Developing Professional Practice

1. Professionalism
The Oxford English Dictionary states the following meanings of the word ‘professional’:
1. ‘a person engaged or qualified in a profession’
2. ‘a person competent or skilled in a particular activity’
In other words, an HR professional needs to have the necessary ability, knowledge and skills in the field of people management. However, that is not enough. One also has to be able to apply them in a consistent manner, i.e. one has to be professional at all times, at the same, high, level. This means that it is important for a professional to continue to develop his/her competence, taking into consideration the continuously changing environment and demands.

The CIPD has
Every organisation should therefore aim to have a high number of, if not only, ‘thinking performers’ across all departments.

3. Typical Scenarios for an HR Advisor
In order to remain effective and to play a valuable role in the organisation, any HR professional will need to focus his/her energy on managing the direct working environment, including him/her-self. This can be visualised by four concentric circles:

Obviously, one’s effectiveness starts with one self. The HR professional will take a pro-active role and will take responsibility for his/her own development and performance, instead of waiting for others to take the lead.

Most HR professionals will at one point in their career work as part of a team. Therefore it is also important to develop a thorough understanding of teams and their functioning, including one’s own role and behaviour.

A key role of the HR professional is advising and supporting other key-players, such as front-line managers. It is therefore essential that the HR professional is also able to manage across the organisation. (S)he should be able to look beyond his/her own domain, relate to a wide variety of stakeholders and be able to asses and meet their needs.

Finally, the HR professional should be able to manage upwards, i.e. senior managers. This should be aimed at building up