Understanding the Human Resources Function

Learn the essential role of human resources in successful organizations. This course will help you understand this very vital link in the organizational chain, so that managers and business owners can feel prepared to handle basic human resource functions.

6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs

Starting December 13, 2023

Offered in partnership with your preferred school

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Learning method

Self-paced

$190

No instructor. Study on your own schedule

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Instructor-led

$175

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Starting December 13 | January 17

Details + Objectives

Course code: res

No matter what role you play in an organization, you are all affected by human resources. This course is designed to help people without experience in human resources to understand this very vital link in the organizational chain. It will prepare both managers and business owners to handle basic human resource functions in a way that will ensure the best possible result. In particular, attention is given to the hiring process, including ways to locate quality employees in a competitive labor market. Employee rights and the legal side of the human resource field are also covered.

What you will learn

Learn to handle basic human resource functions effectively
Understand the hiring process, including ways to locate quality employees in a competitive labor market
Examine employee rights and the legal side of the human resource field
Learn how to conduct effective interviews
Gain a new respect for the vital role Human Resources plays in an organization

How you will benefit

Gain confidence in your ability to relate to employees and coworkers in an appropriate way
Learn to make better hires even in competitive markets
Open the door to new opportunities in entry-level HR positions

How the course is taught

Instructor-led or self-paced online course
6 Weeks or 3 Months access
24 course hours

Outline

Do you ever wonder why the field of human resources is the way it is? How it has evolved? In your first lesson, you will travel through history to explore the roots of human resources. You will see how the modern human resource function has evolved from trade guilds, through the industrial revolution, to modern times.

What exactly does the human resource professional do on the job? In this lesson, you will take a look at the variety of vital activities that are frequently included in the human resources function. This variety can include everything from recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees, to labor management relations and workplace safety and training.

How does someone go about finding and hiring a new employee? The initial preparation for hiring is often done in the quiet of an office, which may make it seem like new employees just magically appear. This lesson explores what goes on in that quiet office—focusing on preparing advertisements and application forms, reviewing and screening applications, conducting interviews, and verifying information.

Interviews and background checks are key components of the hiring process. The interview is your chance to evaluate the job applicant in person to see how well their skills match your job requirements. This lesson looks at each part of the interview—from setting it up and to rating the person after the interview.

How do you get someone to apply for a job? Solid recruiting practices using both traditional and nontraditional techniques will ensure that you have a large pool of applicants from which to pick and choose. Traditionally, many companies simply run a classified job ad when they need a new employee, but in this lesson, you will explore other alternatives that may be equally effective in recruiting.

What motivates a quality employee to stay on the job? What can you do to keep employees happy and working? In this lesson, you will learn how to analyze job satisfaction and the factors that keep employees happy.

What rights do employees have? What are moral rights and how can the company protect them? What is the difference between a moral and a legal right? This lesson explores both moral and legal rights and how they can be used to benefit employees.

What legal responsibilities does a company owe its employees? This lesson provides an overview of the many laws that impact the workplace. You will examine laws that govern union-management interactions, prohibit discrimination, set wage and hour requirements, and enforce safety standards.

Do you have a policy manual at work? What policies are included in the manual? How does anyone ever decide what policies to include? In this lesson, you will learn about policy manuals—what they should include, what policies are most common, and how you can ensure your policies comply with the law.

How can workplace communication be effective? What should you do to ensure that communication is taking place on a regular basis? This lesson focuses on the need for effective communication programs at work and how to implement them. You will find out how to keep communication running smoothly throughout the organization.

What should a strong employee benefit program include? What is involved in putting a benefit package together? Benefits are a great way to attract and keep employees. This lesson explores common employment benefits as insurance and retirement.

Have you ever wondered what makes a human resource professional successful? In your final lesson, you will learn the eight habits that successful professionals adopt. You will leave with the insight and ability to achieve excellence at work.

Instructors & Support

Ann Nevers

Ann Nevers holds a law degree and a master's in health law. She works in dispute resolution for business, employment, and health care and regularly teaches courses in these areas. She has published numerous academic articles, edited legal manuals, and written chapters on employment, dispute resolution, and health care topics.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Requirements

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

PC: Windows 8 or later.
Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

FAQ

Instructor-Led: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.

Self-Paced: Your course begins immediately after you enroll.

Instructor-Led: Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

Self-Paced: You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

Instructor-Led: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.

Self-Paced: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Instructor-Led: Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.

Self-Paced: Because this course is self-paced, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

Reviews

Ann Nevers is an exceptional instructor who not only provides excellent lessons, but responds to all discussion area notes in a timely manner. I hope Ann decides to add more classes as she has a wealth of knowledge to share with others, and is a terrific instructor!

Being new to HR, I found this course most helpful. It helped me to understand the HR functions and gave me guidance and ideas to bring into our program. I feel confident I can contribute successfully to my company.

Great class and excellent instructor! I learned so much in this class that my knowledge improved 100% on this subject.

Great course for an overview of Human Resource plus good tips on handling different aspects of the function such as hiring, developing/updating employee manuals, communications and benefits. Discussion area with instructor and other students was beneficial as a way to share ideas and learn from the experience of others.

I enjoyed the interaction that the classmates had with the instructor. I like the fact that we received a great deal of supplementary material that we can study further. Anne gave great feedback. I would definitely take another course led by her.

I enjoyed this course, it was the perfect length and covered all of the essentials in which I was looking for. The professor was excellent, her writing skills are exceptional, everyting was explained very clearly. I would strongly recommend this course!

I found this course to be highly informative and met my needs with a great deal of satisfaction. The instructor always responded to discussion on a timely basis and had a great deal of knowledge relating to the subject matter. I would highly recommend this course to others.

In my role as a Sales Manager I deal with the HR Function every day. The course really opened my eyes as to the Function. I gained some newfound skills from this course.

The course is packed with information that I can apply on my job immediately. Excellent course!

Great class and excellent instructor! I learned so much in this class that my knowledge improved 100% on this subject.

In my role as a Sales Manager I deal with the HR Function every day. The course really opened my eyes as to the Function. I gained some newfound skills from this course.

The course is packed with information that I can apply on my job immediately. Excellent course!

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Understanding the Human Resources Function

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