What Makes a Great HR Professional?
A truly great HR professional is more than a people person—they are a strategic thinker, ethical advisor, and a builder of culture and capability.
What separates a competent HR generalist from a truly great HR professional?
It’s not just how many interviews they’ve conducted or how well they administer payroll. It’s a combination of behavioral maturity, strategic awareness, and the ability to align people and business needs—consistently, ethically, and with impact.
Defining Excellence in HR
In other words: it’s not just what you do, but how and why you do it.
While job titles vary wildly—HR Specialist, People Ops, Talent Partner—the core DNA of a great HR professional shows up consistently:
- They understand the business and how it makes money
- They connect people strategies to business goals
- They are trusted advisors, not process enforcers
- They use data and insights to influence decisions
- They build equity, safety, and engagement into the culture
And none of that happens by accident.
From Skills to Competencies
It’s tempting to think of HR as a checklist of skills: “knows employment law,” “can run onboarding,” “uses an ATS.”
But being a great HR professional means translating those skills into competencies—the applied, contextual behaviors that add value.
Let’s break that down.
| Concept | Example |
|---|---|
| Skill | Knows how to conduct an interview |
| Behavior | Listens actively and builds rapport |
| Competency | Selects the best talent while promoting inclusion |
In other words, competencies are the living expression of knowledge, behavior, and impact combined.
The Mindset of Great HR People
Beyond frameworks and technical expertise, great HR professionals share a mindset:
- Curious about people and systems
- Courageous in hard conversations
- Committed to fairness and accountability
- Connected to the broader purpose of the business
They don’t see HR as a department—they see it as a lever for change and a source of value.
Core Areas of Strength
While every organization defines success differently, great HR professionals consistently excel in:
- 🧠 Business acumen: Understanding how the organization operates
- 🗣️ Communication: Adapting tone and style for different audiences
- 🤝 Relationship management: Building trust and navigating conflict
- 📊 Data orientation: Making decisions based on insights, not hunches
- 🧭 Ethical practice: Acting with integrity—even under pressure
We’ll explore each of these in detail in the next pages of this section.
Models That Help Define “Great”
You don’t need to start from scratch. Several leading models map out what “great” looks like in HR:
- SHRM Competency Model – 9 behavioral and technical areas
- CIPD Profession Map – Defines impact and values-based behaviors
- AIHR’s T-shaped HR Model – Emphasizes both depth and breadth
- Bersin’s Maturity Model – Focuses on HR’s strategic evolution
Why It Matters – And to Whom
Whether you’re building your own career or mentoring others, defining what “great” looks like helps:
- Junior HR professionals grow with purpose and direction
- Team leads assess and support HR capability development
- Founders identify who to hire—and what to expect
- CHROs build robust talent pipelines and succession plans
And most importantly, it turns HR from a reactive function into a strategic asset.