WHAT DOES AN HR LEADER DO?

Updated: Oct 07, 2025 - The Human Resources (HR) Leader partners with plant leadership to shape a high-performance, inclusive culture by implementing talent management strategies and driving employee engagement initiatives. This role involves leading employee relations, ensuring compliance with policies and regulations, and advancing safety and appreciation programs that foster a productive and caring work environment. The leader also contributes to business strategy, drives recruiting efforts, and supports organizational agility to attract, develop, and retain a diverse, top-performing workforce.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for HR Leader

1. HR Leader Details

  • Talent Acquisition: Interview and screen applicants, recruit prospective team members, and coordinate searches with hiring managers
  • Employee Engagement: Increase team member commitment and maintain positive employee relations by facilitating communication and problem resolution
  • Leadership Partnership: Partner with functional and operational leaders
  • Performance Cycle: Complete the performance management and talent management cycle
  • Training Support: Prepare team leaders and team members on interaction and interpersonal skills by recommending training programs
  • Individual Support: Provide one-on-one counseling and advice
  • Policy Coaching: Increase the understanding and consistent application of company policies, procedures, and practices through training, coaching, and one-on-one communication
  • Personnel Review: Review and monitor assigned personnel actions or decisions
  • Legal Compliance: Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local legislation
  • Ethics Compliance: Observe and promote adherence to all ethical standards
  • HR Process Design: Create efficient HR administrative processes by applying continuous improvement measures and methods
  • CI Participation: Support and participate in the division's continuous improvement initiatives

2. HR Leader Accountabilities

  • Strategic Partnership: Build strategic partnerships with leadership on business issues and identify innovative and customer-oriented human resources solutions that are based on finance operations objectives to drive strategy execution and protect business assets
  • HR Analytics: Collaborate on the development of metrics and analytics to assess the overall human and organizational health of the business to influence decisions and deliver meaningful insights
  • Trend Analysis: Use business and industry trend expertise to identify gaps and anticipate the impact of changes on the workforce and business
  • Value Creation: Continuously identify opportunities to drive value in the business and pursue the resources needed for support
  • Talent Guidance: Guide, coach and influence business leaders on making better talent decisions to drive strategy execution and business performance
  • Capability Building: Develop and build new capabilities in the business
  • Talent Strategy: Serve as an experienced advisor on the leadership team to lead a talent strategy and ensure business objectives are achieved
  • Thought Leadership: Provide expert thought leadership in the field and work with limited direction, using additional research and interpretation to identify issues or problems
  • Team Leadership: Provide direction to supporting team members and be a strategic contributor

3. HR Leader Job Summary

  • Talent Acquisition: Recruitment and selection of personnel
  • Audit Compliance: Attend internal and external audits
  • Labor Relations: Responsible for labor relations management
  • Legal Compliance: Comply with the legal requirements for quality and safety systems
  • HR Reporting: Generating reports and KPIs of the human resources area
  • Employee Support: Attending to the employees' necessities and requirements
  • Union Management: Responsible for Union Management
  • Talent Development: Responsible for training and talent development
  • NOM-035 Implementation: Responsible for NOM-035 implementation
  • Workplace Wellness: Promote a healthy work environment

4. HR Leader Additional Details

  • Employee Relations: Responsible for employee relations and dispute resolution
  • Culture & Engagement: Drive engagement and owns Enterprise Value Proposition/Culture
  • Labor Relations: Responsible for labor relations (grievance processing, contract negotiation, contract interpretation)
  • Succession Planning: Develop and maintain company-wide Succession Planning
  • Compensation Admin: Responsible for compensation Administration (both union and non-union)
  • Benefits Management: Responsible for benefits and 401 (k) administration for both union and non-union employee groups
  • Policy Compliance: Responsible for policy and Employment Law administration, as well as HR legal compliance
  • Internal Communication: Responsible for planning communications
  • Payroll Administration: Responsible for payroll administration
  • Talent Acquisition: Lead hourly staffing and recruitment specialist as well as perform recruitment, selection, development and retention planning for manager, supervision, administrative, and leadership roles
  • Process Improvement: Support continuous improvement initiatives in both manufacturing and HR functions
  • Policy Development: Develop and administer policies, performance review systems and disciplinary processes
  • Travel Requirement: Travel required to Plymouth, IN, and Lawrence, KS, facilities in addition to various meetings, trainings, conferences, etc
  • HR Team Leadership: Lead, manage and develop HR staff in Lawrence, Bluffton and Plymouth
  • Leadership Contribution: Contribute member of the Senior Leadership Team

