The State of HR Skills and Education in 2020: How HR Can Become More Essential and Agile By Improving Capabilities

To learn more, we invite you to download and read the research report and infographic today:

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RESEARCH:

How Highly Educated Are Today's HR Professionals?

Forty-one percent of HR professionals have a master's or higher level degree It is relatively common for HR professionals to have a master's degree or higher (41%), and it is rare to have no college education at all (4%). Certainly, HR professionals are, on average, highly educated. Those looking to get into the profession should recognize that, in most cases, a bachelor's degree will be necessary. Those who already have a master's degree should realize it is no longer the differentiator it once was. HR professionals are much less likely to have a PhD or JD. While such degrees are clearly not mandatory for most HR positions, they are likely differentiators in some cases.

How Important Is Education to HR?

Certifications are viewed as more important for becoming a competitive hire than for meeting employees' needs While 56% of respondents say certifications are important or very important for meeting employees' needs, that falls short of the 75% who say certifications are important or very important for becoming more competitive in the profession and the 71% who say it is very important for gaining more recognition. So, while most HR professionals say certifications have important educational value that can aid employees, the more salient point is that they help signal that the holder is a skilled professional.

How HR Keeps Learning

HR is most comfortable with face-to-face and online learning We asked HR professionals to select the three learning media with which they are most comfortable when learning new skills. In contrast to the previous finding, about two-thirds of HR professionals say they are most comfortable with face-to-face learning. On the other hand, nearly as many (60%) say they are most comfortable taking online courses (they were asked to select their top three). These are the only two instructional media selected by more than half of all respondents. Fewer than 10% of HR professionals say they are "most comfortable" using corporate e-learning courses, mobile apps and podcasts. We should, however, be careful in our interpretation of this data. It does not mean that they do not value these instructional media. It just means that these media just did not make it into the top three.