People People – What does it mean to be a ‘people person’ in HR today? 

As HRLife approaches its 9th birthday (We know! We can't believe it either!), we've found ourselves looking back at some of the things that have been part of the business since the early days.

One of those is our strapline: ‘People People’. 

We thought long and hard about it when we first chose it. At the time, it worked for us on two levels. Firstly, when we asked HR professionals what drew them to HR and what has kept them in it, ‘people' was one of the answers we heard time and time again. HR attracted ‘people people’.

Secondly, it felt very us. Recruitment is a people business and HRLife has always been built around relationships, conversations and the HR network we've developed over many years. Getting to know people and understanding the person behind the CV and the business behind the job description, is absolutely still a huge part of what we do.

But approaching nine years in the business got us thinking…

Is ‘People People’ still as relevant today as it was when we started HRLife?

Because quite a lot has changed in those nine years!

HR has changed 

The expectations of HR have never been greater. More than ever, HR leaders are expected to think commercially, use data to inform decisions, influence at Board level, support transformation, navigate complex organisational change and demonstrate tangible business impact and all while remaining connected to the people at the heart of the organisation. 

Technology has changed enormously too. AI is rapidly becoming part of both HR and recruitment, automating tasks, analysing information and changing the way many of us work.

And yet, when we talk to clients about the HR people they want to hire, many of the things we get asked for, haven't really changed at all.

“We’re looking for a relationship builder.”

“They need to win hearts and minds.”

“Good influencing skills are essential.”

“They need to build trust.”

“They need to challenge, but take people with them.”

“High EQ is a must. They need to be able to read the room.”

“We're looking for someone who will really understand our culture.”

Which made us wonder whether ‘People People’ might actually be more relevant than ever.

Perhaps what's changed isn't the importance of being a people person in HR, but what being a ‘people person’ actually means.

Being a people person doesn't necessarily mean being an extrovert

There's sometimes an assumption that a ‘people person’ is naturally outgoing, gregarious and the person working the room at an event.

We don't think that's necessarily true.

We've met some brilliant HR professionals over the years who would describe themselves as introverts. They may not be the loudest voice in the room, but they listen incredibly well. They ask good questions. People trust them. They notice what isn't being said as much as what is.

And we've met plenty of very sociable people who aren't necessarily particularly good at those things!

For us, being a people person in HR is much more about understanding people.

It's knowing when to listen and when to speak. Being empathetic without losing objectivity. Being able to have a difficult conversation rather than avoiding one. Knowing when to challenge and how to do it constructively. Adapting your approach depending on whether you're talking to a CEO, a line manager or an employee who might be having a difficult day.

And increasingly, it's about combining all of that with commercial judgement.

Being people-focused doesn't mean always saying yes

This is perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions.

Great HR isn't about keeping everyone happy.

Sometimes the right decision for a business won't be the easiest one for its people. HR professionals can find themselves involved in restructures, redundancies, performance issues, grievances and difficult organisational change.

Being a ‘people person’ in those situations doesn't mean avoiding difficult decisions. It means handling difficult decisions well.

It means communicating clearly, listening properly, treating people with respect and understanding the impact a business decision may have while still recognising that HR is there to help the organisation succeed.

That combination of human understanding and commercial thinking is something we see clients value enormously.

And then there's AI…

It's impossible to talk about the future of HR without talking about AI.

We're already seeing it change recruitment and HR. It can analyse information, automate processes, help draft communications, identify patterns in data and take away some of the administrative workload that has historically occupied HR teams.

And that's exciting.

But perhaps rather than making the ‘people’ side of HR less important, it makes the genuinely human skills more valuable.

Technology can give you data. But knowing how that data is going to land with your leadership team requires something else.

It can help draft difficult communications. But it can't sit opposite someone and recognise that the conversation isn't going the way you'd expected.

It can give you information to support a decision. Judgement, trust, influence, curiosity and understanding the nuances of a particular organisation are harder to automate.

Those are the skills we suspect will become increasingly important as HR continues to evolve.

It's something we see in recruitment too

A CV can tell us a huge amount about someone's experience.

Where they've worked. What they've delivered. The size of the teams they've managed. The projects they've led.

Increasingly, AI can help make that CV look very polished too. Sometimes making it hard to distinguish between what someone has genuinely done and what has simply been very well presented.

But it's usually the conversation that tells us the rest.

How did they approach something? What did they learn? How do they talk about their stakeholders? Do they listen to the question? Are they curious? How do they build relationships? What sort of environment brings out their best?

And crucially, how will they work well with the people in this particular business?

It’s why, even with all the technology available to us, we still spend so much of our time talking to people. There’s something incredibly valuable about a proper conversation, getting beyond the CV, asking the extra question and really understanding the person behind the experience.

Perhaps that’s the ‘People People’ in us. And nine years on, we’re quite happy for that not to change.

Has ‘People People’ stood the test of time? 

So, as HRLife heads towards its 9th birthday, are we ready to retire  ‘People People’?

Not just yet.

The HR profession may look rather different from the one we were recruiting into nine years ago (let’s not mention recruiting in HR c20 years ago!!), but businesses are still made up of people. And the ability to understand them, influence them, challenge them and bring them with you remains one of the most valuable skills an HR professional can have, perhaps even more so in the age of ChatGPT, Claude and AI. 

Perhaps being a ‘people person’ in HR today means something broader than it once did. It’s not about simply being good with people. It’s about combining that human understanding with commercial thinking, data, technology, judgement and the confidence to challenge when needed, without losing sight of the people affected by the decisions being made.

Perhaps ‘People People’ hasn’t dated after all. Perhaps the meaning has simply grown up with HR.

And if anything, in a profession that’s becoming more technology-enabled and data-led that human element might just matter more than ever.