Your human resources department is the support system for your employees and, as a result, is a pivotal component in the wellbeing and productivity of your entire company.
HR associates use analytical data and observe the workplace to provide long-term solutions and the necessary resources for employees to succeed. This attention to detail and proactive action creates a company culture of innovation and prosperity.
Nonetheless, an HR department without a high-achieving leader may hinder the success of the department and company.
For this reason, it is necessary to take the appropriate steps to identify a quality VP of Human Resources that can leverage their expertise to the benefit of your company.
Continue reading to learn more about the VP of Human Resources responsibilities and how to identify candidates that can support your business success. In this article, we will examine the following:
- VP of Human Resources Job Description
- VP of Human Resources Resume
- VP of Human Resources Interview Topics
- VP of Human Resources Interview Questions
- VP of Human Resources Salary
A Comprehensive Guide to Hiring for a VP of Human Resources Role
VP of Human Resources Job Description
Start on the right foot—attract accomplished candidates with a comprehensive VP of HR job description.
The job description is often the first introduction that candidates have to the company. For this reason, it is important to delve deep and give the prospective candidate a decisive idea about who the company is, what its goal is, and how the candidate might fit into the operation.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of important VP of Human Resources responsibilities and other factors to consider when building your VP of Human Resources job description.
VP of Human Resources Job Summary
Your job summary should set the foundation for what is expected of professionals in this role. These expectations include broad goals as well as specific tasks and goals a candidate must meet.
For example, you may include that you’re hiring a qualified candidate who has experience overseeing large populations. More specifically, the goal that the company may want the candidate to achieve is to increase employee retention by 15% over six months.
By creating a job summary that details these expectations, you have also created a valuable tool to evaluate your candidates and their capabilities individually and against one another.
VP of Human Resources Responsibilities
There is a wide variety of unique VP of Human Resources responsibilities you can consider including in your job description; nonetheless, the most important responsibilities to include must be relevant to your company.
To give you an idea of the range of responsibilities that a VP of Human Resources can fulfill, we’ve compiled a list of responsibilities below.
- Manage payroll and benefits
- Create and implement new company policies
- Review current company policies for compliance
- Supervise the interview, hiring, and training processes
- Communicate company policies with employees
- Provide leadership for the entire Human Resources department
- Encourage feedback from employees to improve company processes
All in all, this list is a starting point for you to narrow the focus of relevant job responsibilities for your job description. The responsibilities that you feature will depend on your company’s mission and vision. Accordingly, the responsibilities that you find relevant may differ from another company’s job listing.
VP of Human Resources Resume
Now that you have a better understanding of your VP of Human Resources job description, you’ll next identify necessary candidate qualifications.
You must determine what you define as the right combination of experience and skills for a candidate to fit the role properly. In doing so, you can streamline the candidate resume review process.
The overall factors to look for in an ideal VP of Human Resources resume should include the following:
- Education: A majority of industries require a candidate to hold a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, a more favorable candidate will have a degree in a relevant field. Common degrees to consider are human resources management and business administration.
- Experience: Having experience in the industry is often a necessity. Specifically, for a VP of Human Resources, you can look at the impact your candidate has had in places such as policies they created and/or implemented at past jobs.
- Skills: A candidate should have a good mix of both hard and soft skills that are relevant to the role. As a VP of Human Resources, the candidate’s skill set should include interpersonal, communication, and analytical skills.
VP of Human Resources Interview Process
There is only so much information that you can learn from a candidate’s resume, references, and so on. In this case, the interview process is the logical next step.
The hiring manager can delve deep into particular aspects of the candidate’s education or relevant experience that caught their eye. Likewise, candidates have the opportunity to assess whether employment at the company is appropriate.
To make the most of your interview, ask open-ended role-specific interview questions, and allow the candidate to respond how they see fit.
VP of Human Resources Interview Questions
Below, we’ve listed a few sample interview questions for you to gain an idea of how you can develop your personalized VP of Human Resources interview questions:
- How do you define employee engagement? The role of a VP of HR is to ensure the function of the HR department and the company. Employee engagement is a small but significant factor in everyday operations. The candidate should be able to identify qualifiers—like productivity, retention, and satisfaction—as metrics to determine employee engagement.
- How do you motivate your employees? Are there different methods you use for different demographics? The intrinsic duty of an HR professional is to motivate employees to achieve high levels of success. Unfortunately, there is no one formula to support employee communication across all demographics. For example, one demographic may be motivated by the prospect of a pay raise while another may delight in the opportunity to participate in professional development programs. For this reason, HR leaders must continue to assess how they interact with diverse populations.
- Tell me how you have dealt with a team challenge at your previous position. An important skill to assess is conflict resolution, especially in Human Resources professionals. Professionals in this position are often commissioned as mitigators to resolve issues in-house. That being said, they should have experience or a detailed process to outline how they have or will deal with conflict in the workplace.
VP of Human Resources Salary
A VP of Human Resources plays an integral role in the daily function of a company and its successes and should be compensated accordingly.
Salary and other compensation factors are heavily reliant on education, experience, location, and industry. For this reason, it is difficult, if not impossible, to pinpoint a one-size-fits-all compensation package. Nonetheless, as a general benchmark, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for a human resources manager* is $113,300.
*Take notice that the salary is listed under human resources manager and should be adjusted accordingly based on the previously mentioned factors.
All in all, it pays to pay well for an experienced professional that can improve employee satisfaction and productivity.
Streamline Your Search for the Perfect VP of Human Resources
As you’ve observed, many factors go into identifying the appropriate VP of Human Resources. Understandably, searching for a candidate can be daunting. Thankfully, you can make the process easier by partnering with a skilled executive search firm.
For over two decades, Recruiterie has helped businesses across the country build successful teams with quality candidates. To champion success, Recruiterie’s team prioritizes knowledge acquisition about the client to craft a personalized search process that details the client’s goals and expectations.
Clients can rest assured that any candidate they receive aligns with their company’s culture. Additionally, each of these candidates has been thoroughly assessed for personality and quality fit. By doing this, Recruiterie can provide the best search solutions to clients in need.
Start the search process and find a high-achieving professional with Recruiterie! Contact the team online or call (602) 326-6820 to begin your partnership with Recruiterie.