Why Should One Become An HR Manager?
Companies across the world are focusing on expansion and building revenues to stay above their competitors. Such competitive environments can become challenging for the employer and employees alike. In such situations, the human resources department is often relied upon to maintain a positive environment in an organisation. If you are someone who wants to make things and processes easier for people, the role of an HR Manager is something you could seriously consider as a job prospect.
HR Managers get to interact with a variety of people within and outside the company. This helps them build strong relationships and develop professionally. In a job market that is increasingly dependent on networking, such professional connections definitely come in handy.
People often consider the role of an HR Manager to be easy and limited to just coming up with events for an organisation. However, the role demands much more than that. People who are interested in creating massive impact within companies would definitely enjoy the role. This is because they can ensure employee satisfaction through surveys, better benefits and policies such as maternity and paternity leaves, and overhauling the culture of a company.
These roles also come with great compensation and numerous job opportunities as HR Managers are not restricted by any industry or sector. In fact, the role of an HR Manager offers continuous learning opportunities that he/she can use when applying for jobs.
What Are The Duties Of An HR Manager?
Essentially, an HR Manager is hired to oversee the administrative aspects of a company, which include recruitment, compensation, streamlining workplace issues, management of benefits, and handling the overall functionality of other departments. Let us look at some of these duties in detail to understand the role of an HR Manager better.
1. Recruitment
The HR Managers manage talent acquisition for companies by looking for appropriate candidates and connecting them with respective teams. They also ensure that the hiring process is followed without any discrepancies, and eventually onboard new employees.
2. Streamlining Workplace Issues
It is common for problems to arise when several people are working together. At times, the issues are minor and can be easily resolved by the people involved. However, there are situations when issues can escalate beyond a team’s capacity, such as incidents of workplace harassment, dissatisfaction with senior management, or delay in compensation. In such cases, HR Managers are often looped in to ensure safety and protection of the employees without disrupting the functioning of the company.
3. Policy Management
Companies keep coming up with policies which can set clear boundaries, prevent any kind of misunderstanding, and also protect the interest of the employees. HR Managers ensure that all employees are regularly updated about change in policies and how that change will consequently benefit or affect them.
What Are The Skills Needed To Become An HR Manager?
An HR Manager’s role demands a diverse set of skills as they are responsible for the overall administrative side of any organisation. Only academic qualifications are not enough to become a good HR Manager. Let us look at some of the essential skills that are needed to become an HR Manager:
1. Communication
Inarguably, communication is one of the most frequently mentioned skills in an HR Manager’s job description. As an HR Manager, one needs to communicate with a lot of people, ranging from prospective employees to the top leadership of a company. However, this is not just limited to verbal communication. As an HR Manager, it is one’s responsibility to convey any important announcements or policies to employees in a crisp and concise manner through written communication.
2. Problem-Solving Skills
HR Managers are often trained to handle conflicts arising at the workplace. That’s why conflict management is key to the role of an HR Manager. To solve workplace issues, one needs to not only function with empathy and an objective mindset, but also ensure that they utilise the information available to them in the best way while upholding professional standards at all times.
3. Decision-Making Skills
The human resources department is involved in making several key decisions for a company that include recruitment, appraisals, and policy deployment. These areas require an HR Manager to strategise, analyse, and at the same time, work with their intuition. All this together will help an HR Manager to make planned decisions for their company.
4. Organisation Skills
Although many companies are shifting to HRM (Human Resource Management) platforms for technical support, the role of an HR Manager continues to remain important. As a manager, one might not know all the information related to any problem that an employee might face. However, it is important that he/she is able to direct the employee to the right source. This also includes being an administrative expert and handling multiple tasks at the same time to ensure smooth functioning of all other departments of a company.
How to Become an HR Manager?
Once you have decided to become an HR Manager, it is important to note that there are some essential academic milestones that you must achieve.
Firstly, it is important that you acquire a bachelor’s degree. Many universities and colleges provide admission based on the results of senior secondary examinations (10+2). However, some universities may also ask you to appear for entrance examinations such as the following:
- Delhi University: DUET (Delhi University Entrance Test)
- Indraprastha University: IPU CET (Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test)
- Jamia Millia Islamia: JMI EE (Jamia Millia Islamia Entrance Examination)
- Jawaharlal Nehru University: JNU EE (Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Examination)
Students from any stream (Arts, Commerce, and Science) can choose to become an HR Manager. To do so, they can pursue either of the following degrees during their bachelor’s:
- BBA
- BBA (Hons)
- BA Programme (Hons)
Some of the top colleges and universities offering the three-year BBA (Bachelors of Business Administration) course are given below:
- St Xavier’s College, Mumbai
- Christ University, Bengaluru
- Loyola College, Chennai
Aspiring HR Managers can pursue either a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management (PGDHRM) or pursue an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) in HR. Although, students must keep in mind that an MBA degree would ensure a higher salary than a PG Diploma.
