Human resource management practice I also available by michael armstrong

Part 

1

  The Practice of Human Resource Management

42

The roles of HR professionals

The roles of HR professionals vary widely accord-

ing to the extent to which they are generalist (eg HR 

director, HR manager, HR officer), or specialist (eg 

head  of  learning  and  development,  head  of  talent 

management,  head  of  reward),  the  level  at  which 

they  work  (strategic,  executive  or  administrative) 

the  needs  of  the  organization,  the  view  of  senior 

management about their contribution, the context 

within which they work and their own capabilities. 

They can act as strategists, business partners, innova-

tors, change agents, internal consultants, facilitators 

and coaches. Tyson and Fell (1986: 7) believed that 

they were ‘specialists in managing the employment 

relationship’. The competencies required are demand-

ing. The various roles are described below.