Careers in Human Resource Management
(HRM)
What is HRM?
Educational Background
Degree Programs in HR
Suggestions for
Transitioning to HR
Find Your First HR Position
Important Personal
Characteristics
The Generalist
The Specialist
Employment, Recruiting
and Placement
Training and
Development
Compensation and
Benefits
Employee and Labor
Relations
Health, Safety and
Security
Salaries
Human Resource Certification
Institute
What is SHRM?
More Information
What
is HRM?
Human resource management
(HRM) is a general term used to describe a variety
of functions aimed at
effectively managing an organization's employees or "human
resources." HRM
professionals oversee the "people" side of an organization
including benefits,
career development, training, hiring, and many other functions.
Though many people know
the human resources department as the people who
conduct interviews and
explain company benefits, the profession has a much
greater role in business today. The goal of
HRM is to assist organizations to meet
their strategic goals by
attracting and retaining qualified employees, and managing
them effectively while
ensuring that the organization complies with all appropriate
labor laws. The field of
human resources, formerly known as personnel, is currently
in transition. In the
past, HR was viewed as primarily an administrative function.
That view is changing. The
HR professional of today must understand the entire
business, not just human
resources. Today's HR practitioners are becoming
strategic business
partners who act as consultants to senior management on the
most effective use of an
organizations' #1 resource: its employees.
What Educational
Background is needed?
Undergraduates should
pursue a balanced curriculum that includes the behavioral
sciences, economics,
general business, business and labor law, accounting and
statistics. Courses that
will develop oral and written communication skills are
equally essential.
Additional course work to meet the greater technical demands of
specialties within human
resources, like compensation and benefits, is
recommended for those
with an interest in that area.
Just as general
management careers can be greatly enhanced with graduate
degrees, so can those in
the field of human resource management. Master's degrees
in human resource
management, industrial relations, organizational development,
organizational behavior,
and business administration are becoming a vital part of
preparation of today's
human resource professionals in an increasingly complex
marketplace.
Continuing education is
essential to all professions, and human resource
management is no
exception. To meet the ongoing educational needs of human
resource professionals,
seminars and certification programs provide many
worthwhile opportunities
to enhance understanding of the latest developments in the
field.
What schools offer
degree programs in HR?
The SHRM Foundation has
recently completed the first comprehensive Directory
of Graduate Programs in
Human Resource Management. Click here to access
the directory online. To
obtain a hard copy of the directory or to include your
university in future
editions, please contact Foundation Director Marty Walsh at
mwalsh@shrm.org. Please
note: SHRM does not rank, accredit, or recommend
specific university
programs.
For more information on
HR-related degree programs, visit www.petersons.com.
The printed Peterson's
Guide to Colleges & Universities is also available in most
libraries. For additional
lists of graduate HR programs, visit
www.gradschools.com. An
list of HR programs is also published by the Bureau of
National Affairs (BNA) in
its Personnel Management series. This information is
available in print or on
CD-rom.
What are some
suggestions for transitioning to HR from other professions?
If you have a different
academic background from that described, or you have
been employed in some
other profession, switching to human resource management
is difficult, but not
impossible.
Generally, you must have
a readily-transferable academic background and related
professional experience.
Many individuals who express interest in human resource
management previously
have been involved in a people-oriented profession. While
this is an important consideration,
experience in general management and an
understanding of business
is also vitally important.
When there are not
sufficient numbers of qualified human resource professionals
with the preferred
experience, employers occasionally hire other professionals who
have experience related
to their specific requirements and who are willing to
undertake additional education
or training. Those interested in HR as a profession
can take college courses,
attend seminars, or take self-study courses as a
beginning. In such
circumstances, professional counselors might find opportunities
in employer-sponsored
employee assistance programs; teachers may be hired by
training departments; or
accounting, math, and statistics majors could find
employment in
compensation and employee benefits administration. In all cases,
above-average
communications skills are essential for human resource management
professionals.
How do you find
your first HR position?
Job search books and
placement studies agree that 60%-70% of all jobs are found
through personal
contacts, or networking. Because human resources can be a
tough field to enter,
developing a network of HR contacts can be critical to locating
your first position. The
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
supports a network of
more than 439 professional chapters and 350 student
chapters representing more than 110,000
members nationwide. While SHRM does
not offer formal
placement assistance, it does offer the opportunity to meet and
build relationships with
the HR professionals who represent potential employers.