Following are some of the entrance examinations that students must appear for in order to pursue an MBA in HR program:
- Common Admission Test (CAT)
- Management Aptitude Test (MAT)
- Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT)
- Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP)
- Common Management Aptitude Test (CMAT)
Prospective candidates can refer to the schedule given below for various entrance examinations:
- CAT
- Accepted by top colleges such as IIMs, IITs, FMS, SPJMIR, MDI, IMT
- Last date of registration is first week of August 2022
- Tentative examination date is 28-11-2022
- MAT
- Accepted by more than 100 business schools that include JMIS, NDMI Delhi
- Last date of registration is 09-05-2022 (for CBT-1) and 24-05-2022 (for CBT-2)
- Tentative examination date is 15-05-2022 (CBT-1) and 28-05-2022 (CBT-2)
- XAT
- Accepted at colleges such as XLRI, XIME, TAPMI, XIMB
- Last date of registration is second week of August 2022
- The examination has multiple phases, tentatively in December 2022 and January 2023
- SNAP
- Accepted at colleges such as SIBM Pune and Bangalore, SIIB, SCMHRD
- Last date of registration is the last week of August 2022
- The examination has multiple phases, tentatively in December 2022 and January 2023
- CMAT
- Accepted at colleges such as GIM Goa, IFMR Chennai, BIMTECH, Welingkar, KJ Somaiya Mumbai
- Last date of registration is January 2023
- The examination date is tentatively in March 2023
In order to get admission in MBA in HR program, candidates should score at least 50% in their bachelors. Candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of their score in bachelor's degree and the entrance examination cut-off as well.
Tips to Crack MBA Entrance Examinations
The usual duration of MBA (Masters of Business Administration) entrance examinations is between 120 to 180 minutes. The examination papers are usually divided into three to four sections which include:
Verbal Ability
This section tests the language proficiency of a candidate through grammar and reading comprehension questions. To prepare for this section, candidates should read a variety of passages as it would help in developing their comprehension skills.
Reasoning Ability
This section tests the logical and analytical thinking ability of a candidate. Here, it is important that one is a quick thinker, pays attention to detail, and someone who can come up with out-of-the-box solutions.
Quantitative Ability
This section tests the numerical ability of a candidate along with problem solving skills. Rather than focusing on complex theories, candidates must familiarise themselves with number functions and focus on increasing their mathematical speed.
Since some of the entrance examinations have negative markings for wrong answers, the candidate must be very careful while answering questions.
- For better preparation, candidates can solve past year CAT papers and time themselves while doing so
- To improve vocabulary, candidates can take the help of game-based apps to make learning fun or they can start reading newspapers like The Hindu, Indian Express etc.
- To develop logical thinking, candidates can make a daily habit of solving puzzles and situation-based questions
However, along with exam prep, it is important to eat a balanced diet, take small breaks in between, and get good sleep as well. This will ensure mental and physical readiness for the examination/s at hand.
MBA in Human Resource Syllabus
An MBA in Human Resource is a two year programme where students are taught core courses in the first year and electives in the second year.
Let us look at some important subjects that are taught in MBA in HR specialisation:
Job Role Specialisation Available for MBA in HR Graduates:
Considering the vast responsibilities that come with the role of an HR Manager, companies now prefer hiring specialists for each of the verticals. Listed below are some key areas of specialisation:
1. Compensation and Benefits
It is basically a branch of Human Resources that deals with the compensation of employees and provision of other benefits. This role would require the knowledge of industry standards of compensation for various roles and a close collaboration with the finance and budget team.
2. Talent Acquisition
This role is highly demanding as the managers have to analyse potential candidates, interview them, and then onboard new employees. Since HR Managers represent the company, they should be able to answer any questions related to the company’s practices, policies, and future prospects.
3. Training and Development
For all organisations, training and development is an integral part of the HR department. This role would require a deep understanding of what the company is aiming for in order to create appropriate modules to train and upskill the employees.
Job Prospects and Salaries Available after MBA in HR
Some of the top companies that hire potential HR Managers are mentioned below:
The salary for HR Managers who are freshers after MBA in Human Resources in India is usually between ₹7 lakh to ₹34 lakh per annum. For experienced candidates, this could be anywhere between ₹10 lakh to ₹17 lakh per annum.
