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Placement Managers
HRM VS HRD
The HRM department is essentially concerned with basic employee management tasks. "It encompasses the traditional areas that most people think of as HR, including compensation and benefits, recruiting and staffing, employee and labour relations and occupational health and safety," explains Shreya Banerjee, an HR executive with a cellular service provider.
One widely used scheme to describe the role of HRM, developed by Dave Ulrich, Professor of Business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, defines four fields for the HRM function:
* Strategic business partner
* Change agent
* Employee champion
* Administration
Human Resource Development (HRD) on the other hand, deals with the development of the resources in a company - organisational development, performance management, training and learning, and coaching. In the broader sense, it means evaluating the performance of employees and helping employees learn new skills.
Make an informed choice
A good way to start a career in HR is to determine what side of HR you want to work on: HRM or HRD. A good question to ask yourself is: "Do I want to build and implement processes and programmes at the workplace, or do I want to help develop people and transform behaviour at the workplace?" Based on your answer, you can choose to either opt for HRM or HRD. However, choosing one does not mean you are stuck with it forever. Many HR professionals start out in HRM to get an understanding of the field and then move into HRD to hone their development and coaching skills.
HRM is an evolving and dynamic field that challenges the ability of even the most seasoned professionals to keep abreast of policies, procedures, compliance requirements and best practices. "In today's economy, talent acquisition is the foremost business challenge that the HR function faces," declares Judhajit Das, Chief, Human Resources, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, adding, "The lack of investment in education has led to an acute shortage of talented professionals, who can take the onus for change in a developing economy like India, and thus the challenge gets even tougher."
Business schools worldwide have incorporated human resources as an important subject of study. "At the Indian School of Business, 'organisational behaviour' is a compulsory course, hence all students have to complete it successfully. The electives we offer include a variety of HRM subjects, including negotiation skills, conflict resolution and strategic HR among others," states Bhuvana Ramalingam, Senior Director - Communications, Indian School of Business (ISB).
If you like systems, analytics and processes, a career in HRM may just be the thing for you. Remember, the key ingredients to success as an HRM professional lie in one's understanding of the business and overall alignment of all activities to the core business strategies.
Multiple roles
In the administrative role, there isn't much specialised training required. However, to become a strategic business partner, a change agent or an employee champion (specialist roles), one needs to have substantial knowledge of the business and processes. "The industry expects a qualified HR professional to bring on board speciality knowledge by virtue of which they can 'make visible the unseen'," avers Ravindran. For instance, in a renowned FMCG company, it is imperative for HR professionals to come with an experience of a stint outside the realm of HR (say the sales or plant), which is crucial for better understanding of the business. This helps them earn the credibility of line managers and also facilitates creation of a synergy within the organisation.
As an HRM professional, you may be performing single or multiple tasks from the following list:
* Workforce planning
* Recruitment
* Induction and orientation
* Skills management
* Training and development
* Personnel administration
* Compensation
* Time management
* Employee benefits administration
* Personnel cost planning
* Performance appraisal
Eligibility and money matters
A bachelor's degree in management allows entry into a junior cadre of HRM, and an MBA is generally a prerequisite for entry into mid-level/ senior positions in HR departments in large organisations. You should be able to manage a huge workload in a fast-paced environment and have excellent verbal ability and written communication skills. The skill that sets apart HRM professionals from others is their ability to leverage their specialised knowledge of people for better business.
The money in this field is also reasonably high. "Students from tier-two B-Schools can look forward to a package of about Rs 5,50,000 (fixed) and a bonus of about Rs 1,50,000 (dependent on performance) in our organisation," reveals Das.
The growth curve
The Vault Guide to Human Resources Careers says: "An HRM professional might start out as a generalist, then choose a specialty area of HRM, such as benefits, and become a benefits manager. After that, the candidate may choose to remain in the specialty area, or move into an HR leadership role."
Today, the traditional HR functions of staffing, recruiting, compensation, and benefits are losing ground to a new generation of value-added core HR functions that include career planning, executive development, training, succession planning, and organisational development. Juggling responsibilities of talent management and organisational development with equal ease is the need of the hour for HRM professionals.
If a person is interested in academics, then an MBA with a specialisation in HR or organisational behaviour is the best option. This, followed by doctorate in the same field, would make you eligible to teach HR or OB at any institution.
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