The landscape of businesses and the role of human resources and its managers is evolving.
If you have considered getting a graduate degree in HR, understanding why and how that landscape is changing may help you make a more informed decision on putting the time, energy, and money into pursuing a graduate degree.
1. Companies are rethinking their business strategies and models.
The most successful companies these days are completely rethinking the structure of their business models. Deloitte University Press just came out with its annual Human Capital Trends (HCT) Report. This report asks over 7,000 businesses and HR participants in 130 countries to answer survey questions about their top priorities for increasing human capital.
The consensus from successful businesses globally is this: they need to re-think how their companies are designed altogether.
92 percent of executives said organizational design was their top priority. The new model for effective businesses throws away the idea of rigid jobs within specific departments that never interact with other departments. Rather, the new model functions “like a Hollywood movie production team and less like traditional corporations, with people coming together to tackle projects, then disbanding and moving on to new assignments once the project is complete.”
Think adaptable, cross-functional, and interdisciplinary.
Think of the company as a house. Previously, top level executives could just build “a new addition” or “re-paint a room” when there were changes to be made. The “new organization” concept uses a wrecking ball to demolish the whole structure before building a new one.
2. Companies are making employee experience a priority.
Why exactly do companies need to overhaul every part of their design? Forbes says it’s all about the employee experience. In other words, “organizations have always assumed that they can create a place where they assumed people needed to work there and are now realizing that they must create a place where people want to work there. The war for talent has never been more fierce.”
With the Gig Economy and the Freelance Economy attracting so many of the world’s best and brightest, traditional businesses must fight hard to hire and maintain the kind of workers who provide real value for the business. They’re learning that a happy employee is a productive employee.
Employees, especially young ones, expect “an enriching experience at every stage… [with] rapid career growth, a compelling and flexible workplace, and a sense of mission and purpose at work.” If companies are going to “remodel,” they need to make it a dream home.
Google gets it. In 2007, Google noticed they were having trouble holding on to female employees who had recently become new mothers. So they expanded their maternity leave benefits in response.
An “old organization” mindset would have discouraged five months of fully-paid maternity leave for fear of wasting money. But a “new organization” mindset understands that this move ultimately saved money by avoiding the more costly process of new recruitment.
3. Companies are hiring managers to improve employee satisfaction and business success.
Here’s where human resources managers come in. Businesses still need to make money; they don’t exist for the sole purpose of keeping employees satisfied. The HR managers are like architects who figure out how to “design the house” so that it functions efficiently.
In addition to keeping employees satisfied, HR managers worry about maximizing the budget, training and developing potential leaders, improving performance, and corporate image. Not to mention that ‘the global nature of business has made the workforce more diverse, demanding a focus on inclusion and shared beliefs to tie people together” (as the 2016 HCT puts it).
So it’s not surprising that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the HR industry will grow faster than average in the next decade (with a median income of around 100K).
The bottom line is that companies are desperate to hire managers who have studied these new trends and know how to implement them. Whether you’re looking to advance a business career, switch industries altogether, or break into business for the first time, the evolving nature of the human resources field makes returning to school for a master’s in HR a wise choice.
At West Virginia University, we will prepare you to lead in the field of human resources.
West Virginia University’s Master’s of Science in Human Resources and Industrial Relations is one such degree. Graduates of their MSIR program are taught to analyze and solve problems as well as apply leadership and interpersonal skills in a variety of functions — organizational development, change management, compensation, and benefits design — all with a strong global focus.
Are you making plans to switch careers but need some guidance and inspiration? Check out our digital resource — Make the Change: A Comprehensive Guide to Graduate Programs for Career Changers — and let us help you and you navigate the process of changing career fields!
