In today’s constantly evolving business landscape, organizations must focus on more than just the bottom line to succeed. Employee satisfaction, company branding, and the right corporate culture are all equally important for a business to be successful today. This is why the role of Human Resources is now more critical than ever.
Human resources (H.R.) is an essential function in any organization, responsible for managing the most important resource – the employees.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for H.R. specialists is expected to grow 8% between 2021 and 2031, which is higher than the average expected growth of other professions.
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MBA in H.R.: An Edge?
Considering the above, it appears to be an excellent time to pursue a career in H.R. While most entry-level roles in H.R. are open to all business graduates, a higher qualification is required for advanced positions.
This is especially true for mid-career professionals with 3-4 years of work experience. Once the plateau is hit, you must improve your profile to increase your chances of growth and progress within the field.
The best way to do that is to get an MBA in H.R. that will help you learn new skills and theories related to H.R. and be the feather in the cap that you need for career advancement.
For working professionals, an online MBA in HR would be ideal. Online degrees allow flexible timings and convenience if you’re working full-time.
With an advanced degree, you can have that competitive edge that will boost your career and allow you to explore new and better career paths.
Top Career Options in H.R.
To further explain the value of an MBA in H.R., it is important to consider the many career options you open up within the field with this qualification.
Here are the top career pathways you can pursue with an MBA in H.R.
1. Talent Acquisition Manager
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of H.R. is recruitment. This and other related functions fall within the head of talent acquisition. As the name suggests, talent acquisition is the branch of H.R. primarily deals with finding and onboarding new talent.
The responsibilities of a talent acquisition professional also include headhunting, screening profiles, holding preliminary interviews, and retaining existing employees. Talent acquisition managers work as in-house company employees or in independent recruitment firms.
With an MBA in H.R., you can learn more about talent management which can help you find a position in talent acquisition.
2. Employer Branding Specialist
The workforce today is primarily made up of Millennials and Generation Z, which give great weightage to factors such as work-life balance, workplace culture, and purpose. It is no longer a question of which company pays the most but which organization provides its employees with the life and environment they want from their workplace.
This is where employer branding specialists step in and help organizations build their brand as an employer of choice.
Employer branding is a fairly new facet of H.R. that pertains to building a brand-like image of an organization to attract the best talent. With the marketing skills you acquire in your MBA in H.R., you can develop effective strategies to build your company’s appeal to the talent pool available in the market.
3. Employee Experience Director
The roles we’ve looked at until now are primarily related to sourcing and hiring talent. However, retaining talent is a different battle altogether. Today’s workforce does not equate unquestionable loyalty to an organization as the sign of a good employee and is quick to jump ship when offered a better opportunity.
The only way for organizations to avoid a volatile turnover rate is to focus on employee satisfaction and well-being.
By taking care of your employees’ well-being, providing market-competitive salaries and benefits, and promoting a healthy work environment, companies can improve the employee experience. This is the responsibility of employee experience directors.
Employee experience directors work in-house as H.R. business partners focusing on employee experience. If this seems like something you want to do, your MBA in H.R. will help you learn about human resource management needed for a role in employee experience.
4. Organizational Development Manager
Personal and professional growth are important for employees today. One of the leading causes that employees cite while leaving an organization is a lack of career progression and learning. The job market today is anything but steady, and employees are constantly worried about the next layoffs. As a result, today’s workforce demands that their employers invest in their professional growth.
Organizational development is the branch of H.R. that looks after this part. Organizational development managers play the role of a coach, a mentor, and a trainer, all in one.
They work with employees to help them build skills and knowledge. Moreover, organizational development managers also arrange and plan external employee training to help them become better professionals.
From a company’s point of view, organizational development may seem like a give-only endeavor. However, that’s hardly the case. Helping employees become better professionals is also a form of employer branding, as wherever an employee goes, their knowledge and skills will be associated with their past employer.
5. H.R. Compliance Manager
HR, as a department, is closely connected with compliance and legal due to work’s sensitive and often overlapping nature. Specifically, regarding labor matters, H.R. is usually the department that leads all discussions and processes, especially compliance.
H.R. compliance is a small wing of H.R. that works with the compliance function in an organization to ensure that the internal policies and controls align with the prevailing labor laws and regulations. This includes matters such as workplace harassment, compensation guidelines, employee gratuity, the terms of employment, and many other things.
A career in H.R. compliance is a great option for those with an MBA in H.R. as they possess a knowledge of operations and other business functions and H.R. expertise.
Final Words
An MBA in H.R. is a fantastic qualification that can open many doors for you. In addition to the five career pathways highlighted above, you can pursue many other options with this degree. If you’re certain about making a career in H.R., don’t wait any longer and look for the course that best suits your needs.
We hope you learned something from this article; if we missed something, let us know in the comments below.