you have had to adjust to
changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?
In my previous organization , during the time of recession we
Had to go through budget cuts which meant a lot of jobs were at stake. This
Would have generated a lot of negative publicity. Since the main reason being
Funds crisis I organized an immediate senior level staff meeting with the
Respective union heads and discussed the matter. To bring down operating
Costs we cut down expenses and even removed perks for an indefinite period.
The workers were happy since they were not handed pink slips and were
Encouraged to participate in the matter. All this was achieved in a very short
Period of time of 3 days.
Leadership/Initiative
Suppose you are the captain of HMS TITANIC sometimes called ‘ Sinking
Beauty’ What are the steps that you will take as captain Haddock ?
The first step will be to determine the available resources and possible
options available to us and determining the most feasible solution.
In this case it will be determining the number of lifeboats and the total
Population onboard then initiating a evacuation sequence starting with
women and children and ensuring it execution at every step.
Also I admire Captain Haddock and Tintin is one of my favorite series.
Recognizes Others’ Achievements/Contributions
What consistent methods you use to ensure that staff feels valued
for their contributions?
In the first step we award performance linked bonuses to those who
achieves highest performance with parameters such as no of
milestones achieved , time taken , client satisfaction etc.
However to prevent employee dissatisfaction we also collect
employee feedback through indirect questionnaire. The results are
then compared with specialized computer algorithms to detect
abnormalities using rating scales and cross reference with grievance
petitions and award list prepared and if abnormalities are found we
undertake open interviewees to determine the cause. Only after
these procedures are performed the achievements and contributions
are recognized.
Resolves Conflicts Constructively
Tell me about a time when you and your previous supervisor
disagreed but you still found a way to get your point across
Well when I was new to the pervious organization once I had a
argument with my boss regarding the compensation package of newly
Recruited employees for the post of marketing executive .Top
management was arguing that the per annum amount should be not
more than Rs. 2.5lac. and there will be monthly sodex food pass of
Rs. 1500. I was opposing by the fact that there should be no food
pass but the salary should be more than Rs. 3lac. per annum. As it
will be more attracting to the newly recruited employees as they
will have more amount of cash in their hand. at last top management
agreed to the point and the salary was fixed Rs. 3.2lac per annum.
Planning/Organization
How will you organize a training program for the employees
having different competency level?
Well it depends upon the grading system of the organization.
Once the grading process is over then we will divide the
employees according to their competency level. Employees
having lower grade will be facilitated with specialized training
program keeping in mind their weak points.
Thank You
All
