Human resources managers play an integral role in the overall effectiveness of a company's performance, according to a recent global study by the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and RBL Group.

The study finds that for HR professionals to be successful, they must be proficient in six areas.

• Strategic positioners: HR professionals must understand how business contexts, stakeholder expectations and business requirements change and be able to translate them into talent, culture and leadership actions.
• Credible activists: HR professionals should build relationships based on trust and hold a clear perspective on how to build business performance.
• Capability builders: HR professionals should define, audit and create organization capabilities that are necessary for sustainable organizational success.
• Change champions: HR professionals should initiate and maintain change at the individual, initiative and institutional levels.
• Innovators and integrators: HR professionals should seek new ways to administer HR practices and incorporate those separate practices to deliver business solutions.
• Technology proponents: HR professionals should use technology to improve efficiency, connect employees and leverage new communication channels.

"We can empirically show that when HR professionals demonstrate these six competencies, they are seen as personally effective and they impact business performance," says study co-director Wayne Brockbank, a professor at Michigan Ross and director of its Center for Strategic HR Leadership.