5. Country HR Leader for Customer Services Key Responsibilities

  • HR Leadership: Responsible for all areas of HR for this client group, including developing a strategic partnership with its business leaders, recruiting, associate engagement, leadership and talent development, performance management, organizational development, compensation and communications
  • Global Collaboration: Network driving and supporting global initiatives with team members in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region
  • HR Experience: Responsible for ongoing HR improvements to ensure the best associate experience is provided, while providing critical leadership and coaching to business leaders
  • Strategic HR Support: Play both a hands-on and strategic role
  • Provide Human Resources leadership and expertise in areas of Employee Relations, Coaching/Development, Compensation, Conflict Management, Organizational Development/Design, Employee Engagement and much more
  • HR Program Delivery: Initiates and drives HR programs and initiatives within the organization and will coach clients who lead small to large teams
  • Solution Innovation: Develop innovative solutions to deliver results, and champion Amazon’s culture and values
  • Talent Partnership: Partner closely with leaders to build customer-obsessed teams and continuously help find, grow and retain the best talent available

6. HR Leader Details and Accountabilities

  • HR Leadership: Provide leadership and expertise for the full scope of Human Resource (HR) functions, including all aspects of professional relations, hourly employee relations, employee benefits, compensation, employee involvement, practices, training, organizational change and development and communications for client groups
  • Talent Management: Perform a leadership role in recruiting, selection, performance management, and career development, including high-volume hourly hiring as the industry recovers
  • Org Design: Consult with the clients to define roles/missions and design the organizational structure to support the shop that produces turbine airfoils and additively manufactured aviation parts
  • Lean Transformation: Drive Lean Culture Transformation in partnership with the leadership team that focuses on respect for people and continuous improvement every day
  • Compensation Strategy: Provide counsel in the design and implementation of compensation and recognition programs
  • HR Training: Provide support or deliver training on a variety of Human Resources topics, including interviewing and EEO compliance
  • Design Review: Conduct annual reviews of organizational design
  • Internal Communication: Facilitate communications throughout the organization, including employee attitude surveys
  • Fair Advocacy: Act as an impartial advocate to ensure that all individuals receive fair and equitable treatment
  • Change Management: Develop appropriate Human Resource plans in support of key business needs in a dynamic, changing environment and develop/implement appropriate change management plans

7. HR Leader Role Purpose

  • HR Strategy Deployment: Deploy global/standardized HR strategy in partnership with Business leaders
  • Business Alignment: Drive the achievement of business objectives in the following areas, including organizational design, succession planning, career management, performance management, and workforce planning
  • Culture Building: Drive a strong culture through the application of organizational development interventions, coaching and business partnership with leadership
  • Matrix Leadership: Lead the HR team through a matrix
  • Talent Insights: Access and derive insights from the HR Dashboard of talent analytics
  • Talent Development: Inform talent strategies in the development of diverse leadership talent and technical capability across the business
  • Cultural Strategy: Partner with the Global or Cross Sector Function leaders to shape and define culture, Credo, employee engagement and change initiatives and implementation plans
  • Capability Planning: Identify key capabilities aligned with business goals, conduct gap analysis and develop and implement buy/build strategies in partnership with business leaders
  • HR Portfolio Management: Manage the portfolio of HR work for a region and sector in support of business goals, enterprise and sector HR strategies
  • HR Team Management: Manage the HR team, either through direct reporting or through the matrix
  • Change Communication: Play a consultative role in employee communication in change initiatives within client groups
  • Process Discipline: Instill cultural discipline to ensure global deployment of core processes and programs across the sector/region

