How Honours in Human Resource Management Can Support Line Managers

What is an Honours Degree in Human Resource Management?

After successful completion of a Degree in Human Resource Management, students can choose to study further towards an Honours Degree.

This is a one-year course that equips students with advanced skills and knowledge to effectively manage the organisation and its human resources. Having an Honours considerably amplifies their undergraduate qualification and portable skill set.

What are the levels of HR?

• Entry-level or Lower-level HR
• Mid-level HR
• Senior-level HR
• Specialised HR

Students with Honours in Human Resource Management can occupy middle, senior, and specialised management positions.

HR manager salaries can increase tremendously by skill set — which is where an Honours Degree becomes extremely beneficial to both the employee and employer since the individual gets paid more and the employer enjoys a wider variety and better quality work.

What is the role of HR in supporting line managers and staff?

HR managers play an integral role in providing support to various departments, individuals, and functionalities within an organisation. In fact, the role of HR has evolved considerably in the last 10 years.

Without HR support, organisations won’t be able to recruit and retain employees effectively, improve business performance, or maintain a healthy work environment.

Effective Human Resource Management is important for any organisation because it:

• Saves them money. Although HR doesn’t directly bring in revenue in the same way that the sales and marketing departments do, it saves companies a lot of money by preventing costly problems.
• Human resource managers help organisations avoid big monetary losses of various types by staying up to date on labour laws and regulations and providing training to staff and managers. They also guarantee that no hefty fines need to be paid by the organisation due to non-compliance with certain labour laws.
• Reduces employee turnover. According to the Work Institute’s 2020 Retention Report, the reasons for employee turnover can be prevented.
• HR managers are there to help prevent unhappy employees and toxic work environments. In so doing, companies avoid productivity losses, high turnover rates, and most importantly, a bad reputation amongst workers and clients alike.
• Enhances business performance. While HR managers aren’t there to micro-manage line managers and staff, they can provide valuable insights and recommendations regarding work and time efficiency.
• By using tools to properly track employee time and business processes, they can determine which departments need improvement and implement a powerful learning management system to enhance productivity. Thus having a properly trained and educated HR professional has become a high priority for many businesses in various industries. HR professionals with an Honours Degree are especially highly sought after.

What are Line Manager HR responsibilities?

Line managers are responsible for managing employees and resources to achieve organisational goals. They’re directly responsible for employee performance and are hands-on in getting the work done, handling disciplinary matters, and maintaining employee performance.

Line managers are the first point of contact for employees and often need to relay information between the employees and the higher-ranking HR manager who is responsible for the broader legal and moral aspects of both the company and its employees.

Thus the line manager and HR manager are complementary and supplementary to each other. Line managers are found in all industry verticals, from big to medium-sized corporate brands, to small businesses.

5 Ways that human resource managers can support line managers

Here are the top 5 ways in which human resource managers can support line managers.

• Department recruitment

Together, HR managers and line managers review job listing descriptions for accuracy and completeness to ensure that only the most qualified individuals apply. Additionally, HR managers can also advise line managers on how to pinpoint the best-qualified candidates.

Performance management

Human resource managers need to train line managers by developing learning objectives and preparing them for several leadership tasks. Topics that HR managers cover during training include things like:

• Conducting unbiased assessments of employee performance
• Providing constructive criticism
• Helping employees overcome issues that might be deterring their performance

This way, the organisation will achieve consistent or improved performance.

Resolving conflict

Whenever conflict arises — which is inevitable in any work environment, line managers can seek HR manager’s advice on how to resolve the conflict.

Together, they’ll investigate the differences between staff members and come up with a solution that the line manager can execute.

Skills and development

HR managers can help develop the skills of line managers by showing them how to run effective meetings, conducting performance reviews, showing how to prioritise, teaching them how to build trust, and clarifying when they should seek assistance from senior management.

Prepare them for challenges

It’s the HR manager’s responsibility to prepare the line manager for possible obstacles.

Since line managers will deal with a range of internal challenges, such as workplace conflicts, performance problems, and personal or mental health concerns, they need to be well prepared.

If this sounds like an appealing career and you’re ready to learn more, take a look at our in-depth How to become an HR Manager with Human Resource Management.

Get your Honours Degree in Human Resource Management in South Africa

Having a well-trained and qualified HR manager can do wonders for the growth and reputation of any organisation.

If you’re looking for an excellent HR honours programme that has the latest curriculum and is internationally recognised, head over to the MANCOSA Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Human Resource Management page for more info.