Study Human Resource Management (HRM)

Are you interested in becoming a human resource professional? If so, you should gain some international exposure and experience, because it matters for your career and success in the HR field. Here, we will discuss why you should study human resource management abroad more closely.

When it comes to HR, there is a big gap in international exposure and experience. When more businesses get into the international marketplace, there is greater demand for HR executives who are capable of navigating the world of international recruitment. Many organisations want and require HR managers who can seek, understand, and hire international talent.

Further, in a marketplace that is becoming increasingly global and competitive, companies seek innovative ways of maximising their workforces. Studying human resource management abroad will help you gain insights into the best practices of flourishing multinational corporations. It will also let you connect with and learn from international leaders in HR and industry experts.

International human resource management lends itself nicely to a set of skills that may be off your radar. Why? Because there is a lack of tailor-made solutions to issues that you come across domestically. The skills you will develop include the following:

• Being adaptable and flexible in discovering ways of solving even the problems you did not realise existed;
• The capability of making decisions in an ever-evolving environment; and,
• The application of skills and knowledge across a wide range of international businesses.

The skills include an understanding of the legal nitty-gritties of recruiting people on a global scale, as well. We will elaborate on this in the next point about why you should study human resource management abroad.

You must understand different cultures to be able to have as much success as possible in this field. Understanding the common and different aspects of employees and leveraging those aspects in an HR context, will benefit not just you but also your employer.

You will also understand where, why, how, and when to turn to other organisations and prospective employees with dignity and cultural grace. This will play a big part in developing healthy working relationships.

Managing HR internationally entails determining how to deliver HR capabilities globally. You have two options: creating localised HR processes and systems as well as scaling operations at a centralised location. Most organisations attempt to strike a balance between both because there is sometimes a need for a local approach for optimal business function, despite centralization having its own benefits.

Even the business opportunities with the most potential could fail if you do not manage your human resources well enough. HR issues are some of the most complex barriers to the international expansion of organisations and companies worldwide.

Managing HR globally may entail the following:

• Hiring people with the requisite skills
• Maintaining adherence to employment customs and rules
• Understanding the HR implications of cultural differences
• Encouraging diversity and inclusion
• Addressing the barriers to effective communication
• Managing the development of employees
• Planning the policies that relate to employee salaries and benefits

Depending on the university, human resource management study-abroad programs may cover things such as global strategy, labour law, corporate law, industrial relations, strategic accounting, and more. After teaching the basics, these courses proceed to topics such as organisational design and theory, along with HR theory, recruitment, performance management, and so forth. Many international universities also offer students opportunities to participate in workshops at leading companies, besides projects, internships, and so forth.

There are non-academic and academic requirements for you to satisfy, whether you are pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in HRM. There are also English language proficiency requirements to get entry into a human resource development management course. This means that you must get the minimum scores in the university-specified English proficiency test unless you have an exemption. Studying a full-time course overseas also requires you to have a student visa or study permit that lasts long enough for you to complete the course.

We are not getting into detail here because the requirements to study human resource course subjects may vary from one country to another and from one university to another. The kind of degree you want to get may affect the requirements as well. For example, some universities require applicants to have some years of work experience to be able to gain entry to their master’s degree programmes in HRM. If there is a university or course in your mind, feel free to contact our educational counsellors for further information or assistance about it.