Managing and Developing HR Careers

Emerging Trends and Issues

The aim of this study was to gain a clear view of the most common career paths for HR professionals and to understand how these were changing as new roles and structures appeared.

It also aimed to gather views about the most successful routes to top HR positions and uncover the career aspirations of people management professionals.

It investigates the impact of shared service centres and outsourcing, examines how organisations manage the careers of their HR professionals, and gives examples of best practice.

A range of potential tensions for the function revolves around roles in HR and the consequent changing shape of HR careers. In many organisations the function has fundamentally changed its interaction with organisations, with a shift in emphasis from administration and operational matters, to strategic partnership and change management. Traditional distinctions between specialists and generalists are also becoming more pronounced, especially in large organisations.

In terms of career development, it appears the HR function is not always practising what it preaches. Most of the case study organisations featured in the report felt they should have a more systematic approach to developing careers.

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