HR Manager: a real pilar around which internal life is organised
Job descriptions are never written in stone, they evolve over time and with the people who occupy these positions. So to remain close as possible to the different missions for which we recruit at PayFit, we are launching a series of interviews to share with you the daily life of each employee. How do SDRs work, what is the role of Payroll Experts, what does our Legal Advisor do on a daily basis?
Giulia Miazzo, HR Manager of our Spanish team and Samira Helbig, HR Manager in our Berlin office, show us the backstage of their job.
What was your background before joining PayFit and what is your role now?
Samira: I worked as an HR Manager for a social startup providing free higher education for refugees for almost two years before joining the PayFit rocket. Now I’m taking care of the growth of the German team but also of the team happiness and talent development.
Giulia: I was working in a start up managing an online marketing team along with HR topics. I started to feel attracted to “coaching” and became every day more and more interested about HR and people management. That’s the reason why I decided to refocus my whole career in this field. At PayFit, I’m in charge of implementing the HR strategy for PayFit Spain in collaboration with the international HR Team.
What are your main missions and how is the work organised within the HR team?
Samira: In Germany, our team consists of three people. One of them is our Office manager, who takes care of the wellbeing of our team and organises our office life. The second person is our Talent Acquisition Manager, in charge of recruiting our many new PayFiters. I’m the third person in charge of strategically aligning the HR mission with the overall company goals and manage the HR Team accordingly. What’s valuable in my job is the fact that I can deal with large and very diverse issues. At PayFit we are really aware of the evolution of HR functions, so we can really explore multiple avenues, work more closely with all teams and move forward on topics that are no longer just for marketing or legal teams.
Giulia: At the moment I work on very different topics such as employer branding and talent attraction, professional growth of the team, or office management. We’re now expanding the team to have people just focused on recruitment, it’s a big change for us and I spend a lot of time on that. My most important goal is to make every PayFiter in Spain happy and satisfied about his experience in the company: for us it’s a real adventure!
How is it to work with the global HR team at the international level?
Samira: It’s an enrichment to work with the global HR team because it makes it possible to align HR strategies internationally and to collaborate across boarders. In this way, we can align ourselves with our internal policy and maintain a consistent culture across our different processes in all countries. It not only gives me the opportunity to learn a lot about country specific HR policies but I can also broaden my HR horizon by learning different ways of culture and procedures.
What do you like most about your job?
Samira: I love working directly with people and all the departments but also to think strategically and to focus on organisational development. Being an HR manager combines these two aspects, the human aspect of work but also the strategical/ administrative part.
Giulia: People. Exchange is a huge part of my job as an HR Manager, you must keep in mind that you really have this power sometimes through little meaningful connexions with employees to help them thrive in their work.
What are the qualities that a good HR Manager must have?
Samira: Overall I would say it is important to have a great sense of empathy and one must enjoy working with people. Being accessible and open is really something we care about at PayFit. However, what is often not so obvious when thinking about the position as a HR Manager, is the fact that this position requires a holistic understanding for processes and administration. It’s important to understand that as an HR Manager you are always the first point of contact for employees and managers and you are the “heart of the company”. It’s therefore important to have strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Giulia: Empathy, positivity and fairness are essential. In my mind, an HR Manager is really the person with whom employees feel free to talk insofar as he’ll always support them and share useful advices. It’s crucial to try to continuously improve the experience of each employee. It’s also really important to know how to maintain the passion and inspire people, push them towards their personal goals reminding them why they work in your company.
What is the typical day of an HR Manager?
Samira: On a typical day I would perform some of the following tasks: being in interviews, onboarding new employees, collaborating with managers on specific topics, setting up new HR policies or processes, defining personal development projects.
Giulia: Everyday is a challenge and at PayFit you never get bored! My days are a mix between calls to candidates, meetings to coach managers, personal talks, team events planning, etc. In a start up, there is always many more tasks than expected and every time there is something new coming up because you are really building up the department from scratch.
Any advice for an incoming HR Manager?
Samira: HR is not all about talking and being with people, you really are very much in the focus of attention for employees and the leadership team. This can be overwhelming in the beginning, especially when being new in the company or when a team is growing fast. However, when embracing this responsibility as a positive challenge and being open for constant learning, nothing can go wrong.
Giulia: Always be proactive and communicate with your employees. It’s not only about talking to them when they are facing transitions, but on a day-to-day basis. They really have to feel that you are there at any time.