Many SHRM Chapters have
career services, such as placement services or
newsletters that
advertise open positions. Many student members have obtained
entry-level jobs and
internships, never advertised to the public, through the
connections they made as
active members of SHRM. For more information on
student membership in
SHRM, click here.
The Internet offers many
forms of assistance for the job seeker. There are sites that
advertise openings, as
well as sites that post resumes. Click here to view current
HR job listings on the
SHRM website.
Some large companies
such as IBM Corporation, Amoco Oil, and Andersen
Consulting recruit recent
HR graduates for their training programs. However the
vast majority of
organizations do not recruit on college campuses for HR openings.
Many
"entry-level" HR positions advertised in the paper ask for "one
to two years
experience." Since
HR professionals handle confidential information, and must be
comfortable interacting with employees
at all levels, companies often seek people
who are mature and
experienced professionals.
Creativity and
persistence can help you to break into this field. Some people take
internships, part-time
jobs, or temporary positions in HR to get the needed
experience and to get a
"foot in the door" with a company they like. These work
arrangements sometimes lead
to full-time permanent positions, and definitely help
people to gain
experience. Other individuals start out in different positions such as
office manager,
administrative or HR assistant, or line manager. They gain
experience in the company
and later move into an HR role. Still others start out at
small organizations
without an HR department. As the organization grows, the
company will eventually
need to start an HR department and an opportunity will
arise. To learn more
about the job market in your community, talk to local HR
professionals and ask
them for their advice on the best ways to get started in an
HR career.
What personal
characteristics are important for success in HR?
Human resource
professionals must be capable of dealing with the people-oriented
challenges that will
confront them. If you choose this profession, patience and
flexibility will be
necessary as you interact with people of widely differing levels of
intelligence, education
and ability. You also will be involved in a substantial amount
of administrative work
demanding close attention to detail and well-developed
communication skills. In
setting policies and practices, you will be the ‘voice of
management' to the employees; you will
also be called upon to act as an advocate
for employees to
management, to ensure their interests are represented. As an
advocate for both the
business side and the people side, diplomacy is a must.
Good judgement, good
listening skills and tact are essential.
What are the
possible positions that an HR professional might pursue
The Generalist
The human resource
professional wears many hats and the specific duties required
depend upon the nature
and size of the organization. HR Generalists have a broad
spectrum of
responsibilities including staffing the organization, training and
developing employees at
all levels, managing a diverse work force, maintaining a
fair and equitable
compensation program, developing personnel policies and
procedures,
planning ways to meet the human resource needs of the future, and
ensuring that internal
policies and programs conform to all laws that affect the
workplace. Entry level
generalist positions are often titled human
resource/personnel
assistant or specialist and support the work of the whole
department.
The Specialist
Larger organizations
usually require specialists with technical knowledge and skill in
specific areas of human
resource management.
Five major areas of
specialization are described here. Entry level positions often fall
within these
specialities. Opportunities in these areas are more likely to be found in
larger organizations.
Employment,
Recruiting and Placement
The typical
entry-level positions are called interviewer, EEO specialist or
college recruiter.
The work includes recruiting personnel, interviewing
applicants,
administering pre-employment tests, and processing transfers,
promotions, and
termination.
Training and
Development
The typical
entry-level position may be a training or orientation specialist.
The work consists of
conducting training sessions, administering on-the-job
training programs,
and maintaining necessary records of employee
participation in all
training and development programs. Such training
responsibilities may involve
specific fields such as sales techniques or safety
programs. Career
planning and counseling are becoming increasingly
important activities
in this field, as are responsibilities for human resource
planning and
organization development.
Compensation and
Benefits
Entry level
positions are typically salary administrators, compensation
analysts, and
benefits administrators. Responsibilities include analyzing job
duties, writing job
descriptions, performing job evaluations, conducting and
analyzing compensation
surveys, developing detailed data analyses of
benefits programs,
administering benefits plans and monitoring benefits costs.
Employee and
Labor Relations
Entry level positions
include labor relations specialist, plant personnel
assistant, or
employee relations specialist. In union environments, these
positions involve
interpreting union contracts, helping to negotiate collective
bargaining
agreements, resolving grievances and advising supervisors on
union contract
interpretation. In non-union environments, employee relations
specialists perform
a variety of generalist duties and may also deal with
employee grievances.
