Dear Sober,
I've had my share of carrying out recruitment activities for a technical company with manpower strength of 900 people. These are some of the lessons that I've learned as a recruiter :
1. Learn about the jobs, i.e. reporting line, the function, the manspec. You can get the info from the position descriptions and other operating procedures, but best to learn from the superiors of the job or the head of the department. Sometimes, it's picking up things between the line. E.g. The company that I worked for generate electricity for it's own use. Hence, the electrical engineer that I would recruit will probably be someone with power generation background. Or as in the case of recruiting marketeers, good grades alone doesn't guarantee that one can be a good marketeers...but it's the personal outlook, the personality that drives it.
2. Understand what you're recruiting for. Is it short term, as in the case of projects? Is it long term? That will determine if you're just looking at technical capability and not wholesome person. Some people have the technical excellence but not in terms of personality.
3. Understand the labor market. You may want to use a mix of permanent employment or direct hire contract, depending on the strategy. For example, there's a shortage in a particular skill, you may want to hire on contract as this will give you greater flexibility in terms of the remuneration package to be offered.
Challenges faced in HR role (depends on which role) :
1. Being stuck in the middle between the management and staff. On one hand, you're supposed to drive the management initiative and on the other hand, you're supposed to take care of the staff. Conflicts may arise between the stakeholders.
2. Understanding the business, the processes and the people involved. This will help us to strategise as to how HR can assist the business. Perhaps what can we do in the long run that will give the business a competitive edge. Besides strategising, it's also makes it easier to get buy in when you speak the lingo.
3. Keeping updated on the latest development in HR. We're supposed to be the subject matter expert and advise the organisation.
4. Ability to build and manage relationship with the staff, management and counterparts from other companies. This will come in handy as information network, or when you need to sell your idea across. I believe that to be a great HR person, one must be genuinely interested in others. Be open and yet, be firm.
5. Believes that emotion shouldn't influent your decision when it comes to disciplinary matters. There are times when we just pity the people when we carried out discplinary action but we can't afford to be too lenient as it will create precedence.
That's my 2 cents opinion.