The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Project Coordinator / Project Support Officer
2-3 yearsSkills to master
- Organisation, understanding project lifecycles, basic stakeholder communication, managing timelines and deliverables. You'd have seen how projects impact people from a support perspective.
You're ready to move on when
- Regularly taking initiative to communicate project updates to non-project teams.
- Proactively identifying potential people-related risks in project plans.
- Volunteering to help with training logistics or user acceptance testing (UAT).
- 2
Internal Communications Specialist
2-4 yearsSkills to master
- Crafting compelling messages, understanding different audience needs, channel management, measuring communication effectiveness. You'd be good at getting messages out and understanding how they land.
You're ready to move on when
- Moving beyond just 'sending' comms to actively thinking about 'how will this land?' and 'what's the WIIFM?'.
- Taking ownership of communications for specific change initiatives, not just general announcements.
- Seeking feedback on communication effectiveness and adjusting approach.
- 3
HR Business Partner / HR Advisor
3-5 yearsSkills to master
- Employee relations, understanding organisational culture, coaching managers, talent development, navigating sensitive conversations. You'd have a strong grasp of the 'people' side of the business.
You're ready to move on when
- Actively advising managers on how to handle team resistance to new policies or systems.
- Leading discussions on the human impact of organisational restructuring.
- Developing training plans or support materials for new HR initiatives.