8. HR Leader Duties and Roles

  • HR Strategy: Partner with management to identify, implement and execute HR programs
  • Business Outcomes: Responsible for business outcomes such as organizational planning, talent management, performance management, alignment of compensation rewards to performance, and employee engagement throughout
  • HR Operations: Oversee and manage all round HR activity, from strategic to transactional and operational HR, including payroll, social security administration, social benefits and monthly reporting
  • Team Collaboration: Work together with the HR team, ensuring all are working on clear objectives which underpin the success of the HR and business goals and in line with Sovos values and leadership competencies
  • Manager Coaching: Coach managers and supervisors with the main focus on alignment between the vision and goals of the regional and/or global HR objectives, which are translated into objectives for LATAM and/or a specific line of business (LOB)
  • Process Development: Promote the development and implementation of HR processes, systems and programs that promote the business goals
  • Org Structure: Coach managers/supervisors to set up appropriate and simple organizational structures with clear accountability, reporting lines and line-of-sight
  • Talent Development: Work with Global Practice Leads to execute learning and development and talent management, through promoting a culture of continuous learning, either to keep up with business, or to excel and further improve
  • Strategic Translation: Outline the regional and/or global HR strategic initiatives in a local environment and translate regional/global initiatives into a local context
  • HR Excellence: Drive HR functional excellence and take it to the next level
  • HR Improvement: Identify improvement needs for HR to better promote business goals

9. HR Leader Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Benefits Support: Communicate and administer the employee benefit program in the assigned group by explaining benefit programs, resolving team member questions and problems, researching or reconciling information
  • HR Analytics: Conduct reporting analytics
  • Team Participation: Participate and/or lead a high-performing team
  • Legislative Awareness: Maintain up-to-date knowledge of existing and new legislation and obtain opinions from legal counsel
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with requirements and reduce potential company liability
  • HR Advisory: Advises management on appropriate actions
  • Confidentiality Management: Maintain team leader and team member confidence and prevent the disclosure of confidential information
  • Internal Investigations: Conduct confidential internal investigations into a variety of Human Resources or other business matters
  • Knowledge Development: Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing business or HR-related publications, establishing industry networks, and/or participating in professional associations
  • Time & Benefits: Assists with time management and benefit questions, including the open enrollment process
  • Team Supervision: Supervise department team members and assign/prioritize team member tasks
  • Task Contribution: Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related tasks

10. HR Leader Responsibilities

  • Culture Development: Partner with plant leadership teams to create the right culture by using the company’s talent management strategies and systems
  • Team Leadership: Lead teams to support improving employee relations and increasing employee morale
  • Inclusive Environment: Accelerate business outcomes by influencing leaders and employees to foster an inclusive environment
  • Talent Retention: Drive a culture of appreciation to attract, develop and retain the most talented and diverse people who will support Owens Corning’s (OC) business needs of today and in the future
  • Safety Engagement: Support safety and engagement programs to ensure every leader and employee is engaged and cares for others, starting with safety
  • Employee Relations: Lead employee relations to ensure the team is performing at the highest level
  • Policy Compliance: Work with other field HR Leaders to ensure consistent execution of company policy and practices and compliance with all statutory regulations, to avoid litigation and third-party intervention
  • Work Environment: Build, assess, and sustain a work environment that is safe, productive and engaging that fully engages all employees in desired outcomes
  • Change Leadership: Guide and sustain organizational change, supporting an agile, global organization that continually evolves and capitalizes on the competitive landscape
  • Business Strategy: Contribute to general business strategy discussions outside of the HR arena
  • Recruitment Support: Drive recruiting efforts within the plant to attract and retain top talent in the hourly and salaried plant roles
  • Labor Market Adaptation: Utilize innovative strategies to adapt to an evolving labor market in the area
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Connect with key internal and external stakeholders for best practice sharing and utilization
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