Description of the Director of Human Resources

The director of human resources is an executive level position in the human resources department. In order for a business or organization to have this executive position, they have to be a large enough company to fund different level positions in the human resources department. The main responsibility of the director of human resources is the organization, design, and especially direction and implementation of policies and practices. Part of this responsibility is to report to the senior executives of the organization or company for their thoughts and direction on the policies that are being developed.

This relationship between the director of human resources and the senior executives is crucial to the operation of the company or organization in order for efficiency of policy and implementation of policy to run as smoothly as possible. This is where the interpersonal skills of the director play a huge role. They have to be able to communicate effectively with the higher ups in the company and then communicate that conversation into the policy. From there, the director must communicate the policies to the other employees and implement the policy appropriately. They have to be capable of providing direction to the other staff in a professional and non-offensive manner. The director of human resources is very much the bridge between the senior executives and the other employees of the business or organization.

The policies that are created are often responsible for how well the business is functioning. Therefore the director of human resources must be educated in the arenas of policy writing and implementation as well as in business. They must have an education of business background in order to properly communicate the purpose and direction of the business appropriately. When the director is writing policy there needs to be an understanding of the overall function of the business. The policies are directing the business and therefore should include the purpose of the business.

Because the director of human resources is often the bridge between the senior executives and the employers they must also be able to address and resolve conflict. This makes conflict management and mediation another valuable skill for a director. They must be able to approach conflict in a professional manner keeping the values and the priorities of the business in mind. Conflict management and mediation training is something that businesses often look for on resumes but are usually only preferences and not necessary qualifications. The director is in a management position and therefore previous experience in the human resources field is typically a job requirement.