Why HR Courses Need Refreshing and Rebranding

April 3 2021 - The pandemic has to some extent allowed businesses to put human resources (HR) on the back burner. The perception is that the issues that were commonplace in the workplace are lessened with people working in the home. In addition, as companies aim to lower costs, there might be some temptation to focus less on capacity development within their organization and their human resources function. This has also affected the provision of online HR courses and higher education as demand drops and fewer people entering higher education are interested in this particular area of study and career.

There is thus a need to rebrand and refresh HR courses in particular. However, the same is true for a large number of similar online business courses and educational sectors where the demand has dropped as remote work begins to affect the manner in which offices are run and managed. So, while the tips presented herein were designed and researched specifically for the HR sector, they will additionally help other business education sectors that have seen a similar drop in student numbers.

HR education must be current and innovative

In order to ensure human resource learning and online education continue to cater to the requirements of the market, courses need to be current, innovative, and extremely practical. Being relevant in the current context means not only adapting content for the online learning environment, but also ensuring your content is addressing new trends in the human resources sector. The new HR must be more contextually relevant, and your material must be about the new mode of work and how HR fits into this new paradigm.

The use of available technology for the learning process such as webinars and real time teaching must be used as draw cards and make the learning experience interactive.

Yes, remote working is on the rise and is likely to remain a feature of all businesses going forward, but employees remain a vital part of this work. Their needs and wellbeing may have changed, but while at work these should still be the responsibility of the employer. Your HR training will need to reflect this.

Students are key

Once the material has been adjusted for the online environment, and it is more current and relevant, the next step is to actively seek the students that you need. Having the right number as well as the right type of student will be important. In order to attract high-quality learners, you might consider partnering with a higher education marketing agency. This will ensure your marketing and enrollment, and engagement with students is effective and professional. It is akin to outsourcing in the business world, whereby this specific function can easily be handed over to those who specialize in this process. If you have content that is accredited and reflects current trends and needs, then you can be assured that the students are out there will appreciate and need this training.

Concluding comments

As COVID forces companies to cut costs in their human resources departments, HR continues to be a key and much required skill for the business, public and charity sectors. What is required is rebranding and adapting human resource educational courses for the current context. Whether this means considering the needs of those working at home, the remoters, or those returning to the office, your courses need to be looking to the future of HR across any sector.

If you have a course that has suffered as most have over the duration of the pandemic, then look to follow the advice above and rebrand and refresh.

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