Steve White, HR recruitment, Badenoch & Clark

Most people only encounter HR professionals when they have a specific problem. Maybe they need to book some training, or have a query over their latest pay-check. But generally speaking, most of us simply put a call into the HR department, have a quick chat with whoever picks up, and then get on with the rest of our day.

The truth of the matter, though, is that human resources as a profession has become increasingly complicated and specialised as business needs have developed in the UK. Scan down the latest job-board and you’ll still see a lot of very specialist titles. If you scratch beneath the surface though, you’re likely to uncover a slowly changing picture.

SPECIALIST ROLE, GENERALIST DUTIES

Like a lot of workplace trends today, the change we’re seeing in HR roles is being driven in large part by the current economic environment. Increasing pressure and straining workloads have led to many employers looking to stretch their current resources as far as they possible can.

The practical impact of this for HR specialists is that they are increasingly being asked to include more generalist duties within their role. While job titles remain unaffected, the roles they pertain to are being widened. Support specialists who enjoy seasonal work or whose work tends to be project based, such as within compensation and benefits, are seeing more generalist HR duties being added to their to-do list.

This trend sticks out like a sore thumb when you look at the job specifications from employers looking to recruit HR specialists. The most popular mix now sees employers seeing 70% of the remit being specialist and a sizable 30% being generalist.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

In the short term, this is probably a good thing for HR generalists. It means they are more likely to be able to get their foot in the “specialist” door. If a generalist is at a stage where they are keen to develop a specialism, employers are more likely to take them on board because of their generalist strengths, putting effort in to develop their specialist skill-set wherever appropriate.

For those that are already specialists, it will likely mean a small change of focus. Professionals that have enjoyed being able to concentrate on their own corner of HR may well need to get their hands a bit more dirty with the day-to-day HR work. It doesn’t however mean the end of the specialist – senior £60k+ specialists remaining unaffected is testament to this. In-depth knowledge will always be needed in specific areas; it may simply need to be blended with more general duties up to mid-level, whilst the economy struggles and employers are under pressure.

If you’re looking for a new role, the most practical piece of advice that comes out of all of this is to be 100% sure you read the job specification thoroughly. Also, learn as much as you can about the role from your recruitment contact. It’s one of those common-sense pieces of advice we should all be doing anyway, but it will take on a new relevance as this trend begins to gather pace.

The danger is that you could apply for a recruitment role, prepare all the great examples of where you’ve framed and delivered outstanding recruitment programmes, arrive at the interview and spend half of it being asked about your wider HR experience.

THE FUTURE

I’ve already hinted that this may be a relatively short-lived trend. Certainly, one would expect that, when the economy does start to pick up again, employers will be able to begin investing more in their people. The need for pure HR specialists would therefore pick up again.

The problem is that no-one quite knows how long the economy will take to get back on its feet again. The glass-half-empty types out there have even gone as far as to say that it may take up to five years, and even when it does recover it will look completely different.

The safest way forward is to start brushing up again on your broad HR skills and make sure you stay as flexible as possible. Specialist knowledge will always be needed, but the HR generalist could be set to make a big comeback if this trend continues.