What is human resources management and development?

Are you interested in pursuing a career in the world of human resources?

If you enjoy working with people and resolving conflict, this might be the perfect industry for you. 

There are many facets of human resources — which could become confusing. Human resource management and development, in particular, are two HR departments that can overlap quite a bit but are still different. 

This article will discuss the differences between human resource development and human resource management. We will also look at the jobs available in both areas and how you can become a human resource manager. 

What is human resource management (HRM)?

Human resource management involves hiring, overseeing, and organising employees to help a business succeed. 

HR managers are in charge of almost all business areas that have to do with their people, from hiring the right employees to paying them and resolving any conflict. 

Human resource management aims to strengthen the company’s talent pool to achieve its short- and long-term objectives. 

The demand for human resource professionals is projected to grow by 7% from 2021 to 2031. This means there is a need for these professionals — making it easier to get a job. 

Learn more about the demand for human resource managers. 

What is human resource development?

Human resource development (HRD) can be seen as a subset of HRM. Instead of focusing on all aspects of employees, HRD mainly focuses on developing and training employees to improve their skills. 

Human resource development aims to ensure employees have all the skills to meet the organisation’s current and future demands. 

This is achieved by continuously improving workers’ capabilities through growth and development initiatives. 

Human resource development focuses on the success of employees and the company. It aims to help workers grow professionally in their careers. For example, a retail associate may learn the skills to progress to a retail management position. 

In turn, this helps companies retain their employees. In fact, according to research, not having a clear career progression ladder is one of the primary reasons workers leave their jobs. 

Human resource management vs human resource development 

In smaller businesses, human resource management and human resource development may overlap because both have to do with employee development. 

However, in larger companies, the human resource department is often divided into subsets where each department focuses on a specific area of human resources.

Still, these two have some essential differences you should know about if you are considering pursuing a career in human resources. 

Goals 

Even though both HRM and HRD focus on helping employees be successful, they have different objectives. 

Human resource development aims to enhance employee skills, knowledge, and abilities to improve the efficiency of the company and its processes. 

In contrast, human resource management aims to improve the overall relationship between employees and companies to attract and retain their workers. It aims to create a happy work environment and company culture where employees are satisfied with their jobs. 

Execution

Human resource development is an ongoing process. HR professionals must continuously observe employee performance and company requirements to determine what skills are needed to enhance operations and profitability. This process continues throughout the employee’s career path within the company. 

On the other hand, human resources management is a more routine process. It looks at all aspects of workers, including recruitment, onboarding, paying salaries, ensuring a safe work environment, and more. 

Tasks 

The responsibilities of human resource professionals differ. 

Human resource development professionals typically focus on training and development. Here are some of the tasks they perform daily. 

• Create training programs and materials for employees.
• Identify learning and mentorship opportunities to help new employees learn from mid-to-senior-level employees.
• Survey workers to determine whether the skills training is helping them improve. 
• Evaluate the success of training initiatives. 
• Manage budgets to make sure the company can fund these training programs. 

Human resource managers have a far more extensive scope of tasks to focus on. These include the following. 

• Create job descriptions and listings. 
• Interview, screen, and recruit job candidates. 
• Work with other department managers to schedule times for employee performance reviews. 
• Use different methods to resolve any conflict between employees or managers. 
• Maintain solid knowledge of labour laws. 
• Assist executives in writing company policies. 
• Manage payroll and make sure employees get paid on time. 

Jobs

Professionals in human resource development often have different job titles than those in human resource management. Here are some popular positions within human resource development. 

• Training Specialist
• Program Manager
• Instructional Coordinator
• Human Resource Development Supervisor

Here are popular positions within human resource management. 

• Human Resource Manager
• Human Resource Officer
• Payroll Specialist
• Benefits Manager
• Recruitment Researcher
• Human Resource Executive

Requirements to become a human resource manager

Are you interested in becoming a human resource manager? 

Getting a bachelor’s degree in human resource management is the top way to start your career journey. While this isn’t always necessary, it is recommended since many organisations require their managers to hold a degree. 

Furthermore, having a degree will also make you more appealing to employers in the job search, making it far easier to find a job. 

If you start in the field with a bachelor’s degree, you will likely start as a human resource specialist. As you gain experience, you will advance to managerial positions. 

Once you gain experience, you can upskill by getting an honours or master’s degree and advance to even higher positions, such as executive leadership roles. 

Study human resource management with REGENT

If human resource management sounds like your ideal career, you can take the next step and start looking into courses. 

REGENT offers a Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management that will equip you will all the skills and knowledge needed to build a thriving career within human resources. 

Need to talk to a consultant about your options? Fill out this inquiry form, and one of our consultants will get back to you.