Abstract
Purpose – The human resource (HR) function is experiencing considerable change with pressure to
demonstrate added value and a trend to outsourcing. This paper aims to examine the early careers and
career development of HR professionals in this time of change, and to consider the development
implications for employers, the individuals themselves and providers of management education.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from participants on a postgraduate
programme in human resource management (HRM) at a regional university in the UK.
Findings – The participants displayed characteristics of the protean career including both frequency
of job moves and moves between management functional areas before they were in a position to
acquire a professional qualification to take their career to another level.
Originality/value – The research indicates that HR careers are changing and the old certainties of a
secure HR career in a large or public sector organisation can no longer be taken for granted. This has
implications for higher education institutions providing specialist programmes in HRM.
Keywords Human resource management, Education, Career development
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Recent major transformations in the workplace have resulted in the human resource
(HR) function experiencing considerable change (CIPD, 2005; Scott-Jackson et al., 2005).
There has been a good deal of interest in “business partnering” which involves the
re-structuring of HR into three specialist functions of strategic partners, centres of
excellence and shared services, along the lines advocated by Ulrich (1995). The
professional body for personnel and HR professionals, the Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development, has been striving to raise the profile of HR along these
lines, promoting the notion of those working in HR as “thinking performers” and
working with the higher education sector to reposition the professional HR
qualification at postgraduate level. In contrast, there is also evidence that there is a
growing trend to outsource human resource activities, mainly for cost and efficiency
reasons and that such outsourcing may pose potential threats to job security for those
working in the profession by reorganising jobs into dedicated call centres. In the face of
these apparently contradictory developments, what are the consequences for HR
professionals and their own career development?