The Human Resources team can in many ways be the glue that keeps an ever-changing business up and running. In today's tight labor market, policies and practices that support, engage and develop employees can be a truly competitive advantage. In fact:

While businesses are increasingly relying on HR to support and engage employees, the quality of human resources training often goes unattended to. Unlocking the true value of HR requires a comprehensive approach to ongoing human resources training.

Investing in cutting-edge HR training courses can play a critical role in ensuring the human resources department is a true strategic partner for business leaders.

Successful human resources management is easier said than done. Whether your company’s HR department is comprised of generalists, specialists, or both, there are a host of skills necessary for advocating for employees and the employer simultaneously.

But human resource training can’t focus on individual skills alone. There are external forces that cause challenges for human resources management that can be addressed by HR training courses.

  • Compliance and Regulatory Change: As employment laws evolve, the pressure falls on HR to ensure businesses don’t lose compliance. Whether it’s worker’s compensation, equal employment, privacy, or anything in between, missteps can lead to audits, lawsuits, and fines. Learn more in our Human Resources: Protecting Confidentiality course.
  • Adapting to Business Change: Agility is the name of the game for businesses in all industries. But HR can’t run out and hire an entirely-new workforce for every business change. The challenge is getting employees to buy into innovation and learn new technologies and skills. Learn more in our Organizational Learning and Development course.
  • Evolution of Recruiting: Online job boards were supposed to make finding talent easier. Instead, they’ve forced human resources to consume massive volumes of applications for every job posting. It’s getting harder and harder to sift through the information and spot great talent. Offering HR courses that boost talent-sourcing abilities is critical. Learn more in our Talent Sourcing course.
  • Measuring HR Effectiveness: In this age of big data, every department across a business must be able to quantify its value to a business. But it’s difficult to measure the influence HR has on business success. Finding ways to track appropriate metrics can help make HR a more strategic partner. Learn more in our Strategic Human Resources course.
  • Surviving Management Change: Career paths no longer follow the linear path that has all employees rise from entry-level to upper management over a 40-year tenure. Managers will continuously come and go, and HR has to have a strategic workforce plan in place to sustain success. Learn more in our Human Resources: Strategic Workforce Planning course.

Overcoming these challenges requires HR to take on a number of different roles. From performance coach to counselor, employee advocate, and business strategist, today’s HR employees must have a wide range of skills to properly support an organization.

Every human resources department will look a bit different. The organizational structure depends on the specific needs of the business. And, as a result, it can be difficult to tailor human resources training to the unique department.

An added wrinkle is that human resources is comprised of so many different specialties. For both generalist and specialist HR teams, it’s important to have the right set of HR training courses available to bolster necessary skills.

Not all capabilities apply to all HR specialties, but the following skills are important at all levels of the human resources department. Enabling the team with appropriate HR courses can make all the difference between an ineffective team and one that solves business problems.

Employee Relations:

HR isn’t just about being a people person. Employee relations ranges anywhere from simple benefits questions to complex culture issues. Being able to navigate conflicts swiftly and effectively is essential to building a safe workplace. 

Onboarding Employees:

One of the most expensive aspects of any business is the cost of a bad hire. This is often solely attributed to the recruitment process, but onboarding plays an important role, too. Having HR professionals who can create winning onboarding processes and get new hires up to speed quickly can create a comfortable culture that employees aren’t quick to abandon. And when the right expectations are set during onboarding, employees are less likely to fail from a performance perspective.

Workplace Collaboration:

Teamwork is an essential part of any successful business function. It’s not only HR’s job to make sure its own employees work together. HR also has to ensure the workplace offers a collaborative environment for employees in all departments. Offering HR courses that address this strategic skill can ensure a business remains growth-oriented.

Project/Time Management:

The HR department will always conduct projects aimed at making the workplace more innovative and/or efficient. These projects will occur simultaneously with functions like employee relations, onboarding, and recruiting. It’s important that human resources training covers time management thoroughly.

Human Resource Software:

Just like any other aspect of the business, effective human resources is increasingly dependent on tech integration. Every company will have slightly different tech usage, so expertise with specific tools comes with experience. However, human resources training that continually addresses new technology will be more effective.

All of these skills play roles in maximizing talent management, recruiting, compensation/benefits, hiring, L&D, employee relations, HR strategy, and other human resources functions. The key to success is building a culture of learning by offering the right HR courses that help employees meet ever-changing demands.

With so many different responsibilities in the HR department, establishing a continuous learning program can be a real challenge. Sending out an email that tells HR professionals that they now have access to a library of on-demand courses won’t be enough to increase performance.

Instead, you need to provide a guided approach to human resources training that employees can tap into on a regular basis. The LinkedIn Learning library contains HR training courses bundled into specific learning paths, such as:

  • Becoming an HR Business Partner: At the top of the HR org chart, there are business partners responsible for driving operational and strategic change across the organization. This set of courses focuses on building onboarding programs, setting up pay systems, and managing a diverse workforce.
  • Finding and Retaining Talent: Talent recruitment/management is one of the most important roles of human resources. But it’s also one of the most challenging. There’s more competition than ever vying for limited talent. This learning path discusses how to attract new talent, develop its potential, and effectively manage performance along the way.
  • Become a Corporate Recruiter: If your company’s HR department is built with highly-specialized roles, corporate recruiter will be one of the most important. Use HR courses in this learning path to teach employees how to master the hiring process—from screening and interviewing to finding the best candidates.

These learning paths represent a small corner of the entire LinkedIn Learning library. Browse the full array of courses and see how L&D leaders can help HR become a true business partner, unlocking the full value of a well-oiled human resources machine.

Meet a few of LinkedIn Learning's expert instructors

  • Pat Wadors
    Chief Talent Officer at ServiceNow, former SVP of Global Talent at LinkedIn
  • J.T. O'Donnell
    Linkedin Influencer and an expert on job search and recruiting; CEO of WorkItDaily.com
  • Stacey Gordon
    Diversity, inclusion & career strategist; Keynote speaker, Author
  • Lou Adler
    CEO of The Adler Group, an international consulting firm; best-selling author
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