HR manager.

In the following section, you'll find out what responsibilities you have and what your daily tasks as an HR manager will entail.

As an HR manager, you can take on various roles. The most important among them are:

• HR generalist: As an HR generalist, you are responsible for all tasks related to personnel. You handle workforce planning, recruit staff, and are in charge of personnel administration. In smaller companies, you are usually directly subordinate to the management team.
• HR specialist: As an HR specialist, you focus on a specific area of human resource management (HRM). For example, you might be responsible for recruitment, employer branding, staff development, or personnel scheduling.
• Head of human resources administration: As the head of personnel management, you are responsible for all administrative processes in the HR department. In many companies, this also includes time tracking and payroll management.
• HR department manager: As an HR department manager, you are responsible for the entire personnel management within a specific area of the company.

In small businesses, generalists are mainly employed, whereas in larger companies, you tend to specialise in a specific area of HRM.

how much do I earn as a HR manager in a permanent position?

As an HR manager, you'll be well paid. The starting salary for a full-time position is around 80,000 Swiss francs per year (including bonuses), according to recent salary surveys. On average, you can expect to earn about 94,000 Swiss francs as an HR Director. After a few years of experience, depending on your responsibilities and employer, you could be looking at an annual salary of between 100,000 and 125,000 Swiss francs.

For an HR manager role, unlike a medical or legal profession, you don't need a specific qualification. Many HR professionals have studied business administration or psychology at university or university of applied sciences. During a bachelor's or master's degree in business administration, there are opportunities to specialise in HR management at various universities and universities of applied sciences. Combined with work experience, a completed vocational training as a merchant with an E- or M-profile also provides a solid foundation for a career in HR.

what further training opportunities are available?

You significantly improve your prospects of securing a position as a human resources manager by undertaking one of the many professional development courses in personnel management. A solid starting point is the certificate examination as an HR assistant. Building on that, after four years of work experience and attending part-time vocational training, you can sit the professional examination for HR specialists (specialising in in-house HR management). This, in turn, forms the basis for the higher vocational examination to become a nationally recognised qualified human resources manager. Alternatively, after passing the professional exam, you can also enrol in a postgraduate diploma course to become a certified HR manager at a higher technical college.

In addition to higher technical schools, universities of applied sciences and universities also offer postgraduate programmes in the field of HR management. These are usually completed with a master of business administration (MBA), a master of advanced studies (mas), a certificate of advanced studies (CAS), or a diploma of advanced studies (DAS). Furthermore, there is a wide range of certificate courses available to help you expand your expertise in areas such as management, leadership, coaching, or organisational psychology.

With the exception of very small businesses, almost all companies have HR managers. In smaller organisations, you as the HR officer are responsible for the full range of HR tasks, from workforce planning and recruitment to personnel administration. Often, you serve as both HR manager and HR director in one role. The larger the organisation you work for, the more specialised your job becomes. Depending on the industry, different areas of expertise take centre stage. In knowledge-intensive sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry or IT, for example, staff development plays a key role. Meanwhile, in companies with shift work, workforce scheduling is of particular importance.

Many HR professionals have completed studies in business administration or psychology, or possess a basic commercial qualification. However, there are various routes to success in the HR field. There isn't just one career path leading to a role as an HR manager. As a career changer, you also have good prospects. The key requirement is that you bring a certain level of professional and leadership experience. Industry knowledge and soft skills such as communication abilities, assertiveness, and empathy also play an important role in the hiring process. Additionally, your career prospects can be improved by furthering your education in HR. In this context, the higher fachprüfung as head of human resources or a comparable postgraduate diploma at a fachschule or university of applied sciences is particularly recommended.

Personnel managers make an important contribution to achieving company objectives. Accordingly, as an HR manager, you have promising career prospects. Depending on the level within the organisation, you could progress to roles such as senior HR manager, HR director, or HR business partner. Additionally, you have the opportunity to become an HR director and thus shape the entire personnel policy of your organisation. In some companies, as an HR director or chief human resources officer (CHRO), you may even be a member of the executive management team. Beyond that, you could also move into the consulting sector and become a advisor specialising in workforce planning, recruitment, remuneration, staff development, or diversity.

To become a HR manager, you need both professional and interpersonal skills. These particularly include:

• Communication skills: As a HR manager, you need to have above-average communication abilities. These will assist you in negotiations with candidates and employees, as well as in conveying difficult decisions.
• Leadership skills: HR management is a leadership responsibility. That means you need empathy, assertiveness, and the ability to motivate people.
• Networking skills: To find the right talent for your company, you need reliable networks. Networking skills are therefore essential for HR professionals.
• Strategic thinking: When it comes to workforce planning, it’s your responsibility to align the staffing levels with the organisational needs. This requires forward-looking and strategic thinking.
• Proactivity: When employee issues arise, you need to respond immediately to prevent them from escalating. A proactive approach also helps you stay up-to-date with new trends in workplace culture or technology.

There are many good reasons to work at Randstad as an HR manager:

✓ exciting jobs at well-known companies
✓ a reliable point of contact whenever you need one, personalised advice matters
✓ attractive employment conditions and good social benefits
✓ further education courses and personal development opportunitie
✓ clear information in the myRandstad app
✓ do you have a fixed-term contract? Often, there’s the opportunity to secure a permanent position afterwards. Many well-known companies also recruit their staff directly through Randstad.

your continuing education budget as an HR manager at randstad.

If you work as a production worker for Randstad, you have access to training courses. As part of the TempTraining programme from swissstaffing, you can attend training sessions. You will get the course fees reimbursed later, provided you pass the course exam. Your consultant from Randstad is there to support you if you have any questions. This way, you can also gain additional language skills or job-specific knowledge. And all of this is during your working hours as an HR manager.

Have you found your dream job as an HR manager? It's not just qualifications and certificates that determine the success of your applications. Careful, error-free, and personalised documents will definitely help you in your job search. Here are a few useful tips to optimise your chances:

Here you will find frequently asked questions about the role of HR manager.