Become a better manager of people. Develop strategies and skills for hiring, managing performance, and rewarding employees.

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10,733 ratings

John W. Budd +5 more instructors

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Human Resource Management: HR for People Managers SpecializationUniversity of Minnesota

What you will learn

Understanding alternative approaches to managing human resources and appreciating the diversity of factors that motivate workers
Applying best practices for hiring and rewarding employees, and for managing employee performance
Avoiding key mistakes in (mis)managing human resources

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

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Do you have people reporting to you that need managing? Or perhaps you want to consider a career in human resources? Or freshen up your HR knowledge? This specialization provides a robust introduction to the key principles, policies, and practices of human resource management. The specialization begins with a foundational course that considers alternative approaches to managing human resources, provides a background to the U.S. legal context in which employees are hired, fired, rewarded, and managed, and outlines the different reasons that people are motivated to work. The remaining three courses tackle three core areas that all managers should understand: hiring employees, evaluating their performance, and rewarding them. Throughout the courses, an accessible, scientific approach is embraced such that best practices and practical tips are informed by research, but presented in accessible, applied ways. Upon completing the specialization, learners will have a deeper understanding of what works in the workplace, including a toolkit of best practices for hiring, managing, and rewarding employees. The specialization will be valuable for managers and entrepreneurs taking on these responsibilities as well as anyone else interested in the fundamental principles of human resource management. The Capstone Project will provide an opportunity to apply this knowledge to a real situation, including your own organization or work unit if desired.

Applied Learning Project

The projects apply the knowledge learned to specific work groups of your choosing (e.g., your own work team). You will learn how to proactively identify key challenges around staffing, performance management, and compensation and then use this to construct strategies and plans for addressing these challenges in the context of your chosen work group.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 6 months to complete

Suggested pace of 4 hours/week

English

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 6 months to complete

Suggested pace of 4 hours/week

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

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How the Specialization Works

Take Courses

A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.

Hands-on Project

Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.

Earn a Certificate

When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 5 Courses in this Specialization

Course1

Course 1

Preparing to Manage Human Resources

4.8

stars

9,069 ratings

One way or another, all employees are managed. But approaches to managing employees varying from employee-to-employee, job-to-job, manager-to-manager, organization-to-organization, and country-to-country. This course provides a foundation for developing your own approach to skillfully managing employees by illustrating alternative human resource management (HRM) strategies, introducing the importance of the legal context, and thinking about what motivates employees. This will then give you the factual and conceptual basis for developing specific, critical HRM skills in subsequent courses on hiring employees, managing performance, and rewarding employees. Don't know anything about HRM? That's OK! Leave this course with a new-found understanding of the range of options available for managing employees, a grasp of what makes workers tick, and the readiness to develop your own HRM skills.

Course2

Course 2

Recruiting, Hiring, and Onboarding Employees

4.7

stars

4,008 ratings

Finding and hiring the right people is often cited as the number one concern of businesses today. It seems we are all competing for the best and brightest workers. As you will see in our time together in the second course, a critical component of the People Manager Value Proposition is to hire talented people who enable the organization to achieve its strategic goals. This course is an introduction into the topic of recruitment, selection and onboarding.

At the outset of the course we will explore the importance of linking recruitment goals with overall company strategy. We then look at a number of options to recruit and select employees both effectively and legally. Throughout the course we will examine current issues in talent acquisition, such as how companies are now leveraging social media and hiring analytics to ensure better quality hires. At the conclusion of the course, we look at how to onboard employees to promote employee commitment and engagement.

Course3

Course 3

Managing Employee Performance

4.7

stars

2,374 ratings

Once you have hired good employees, the next step that successful people managers take is to develop the full potential of their employees. Performance management is a process that helps managers achieve the goal of getting the best from their employees.

Course4

Course 4

Managing Employee Compensation

4.7

stars

1,698 ratings

Whether you're writing paychecks or wondering where yours comes from, this course is for you!

We begin by asking: "To succeed, what kind of a person does your organization need to attract, retain, and motivate?" From there, we'll explain how to align your organization's objectives, its pay philosophy, and ultimately the way it designs and implements its salary structure, short-term incentives, long-term incentives, and benefits. Interested in learning more about the technical aspects of compensation, but don't know where to begin? We'll give an overview of key the key technical skills: compliance with pay regulations, understanding stock options, shopping for health insurance and pension providers, and designing incentive plans. Lastly, we'll discuss non-monetary methods of motivating employees. Upon completing the course, you should be able to have an understanding of compensation both strategically and technically. Learners will also gain introductory familiarity with pay regulation in the US.

Instructors

Offered by

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation’s most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the refund policy?
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Can I take the course for free?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
How long does it take to complete the Specialization?
There are four topic courses and one Capstone course in the Specialization. Each topic course and the capstone course will last approximately 4 weeks.
How often is each course in the Specialization offered?
Courses will run with cohorts starting approximately every two weeks.
What background knowledge is necessary?
The ideal learner will have at least two years of college experience, but college experience is not required.This course covers the fundamentals of human resources at a sophisticated beginners level. It is beginners level because no prior experience or courses in human resources are necessary, but it is a college-level course in which learners are expected to think carefully about conceptual and practical issues.
Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
Taking the courses in sequence is strongly recommended.
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
No. Not at this time.
What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?
You will be better able to manage people. You will understand the legal environment for managing people and you will have a deeper understanding of what motivates employees. You will be able to effectively hire and integrate new employees, motivate them and manage their performance, and compensate and reward them. You will also be able to avoid key mistakes. If you are a manager, you will also be able to have a more productive relationship with your HR person; if you are starting a career in HR, you will be able to complete basic HR tasks.
How is this learning experience different from other similar learning experiences?
Most courses on managing people emphasize personal leadership and therefore are focused on soft skills to develop good relationships--being compassionate, a good listener, transparent, ethical, collaborative, and the like. Our course is different in focusing on better policies for managing people--best practices for hiring employees, doing performance appraisals, rewarding them. This course is also unique in allowing managers to get a better understanding of what HR professionals in their organizations do, and therefore hopefully have better relationships with them. Finally, our course is unique in bringing a realistic, multidisciplinary approach to managing people. A lot of approaches emphasize a single motivational approach, often rooted in psychology (e.g., find your inner passion). Our courses recognize that employees are diverse and have many motivations, and we infuse our courses with economic, psychological, and other perspectives, not just a singular perspective.
Is work experience necessary?
No. The course material is most directly relevant to managers taking on responsibilities for hiring, motivating, and managing others, but others who are interested in the fundamental principles of human resource management will find the material valuable with or without prior work experience. The context of the material is not limited to any particular occupations, industries, or regions.

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Human Resource Management: HR for People Managers Specialization

What you will learn

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

Applied Learning Project