One of the biggest mistakes companies make is overlooking the importance of human resources – and those in the property management business are no exception. You can’t operate a successful organization unless you have the right people and without an HR manager, you can’t get those good people through the door. By filling this role, you’ll end up with a seasoned leader who can turn your human capital into a source of sustainable competitive advantage.
If your company is ready to make the move and hire an HR leader, it’s essential that you look for candidates with the appropriate skillset. Here are three critical skills that are precursors for success.
Storytelling Ability
Currently, there are more open jobs than there are candidates to fill them. This means that competition for talent is at an all-time high. In order to staff your property management company with the best in the industry, your HR leader must be able to effectively sell candidates on why joining your team is their best option. This process begins with the job description and carries all the way through to the offer letter and requires the innate ability to tell a compelling story.
In job postings, on social media and on various career sites, HR leaders must be capable of communicating the key benefits of working for your company. This goes well beyond traditional benefits, like health insurance and retirement plans, and extends to things like the chance for career advancement, professional development opportunities and anything else that sets your firm apart from others in the property management industry.
The bottom line: HR leaders need to be exceptional storytellers in order to get job seekers excited at the possibility of working for you – especially in today’s tight labor market.
Strong Communication and Interpersonal Skills
In addition to producing great content that will attract top talent, HR leaders are also responsible for communicating with a variety of different audiences – from job candidates to existing employees to fellow executives and more. This requires a high degree of finesse.
HR leaders must keep the lines of communication open with prospective new employees so that they stay engaged throughout the hiring process. They must also connect and communicate regularly with current employees, whether it’s to answer questions about benefits, collect feedback or resolve an HR issue.
Finally, HR leaders must routinely interact with fellow leaders to keep them abreast of what’s going on in terms of the people side of the business and to assist in strategic developments and improvements that keep the business driving forward. None of these activities can be done successfully without impeccable interpersonal skills.
People Analytics
Data analytics isn’t just something for IT to worry about. To the contrary, people analytics has become one of the most buzz-worthy topics amongst those in human resources today. In fact, according to a recent study, one of the most noteworthy shifts in HR recently has been an increased focus on data. Having an HR leader who has the skills necessary to leverage the power of data can give your property management company distinct advantage over the competition.
People analytics can be leveraged by HR leaders to increase workforce productivity, which can boost profitability for the company as a whole. For instance, HR leaders can utilize data to streamline the hiring process, increasing efficiency and decreasing time to hire. Or, they can analyze data to measure employee satisfaction levels and implement strategies to develop happier, more productive teams.
Of course, these are just a few of the many important skills you should look for when hiring an HR leader to join your team. Knowing what critical skillsets to hire for will save you time and help you choose a candidate that will set your property management company up for ongoing success.
