5 Great Human Resources Specializations - The Top Business Schools and Degrees

5 Top Specializations in Human Resources

Talent Director
Diversity and Inclusion Manager
Corporate Communications Manager
Organizational Development (OD) Professional
Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) Expert

When a worker launches a new career in human resources, they have the option to become an HR generalist or to choose a human resources specialization. HR generalists tend to be valued more by smaller companies that do not need to hire small armies to manager their human relations. HR specialists are particularly important players in sizable global corporations where the HR staff must collectively oversee the recruitment, hiring and training of tens of thousands of people worldwide.

What, exactly, does an HR specialist do that an HR generalist does not? While an HR generalist will typically cover all or most aspects of recruiting, interviewing, hiring, promoting and firing personnel on behalf of a smaller company, an HR specialist will focus his or her efforts exclusively on one important aspect of the HR department’s responsibilities. The following are five fantastic HR specializations to consider.

1. Talent Director

A talent director typically performs functions of talent management. This can include numerous aspects of employee development, according to Workable. Employee retention can be a significant part of a talent director’s job. Employee promotions, coaching and training are important facets of the position. During corporate restructuring initiatives, a talent director may be called on re-train and reassign employees who might otherwise be laid off.

2. Diversity and Inclusion Manager

Hiring managers tend to recruit people like themselves. It’s usually an unconscious bias. Without the involvement of a diversity and inclusion manager, companies may be in danger of discriminatory hiring behavior. A diversity and inclusion manager is responsible for ensuring that the company follows diversity and inclusion laws, according to the Department of Labor.

3. Corporate Communications Manager

Any corporation employing a sizable workforce has a need for someone to create and disseminate internal communications such as company newsletters, presentations and corporate web pages. In large global corporations, this might be a multi-person job, as internal communications may need to be made in numerous languages; it sometimes takes an entire department of communications specialists and managers to handle these tasks. In mid-sized companies, one communications manager might handle all the communication responsibilities. In small companies, these tasks might be part of an HR generalist’s job description, along with many other HR responsibilities.

4. Organizational Development (OD) Professional

If a company isn’t conscious about the design of the corporate organizational development professional, it is almost guaranteed to evolve in unintended and undesirable ways. Hiring OD professionals ensures that the company’s structure and design align closely with the corporate mission statement, vision statement and strategic goals. This position is particularly important at times when radical changes are taking place such as a corporate restructuring or merger.

5. Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) Expert

As corporations rely on ever-increasing amounts of automation and computerization, it becomes increasingly important to hire staffers who are information systems experts. An HRIS expert is typically responsible for choosing a new HRIS system on behalf of his or her employer, customizing it to meet the company’s needs, deploying its use, training colleagues on how to use it and maintaining it according to accepted best practices.

These are only five of the possible specializations that a human resources professional might undertake. There are numerous others in addition to these, but we chose to recommend these five because they tend to be some of the best paying human resources specializations in the current job market.