Theodore Roosevelt once said "The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." And therein lay the key to a successful human resource (HR) professional.
What do human resource professionals do?
Human resource professionals are considered the glue that holds together strong organizations. If you think you’re capable to filling the role, then a career in human resource management may just be the right track for you.
The field of human resource deals with hiring, training and retaining qualified employees in various organizations. Over the past few years, the responsibilities of human resource professionals have increased tremendously, and they are now charged with a number of responsibilities in order to ensure employee satisfaction, boost productivity and increase profitability.
Today, in addition to hiring and training employees, human resource professionals also devise ways to use an employee’s abilities for the benefit of the company and implement management policies that improve the overall output of any organization, whether public or private.
What skills should human resource professionals have?
An education in human resources will give you knowledge that can be your key to success in the HR profession. However, you will also need to adapt some of the skills that are important in this profession.
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Negotiation—HR managers must adopt the middle ground when negotiating situations to pick the most neutral solution.
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Communication—every department, from finance to marketing comes into contact with the HR department. Therefore, HR managers must earn to effectively communicate across departments.
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Organization—strong time management skills, organized files and personal efficiency can lead to HR effectiveness.
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Dealing with Grey Areas—nothing is ever black and white, and that cannot be truer when referring to people’s workplace habits. An HR manager’s control over the grey area can be what differentiates a harassment lawsuit from a quiet settlement.
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Change Management—an organization is in a constant cycle of change. Their employees require training to adapt to changing situations; this can be more effectively implemented if the HR managers are in agreement with the changes taking place in the organization.
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Multitasking—each task in an HR setting can be critical as well as different. HR professionals have to deal with leave requests, employee complaints and recruiting strategies all in one day.
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Conflict Resolution—we all know that not everybody will get along with one another. And HR manager’s most important job is to make sure that employees maintain a cordial professional relationship with one another.
What type of education do I need for a career in Human Resources?
If you are looking to improve your prospects of having a career in human resources, you should enroll in a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree at one of the several colleges around the country. Courses can be taken on-campus or online, allowing you to gain the required level of knowledge in due course of time.
Opportunities in the HR profession can be availed by studying courses such as:
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Managing Human Resources
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Labor Relations And Employment Law
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Administrative Law And Public Policy
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Organizational Training And Development
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Problem Solving In HRM
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Strategic Management
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International Human Resources
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Labor Relations
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Human Capital Management
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Organizational Behavior
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Public Administration
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Leadership Techniques
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Labor Economics
What are some of the careers in Human Resources?
A degree in human resources opens up a number of exciting opportunities in almost every industry, ranging from healthcare and engineering to banking. You can work as a human resources officer or manager, training manager, recruitment specialist or placement manager.
Human Resources Assistant—positions are seen as entry level positions for Human Resource degree holders. They are responsible for keeping personnel records and compiling them for new employees. The information they collect include:
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Address
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Weekly earnings
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Absences
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Amount of sales/production
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Supervisory reports
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Date and reason of termination
Their annual median wage as of May 2013 is $37,680 while the top 10% of the profession gets paid more than $54,240.
Labor Relations Specialists and Human Resources Specialists—are responsible for recruiting, screening, interviewing, and placing working. Labor specialists also interpret and administer the contract issues with employees such as pensions, wages and union issues.
Their annual median wage as of May 2012 is $55,800 while the top 10% of the profession gets paid more than $95,380. The expected job growth from 2012 to 2022 is 7%.
Human Resources Managers—are responsible for planning, directing and coordinating the administrative functions of an organization. They can work in different environments.
Their annual median pay in 2012 was $99,720 while the expected job growth from 2012 to 2022 is 13%.
*All salary figures taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics