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Am I HR Material
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Am I HR Material
Discuss workforce management, performance management, retention, communication, motivation, contributing to business results and other topics.
Interested in compliance, regulations, mediation training and resolving personnel conflict.
I do not work in HR but I am considering a change in career. I need help from those who know. I am 45 with
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Am I HR Material
posted at 8/1/2009 8:16 AM EDT
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Posts: 3
First: 8/1/2009 Last: 8/2/2009 |
Interested in compliance, regulations, mediation training and resolving personnel conflict.
I do not work in HR but I am considering a change in career. I need help from those who know. I am 45 with a bachelors in Human Services. I worked twenty years in healthcare in medical staff/quality mgt. This included case review, recruiting doctors, the H.R. of medical staff and a lot of regulatory compliance. I also worked Hospice as Mgr. of volunteer/marketing dept. This entailed recruiting volunteers and compliance for dept that was about to loose it's nonprofit status. I since have moved into education for corrections. I run a program (contracted through school district) for life skills for prisoners released from prison and need to improve behavioral skills. The program is 6hr 5 days a week. I work with highest offenders that cannot go into comm progs. due to threat level. I am in a dead end field both in education since it is mostly k-12 and that is not what i want to teach, healthcare which is dominated by nursing and corrections is dominated by law enforcement officers. Unless I want to join "their ranks" I have to make a move fast. I am considering H.R. due to my regulatory compliance background, my teaching/training experience and my degree in human services that focused a lot on psychology and case mgt. I am not sure if I need to get a masters in H.R. (which boxes me in on H.R.) or if I can get a H.R. certificate and that will suffice to get me in the door in the arena of employee relations/arbitration. I would like to get my certification in mediation and use for H.R. Am I on the right track? What do you think as someone from the H.R. arena should I pursue if interested in employee relations/training development/mediation/labor relations. Do they all fall under the same umbrella. What do I need and based on what you know of my background what would you suggest? I am told that you have to start at the bottom in H.R. and my skills are not transferable. I have also been told that I should get a paralegal certification if I am interested in employment law/mediation. What do you think? |
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Am I HR Material
posted at 8/2/2009 8:08 AM EDT
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Posts: 3870
First: 2/12/2002 Last: 11/2/2009 |
Mediation in HR is a very very narrow field. Even with a mediation certification it'd probably be difficult.
I think you'd be well advised to research some other credential that would boost your chances. The most versatile would be an MBA with an HR concentration, and there are several fully accredited (AACBS accreditation) online programs that would be viable options for you. If you dont' want to go that route, then you could get some certification - certifications exist for compensation, benefits and generalist HR although there may be prior professional experience requirements for these. It is entirely likely, however, that you'll start in HR at a lower level than perhaps you'd like. You'll have to weigh that outcome against the cost and effort to get a solid HR qualification on your resume. You do indicate that you have some recruiting of healthcare professionals in your background. I've seen an ongoing need for recruiters in this area, so perhaps leveraging that experience into a healthcare organization could be your ticket into HR. Recruiting is, afterall, part of HR. |
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Am I HR Material
posted at 8/2/2009 8:39 AM EDT
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Posts: 3
First: 8/1/2009 Last: 8/2/2009 |
Thank you so much for replying. I have been sitting on this computer hoping someone would give me some insight. IF mediation is a narrow field, what about labor relations. Is that hare to get into or employee relations. It seems labor relations is a specialty in itself and you don't get that from school book. I see more jobs it seems that are generalist that do everything. What do you do and what is your experience with labor relations, employee relations. Masters is not an issue, just not sure which direction to go. |
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Am I HR Material
posted at 8/2/2009 11:26 AM EDT
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Posts: 3870
First: 2/12/2002 Last: 11/2/2009 |
Labor relations deals with unions, and there's a whole body of law and regulation that deals with that. You can indeed learn much of it from books - Cornell's HR masters degree is actually called MILR, or Master's in Industrial and Labor Relations. Good labor contract negotiators and contract administrators are usually in demand, though the demand is declining due to the diminshing role of unions in the workforce. (editorial add: Diminishing only if the abominable Employee Free Choice Act passes Congress. If it does, LR might be a great career field).
ER is also quite law intensive. Only a small part of ER deals with mediation/counseling/handholding; much more emphasis is on employee policies/procedures, performance management, discipline, employee communications, diversity management, organizational culture development and a whole bunch of other things I'm leaving out. I'm sure other contributors and ones more well versed in ER can add substantially. |
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