Role of the Line Manager

Benefits of line managers being more involved in HR activities:

1. The line managers relationship with their employees may improve as they are working more intimately with them.

2. The line managers will be more likely to solve the day-to-day problems of the business (e.g. punctuality) because they are monitoring their employees more closely.

3. Line managers may be more motivated because they are epowered with more responsibility. (Brown, 2008, p.4). This may result in increased productivity and efficiency.

4. Line managers may learn new skills that could benefit the business as they will be carrying out new and unfamiliar tasks.

5. As their is a clearer picture of the employees progress (because of the link between the Line managers and the HR department), the Line managers can plan with greater certainty [Anon 1.] [n.d.].

Drawbacks of line managers being more involved in HR activities:

1. The relationship between the line managers and the HR department may worsen as the HR department may lose their independence.

2. The line managers are reliant on the HR department to do their job effectively and efficiently. (Redman and Wilkinson, 2006, p.216). If this is not the case, it may reflect badly on the line managers.

3. Existing policies and procedures may be inefficient and or outdated in order to accommodate the link between the line managers and the HR department.

4. The line managers have many duties and therefore have a lack of time to do the HR department's work well. (Redman and Wilkinson, 2006, p.215).

5. The line managers may not have the skills necessary to carry out certain functions of the HR department because they don't specialise in HR.

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/maneco/general/rolefrntlinemngers.htm

Understanding skills - I think that line managers need to develop good understanding skills in order to effectively manage people because if a line manager cannot understand an employee's problem, the line manager won't be able to take the necessary steps to solve the problem that an employee has.

Problem-solving skills - I think that line managers need to develop good problem-solving skills in order to effectively manage people because if an employee approaches a line manager that has no or little problem-solving skills with a problem, the line manager won't be able to solve the problem or solve the problem effectively.

Communication skills - I think that line managers need to develop good communication skills in order to effectively manage people because if an employee can't communicate with his or her line manager, the line manager won't be able to solve any problems that are present in the workplace.

Motivation skills - I think that line managers need to develop good motivation skills in order to effectively manage people because if an employee is becoming de-motivated, the result might be a unproductive and inefficient employee. Unproductive and inefficient employees are employees that aren't reaching their full potential so it is in the line manager's interest that this is avoided.

Disciplinary skills - I think that line managers need to develop good disciplinary skills in order to effectively manage people because an undisciplined workforce is likely to be unproductive and inefficient. Undisciplined workers may also arrive to work late and take days off from work without permission.

At work, my line managers are developed in most of the aspects that I think are essential in order for them to effectively manage me. For example, my line managers at work have great understanding skills. This is good because I can communicate to him/her and always expect them to understand what I say. This is particularly useful when I have problems that need solving as I have to communicate to them and explain what the problem is and make sure they understand what the problem is, which they do in almost every case. The line managers at work have good understanding skills because they all speak English and are from the south-east of England. This is good because they can not only understand what I say since they understand the accent but also understand certain words and slang terms that are exclusive to the south-east of England (where I am from). In terms of understanding, the line managers at work are therefore very developed.

In addition, my line managers at work also have good problem-solving skills. This is good because at work, their are many problems that can happen and the line managers are often needed to resolve any problems that exist. The line managers at work have good problem-solving skills because all of them have several years of experience as line managers. They therefore know their job role well and have resolved similar problems in the past so they know the good solutions from the bad ones.

The line managers at work also have good communication skills. This is good because at work, we rely heavily on communication between the different levels of the organisation hierarchy. The line managers at work have good communication skills because they all speak English fluently, speak clearly and have excellent spelling and grammar (for when they communicate to us via E-mail and letters). They therefore communicate to us very well.

Having been on Prospects website and researched the job roles for an HR manager, I think my skills are more suited to the role of a HR manager than a line manager. This is because I'm quite a shy individual and a line manager's job role requires someone that is outgoing and willing to communicate with his or her employees. These are qualities that I feel I don't have in order to be a successful line manager. This is why I think that I don't have the skills be a good line manager.

A HR manager on the other hand seems to be generally more bureaucratic and less communicative which is something I feel would be suitable for myself as I feel I am effective when I'm working with paperwork and legislation. This is because their are strict guidelines to follow which I like because it means I can avoid getting caught up in different opinions and options which might be the case if I were to become a line manager e.g. their are different ways of motivating and disciplining people.

Another reason why I think that my skills would be more suited to the role of a HR manager than a line manager is because in order to be a successful line manager, you need excellent team-working skills. For example, a line-manager has to work closely with his or her employees in order to work well. I feel that I work more successfully and efficiently on my own which is why I feel that I don't have the necessary team-working skills in this regard to be successful as a line manager. Even though their is a degree of team-working in HR, I think that overall their is less team-working in HR than in line managing which is why I feel I would be more successful as a HR manager than a line manager in this respect.

In conclusion, I feel I have enjoyed and learnt a lot from this topic on the role of Line Manager's. This is because I have learnt what types of skills and qualities are needed in order to be a successful line manager. This is something that I find very interesting because it applies to the world of work. I can therefore use this knowledge and apply it if necessary when I start to seek full time employment. I also liked this topic because I enjoyed the overlap of Line managing and HR. I thought that it was very interesting how the two need to communicate and interact with each other in order for both to be successful.

References

[Anon 1.] [n.d.] Line Manager Benefits. [online]. [s.n.] Available from: http://www.teamseer.com/benefits/line-manager-benefits/ [Accessed 20 January 2010].

Brown, P. (2008) A guest article by Phil Brown. Why HR must empower the line manager. 1 (1), 4

Manager image. [online]. Available from: http://s2.hubimg.com/u/1438293_f520.jpg [Accessed 24 January 2010].

Redman, T and Wilkinson, A. (2006) Contemporary human resource management: text and cases. 2nd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.