Health, Safety
and Security
Safety specialists'
responsibilities include developing and administering health
and safety programs,
conducting safety inspections, maintaining accident
records, and
preparing government reports. Security specialists are
responsible for maintaining
a secure work facility to protect the
organization's
confidential information, property, and the well-being of all
employees. Employee
assistance program counselors and medical program
administrators also fall
within this function.
Other specialists'
responsibilities don't fall neatly into one functional area. Human
resource information
systems specialists manage the computerized flow of
information and reports
about employees, their benefits and programs. Some
specialists manage
programs for an international workforce while others
concentrate on meeting the
organization's needs for workers in the future.
What can I expect to
earn as a human resource professional?
Salaries for human
resource management professionals are dependent upon many
factors. The organization's size, economic
activity, geographic location, and
profitability are just
some of the factors that affect salary levels. In addition, the
demand for human resource
management professionals is always directly related to
the strength of the
economy.
College graduates with
appropriate academic backgrounds can expect starting
salaries in the
mid-thirties for an HR Generalist position. An advanced degree might
add another $5,000 or
more to those figures. Generalists with at least three years
of experience average
salaries in the high forties. The most recent salary data
shows top human resource
executives' average total compensation ranging from
$131,000 in the smallest
firms to $269,000 in the largest firms. Most professionals
in this field also are
eligible for employee benefit programs — indirect
compensation that in many
firms is worth at least an extra 35 percent of salary.
Click here for additional
information on HRM salaries.
What certification
can I obtain to show my knowledge of HR?
The Human Resource
Certification Institute, or HRCI as the Certification Institute
is more commonly known,
is the human resource credentialing body founded by
the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM). HRCI exists to promote
the establishment of
standards for the profession and to recognize human resource
professionals who have
met, through demonstrated professional experience and the
passing of a
comprehensive written examination, the Institute's requirements for
mastering the codified HR
body of knowledge.
Once an individual has obtained
the necessary requirements, the designation of
PHR (Professional in
Human Resources) or SPHR (Senior Professional in Human
Resources) is awarded by
HRCI. To learn more about certification, click here.
What
is SHRM?
The Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM), the leading voice of the
human resource
profession, represents the interests of 110,000 professional and
student members from
around the world. SHRM provides its membership with
education and information
services, conferences and seminars, government and
media representation,
online services and publications that equip human resource
professionals for their
roles as leaders and decision makers within their
organizations. The
Society is a founding member of the North American Human
Resource Management
Association a founding member and Secretariat of the
World Federation of
Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA) which links
human resource
associations around the globe.
There are two membership options.
Professional membership is designed to meet
the needs of people
currently working in the HR field, while student membership is
designed for individuals
just exploring human resources and preparing to enter the
profession. If you plan
to use the membership to assist you in your work as an HR
professional, we
recommend that you join as a regular member to gain full access
to all services and
benefits. Click here for information on SHRM membership.
SHRM publishes HRMagazine
and HR·News each month, and newsletters and
other printed materials
that serve the ongoing information needs of the profession.
Through its Information
Center/Library, SHRM supplements its publishing efforts
with additional resources
available to members. SHRM provides other member
programs as well. To find
out more, write or call SHRM Member Services, 1800
Duke Street, Alexandria,
Virginia 22314 USA, 800/283-7476 (TDD
703/548-6999).
For
More Information
If you would like to read
more about human resource management careers, you
may want to obtain the
following HRMagazine® articles:
What the Future
Holds for HR, March 1997, p. 116.
Connect Human
Resource Strategy to the Business Plan, March 1997, p. 99.
The Catbert Dilemma:
The Human Side of Tough Decisions, February
1997, p. 70.
New Qualifications for HR, November 1996,
p. 67.
Pay Growth Reflects
HR's Shift to a Strategic Role, November 1996, p. 68
Degrees That Make A
Difference, November 1996, p. 74.
HR in the Year 2010, May 1995, p. 62.
Push Yourself Out of
the Nest, August 1994, p. 70.
HR Leaders Tell How
They Make Their Companies Better, p. 49, May 1993.
For more theory and case studies on: http://expertresearchers.blogspot.com/
For Premium Academic and Professional Research: jumachris85@gmail.com
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