6 HR Competencies to Ensure Your Team’s Success  

Gone are the days when Human Resources (HR) was strictly an administrative role. From a mere back-office function, it has transformed into a central figure in organizational development, helping plan the workforce and shape business strategy. 

To meet the demands of this shift, HR teams need a variety of competencies. However, research proves that only 21% of HR professionals have the competencies to perform optimally in the current and future work terrain. 

Let’s dive into the essential skills HR teams need to deliver on their responsibilities to their organizations. 

1. Proficiency in Tech

Tech proficiency as a skill for HR teams refers to digital literacy, which translates to specialized software knowledge that supports HR operations. It’s the ability to efficiently use digital tools, platforms, and systems such as information systems, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), data analysis tools, learning management systems, communication platforms, and security tools.

It’s said that technology will not replace great HR professionals, but HR professionals who don’t embrace technology will be replaced. Tech proficiency upgrades HR functions by building efficiency and automation into the process, powering data-driven decision making, and boosting recruitment and overall employee experience. By helping HR teams work better, competency in tech guarantees job satisfaction and organizational growth.      

2. Communication Skills

A staple in any conversation about HR competencies, communication is the ability of HR professionals to clearly and effectively convey, receive, and interpret information across various formats, organization levels, and audiences. Whether verbal or written, communication is crucial to building trust, managing workplace conflicts, powering the implementation of HR initiatives, and supporting successful change management. 

Communication skills serve the HR team by ensuring that all members are in alignment about processes, priorities, and objectives. Facilitating knowledge sharing and reinforcing a strong team culture allows the team to function as a strategic, cohesive unit.     

3. Cultural Competency

People are different, and the ability to recognize, appreciate, respect, and effectively interact with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, identities, and experiences is what cultural competency is all about. With diversity, equity, and inclusion being hot topics, cultural competency serves as the lens through which every HR decision must pass. It ensures that workplace practices accommodate cultural differences, reduce bias, and eliminate systemic inequities. 

Cultural competency is imperative to effectively manage global and remote teams because it facilitates the understanding of varying cultural norms. It also helps organizations comply with anti-discrimination laws. The broader HR team benefits from cultural competency because they’re better positioned to contribute more meaningfully to the organization’s DEI aspirations.         

4. Strategic Thinking and Problem-Solving

A vital HR competency is strategic thinking and problem-solving. It’s the ability of HR professionals to anticipate challenges, analyze tricky situations to identify root causes of challenges, and develop practical and data-informed solutions that align with the organization’s overarching vision and objectives.

This double-pronged skill is crucial to shaping the organization’s direction and performance. And that’s because it determines the alignment of HR with business goals, ensures sustainable solutions that address the foundational causes of problems, and enables proactive decision-making. 

HR teams that possess this competency are better positioned to contribute meaningfully to enterprise-level discussions and even influence C-suite decisions; this is because they have collective credibility. Such teams also enjoy a unified and efficient approach, as everyone on the team applies a calculated mindset and structured problem-solving methods.     

5. Agility

The modern-day workplace is a melting pot of DEI priorities, remote work expectations, and AI adoption. Organizations also need to navigate major changes such as mergers, acquisitions, other forms of restructuring, and even new tech adoption.

In the face of a cascade of changes, agility keeps HR relevant. Agility in the HR context is the ability of HR professionals to effectively and quickly adapt to changing business needs, workforce dynamics, and external environments. It involves key components such as:

• Speed and time management 
• Sound judgement 
• Learning mindset 
• Resilience under pressure
• Positive people-focused outcomes  

When HR teams are agile, they can respond quickly to organizational demands and collaborate efficiently. Agility can power experimentation by creating a safe space for testing new HR initiatives.         

6. Emotional Intelligence

Of all HR competencies, emotional intelligence (EQ) is the most subliminal, yet immensely influential. This capacity to understand, recognize, and manage emotions in oneself and others implies HR professionals applying emotional awareness to all decisions, interactions, and people strategies in ways that foster empathy, inclusion, and psychological safety.

As an HR skill, emotional intelligence might not be written in an organization’s policy manual, but it determines how policies are delivered and received. It shapes trust and ensures team members feel seen, heard, and valued.  

HR teams that lack emotional intelligence are bound to struggle with low morale, burnout, and turnover. Also, such teams will deal with low influence within the organization. 

If your HR team possesses these different competencies, they’re sure to thrive in the current business ecosystem. Find out how you can use Jules, our AI Copilot, to help upskill your HR team.