Navigating the professional learning waters for HRM Moira Bailey
[email protected]
The Background Smith (2003) highlights that in relation to the library and information profession the only certainty is change. Given the complexities of the contemporary occupational climate and, as a result, the skills required by those entering the job market, his comment is relevant to every profession today. In the context of the Human Resource Management (HRM) profession, practitioners increasingly opt to work under less traditional forms of employment status such as ‘contract’ and there is an ever increasing, and constantly evolving number of policy areas (Gold & Bratton 2003) such as employment legislation and regulatory codes of practice which directly, on a daily basis, affect the HRM practitioner (CIPD 2009). While this must have an impact on the professional learning of HRM practitioners there is another factor – that of professional status. Judged against the ‘classical professionalism’ criteria (Locke 2004), HRM is often seen as ‘subordinate’ in the professional world, as Gold and
Bratton (2003) identify, HRM practitioners have ‘some way to go to match the professional status of their finance colleagues’ (p5). HRM, though, does seem to fare better using Swailes’ (2003) ‘new professions’ criteria where ‘new and specialist’ knowledge is demanded. That being the case, appropriate and effective pre-service and continuing professional learning is important for HRM practitioners. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for HRM professionals, recently introduced a new suite of advanced standards to reflect the changing occupational climate. The new standards necessitated the MSc HRM course at Robert Gordon University (RGU) to be re-designed.
We did
The Idea The MSc HRM course and programme leader at RGU decided to explore the possibility of identifying a framework which could be used to ensure these new professional standards as well as the increasingly important and wide ranging employability skills deemed critical for RGU graduates (RGU 2010) entering the competitive occupational market were incorporated in the re-designed course. Not only that but given the importance of professional learning, it was considered that such a framework could also be used in the continuing professional development process which was to be a key element of the re-designed course. This poster details the work in progress study to date.
What the students said Ten students who were nearing completion of their Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management were surveyed to gather their retrospective views on using a framework in the ways identified by the course and programme leader. The consensus of opinion was favourable.
We asked
A comprehensive literature review was carried out to discover current academic thinking on the subject of professional competence and professionalism in the context of the HR occupation. Many writers have written on the subject of competence in general, and professional competence in particular, including McClelland (1973), Boyatzis (1982), Spencer & Spencer (1993), Mansfield (2004), Juceviciene & Lepaite (2005) and Cheetham and Chivers (1996, 1998, 2005). Following this literature review, and despite having its critics such as Haigh (2006), the Cheetham and Chivers model of professional competence seemed to be the most appropriate model to use in this study. The model was selected because it represented an amalgam of current thinking as well as the components being comprehensive and transferable. We did It was decided to create an HR version of Cheetham and Chivers’ professional competence model . The HR version was developed by Moira Bailey and Anne Stevenson, the course and programme leader for MSc Human Resource Management respectively and included all technical knowledge, skills and behaviours required by the contemporary HR practitioner in addition to the employability skills required by graduates entering the job market in the current occupational climate. The relevant knowledge, skills and behaviours were identified through a process of eliciting information and opinions from a range of sources using either desk research or interview: • • • • • •
The original Cheetham and Chivers professional competence model CIPD’s HR professional map HR lecturing staff Currently practising HR professionals Local industry representatives Employability skills literature
Twenty two students studying the newly designed MSc in Human Resource Management were surveyed at the end of their first semester to elicit their views on the use of the HR professionality continuum in the ways described above. The consensus of opinion was that: • Students found it useful to track how their knowledge, skills and behaviours were being developed. • Students found it useful to have a framework on which to base their continuing development planning and map the recording of learning • Students identified that the model highlighted that the knowledge, skills and behaviours required by HR practitioners today were similar to those of the occupations which are more readily recognised as being professions. This has the effect, the students believed, of raising the status of the HR occupation.
How the HR professional competence model was used The course re-design took place during the period from March 2011 to August 2011 and the new course was delivered to students from September 2011. • During the course re-design the content, delivery and assessment processes for individual modules were mapped by the Course and Programme Leader on to the HR professional competence model to ensure that all competences on the model were addressed at least once. • The HR professional competence model was distributed to students at the start of their course in September 2011. Students were shown how to use the model in two ways, firstly, to track the development of their knowledge, skills and behaviours as the course progressed, and secondly, as a framework for the continuing professional development process which is an integral element of the course.
References Boyatzis, R.E. (1982) The competent manager: a model for effective performance. London: Wiley Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2009) The HR Lobby – your voice on public affairs and employment law [online] London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Available from: http://www.cipd.co.uk/publicpolicy [Accessed 20 September 2011] Cheetham & Chivers g (1996) Towards a holistic model of professional competence journal of European and Industrial Training V20 No 5 pp 20-30 Cheetham G & Chivers G (1998) The Reflective (and competent) practitioner: a model of professional competence which seeks to harmonise the reflective practitioner and competence –based approaches Journal of European and Industrial Training V22 No 7 pp267-276 Cheetham G & Chivers G (2005) Professions, competence and Informal learning Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Gold J & Bratton J (2003) The dynamics of Professionalisation: Whither the HRM Profession Conference Paper – Critical Management Studies 2003 Stream 8 Human Resource Management Phenomena – HRM and beyond July 7-9 2003 Lancaster University
Further Research It is intended, over the next year, to conduct further research to elicit views on the use of the HR professional competence model from a range of stakeholders: • The students who used the model during their course once they have completed the MSc Human Resource Management course • Lecturing staff involved in the delivery of the course • Local employers • The students who used the framework in their course one year after course completion
Haigh J (2006) Book Review – Graham Cheetham and Geoff Chivers (2005) Professions, competence and Informal learning Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Juceviciene P & Lepaite D (2005) Competence as derived from activity: the problem of their level correspondence [online] Available from: http://info.smf.ktu.lt/Edukin/evaco/competence.html [Accessed 10 June 2011] Locke T (2004) Reshaping Classical Professionalism in the Aftermath of Neoliberal Reform Journal of the Australian association for the teaching of English 139 Feb 2004 pp 113-121 McClelland D (1973) Testing for competence rather than for ‘intelligence’ American psychologist Vol 28 No 1 pp 1-14 Mansfield B (2004) Competence in Transition Journal of European Industrial Training V28 No2/3/4 pp 296-309 Smith I (2003) Human Resource development – A strategic imperative, Library Management Vol 24 No 8/9 RGU (2010) What the papers say about RGU [online] Available from: http://www.rgu.ac.uk/files/dmfile/WhatthePapersSay10.pdf [Accessed 19 September 2011] Spencer L & Spencer S (1993) Competence at Work New York:Wiley
