What is Human Resource Development (HRD)?

2023 Complete Guide

Table of contents

What is human resource development?

What are the 7 elements of human resource development?

What are some examples of human resource development?

4 priority topics for formal internal training

5 benefits of human resource development

5 tips for effective HRD

FAQ

Conclusion

Last updated September 9, 2023

Workhuman Editorial Team

6 min read

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Successful leaders make a point of developing their assets. And it goes without saying that your
employees are your strongest assets.

Herein comes the role of human resource development (HRD), which is the framework set by an
organization with different means of developing its employees.

So, how does human resource development work? This article provides a complete guide to the main
function, tools, and benefits of human resource development. It also offers tips for efficient human
resource development.
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What is human resource development?

Human resource development (HRD) refers to the organization’s plan to help employees develop their
abilities, skills, and knowledge. In return, this process enhances the organization’s efficiency.

Generally speaking, human resource development ensures the effectiveness and advancement of
individual employees, collective departments, and the organization itself.

HR professionals focus on three primary aspects of human resource development in the HR life cycle:

Training and development - improving knowledge and skills necessary for a future role or responsibilities

Organization development - improving organizational effectiveness and well-being through macro and
micro changes

Career development - improving individual career planning and management through mentorship

Human resource development guarantees that your employee is competent enough to perform his/her
current job. Moreover, it packs your employees with the necessary knowledge and strengths needed for
career growth.

Recent changes in the concept of human resource development

In the past, the entire focus of any human resource department was to pick and maintain the right
person for the job. Development programs and policies were one-size-fits-all approaches to keeping the
workforce’s hard skills up to speed. However, this has changed recently.

Now the aim is to match the individual needs with those of the organization and provide internal
support so both can accomplish their goals. This entails creating a growth culture with programs and
policies that promote up-skilling and development.

HR must also help build a more agile and resilient workforce to adapt to the changing work
environments. This new approach represents the company’s effort to contribute to the development of
the individual and the organization.

What are the 7 elements of human resource development?

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In an HR department, there are seven key human resource development functions:

1. Manpower planning, recruitment, and retention

Strategic staffing is the foundation for building a qualified workforce. Manpower planning, recruitment,
and retention are top among human resource management concerns and critical to long-term business
success.

While HR departments should aim to recruit and retain the best possible candidates, it’s important to
remember they may not be the candidate with the most experience.

Employee development will help close any skills gaps, so when you’re forecasting and planning your
human resource needs, don’t rely on finding the right person or tapping into the right talent supply. Plan
for development that can help you attract and retain them as well, especially in these competitive labor
markets.

2. Succession planning and talent management

Development programs can also help future-proof your organization’s productivity through succession
planningOpens in a new tab. This talent management strategy involves identifying critical roles across an
organization and training employees to take on these positions in the future.

Organizations will always experience turnover. Formal succession training and informal career coaching
are effective contingency planning strategies to ensure your workforce will always have someone on
hand with the knowledge and skills to perform critical tasks.

These strategies for talent management have the added benefit of engaging employees with their own
growth and can help foster relationships between employees.

3. Policy and procedures

HRD requires identifying the needs of your business and developing suitable policies and procedures to
meet them. This is achievable through a cycle of creating, launching, monitoring and improving
initiatives for development.
HR departments must engage in collecting feedback and reporting on these policies and procedures to
be certain their initiatives meet the needs of employees as well as organizations and their own
departmental goals.

As part of the information gathering and planning stages, be sure to define these goals and
measurements so you can launch your initiatives successfully.

4. Performance management system

A performance management systemOpens in a new tab aims primarily to ensure your workforce's
alignment with your company’s strategic goals. Such systems combine methodologies and technologies
that measure and develop employees' performance.

They are effective tools for continuously monitoring and improving development plans, as well as other
aspects of performance management. HR professionals need to understand their system’s capabilities
and define procedures for using them for development.

5. Compensation and benefits program

Compensation and benefits refer to two distinct concepts. Compensation refers to the cash return
employees receive in the form of salaries or wages. Benefits, or fringe benefitsOpens in a new tab, are
the various forms of non-cash rewards.

HR teams can use both to provide professional development opportunities through funding for classes,
procurement of learning platforms, or the creation of internal training.

On top of their wages, your employees want peer recognition, autonomy, and other perks. Development
opportunities are among one of the top perks applicants are seeking.

Therefore, following a solid human resource development plan can lure great talents who seek ongoing
learning opportunities. This way, you can attract, maintain, motivate, and support your employees.

6. Employer brand communication and employee engagement

Employer branding is the process of creating a company profile or brand that attracts future employees.
Human resource development enables you to let your employees do the branding for you.
Interestingly, you can’t create a powerful employer brand without investing in your current employees.
We recommend that you establish a healthy culture of inclusion, trust, engagement, and diversity. This
way, your employees can do the branding for you.

What are some examples of human resource development?

Human resource development can be done formally or informally. Here’s a list of formal and informal
human resource development ideas:

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Formal human resource development examples

Tuition assistance

Work-related college courses

Personalized development plan

Organizational training sessions

Internal training with consultants or qualified staff members

Informal human resource development examples

Mentoring by managers or more experienced employees

Managerial coaching

Cross-training with highly trained employees

4 priority topics for formal internal training

Internal training is one of the most important tools offered by organizations. Recently, some formal
training topics have gained more significance, including:

1. Sexual harassment and discrimination prevention

There’s an ever-increasing body of legal imperatives related to sexual harassmentOpens in a new tab and
discriminationOpens in a new tab in the workplace.

In turn, this has caused a sharp increase in the popularity of training for the prevention of such cases.
2. Risk management and safety

The Occupational Safety and Health AdministrationOpens in a new tab (OSHA) requires every
organization to provide its employees, even temporary ones, with safety orientation training.

This ensures the rights and safety of every employee.

3. Supervisor training

Supervisor training provides important development opportunities for both senior and new staff.

It allows your qualified employees to polish their knowledge while delivering the training to the new
ones.

4. Equal employment opportunity and diversity training

A solid program to motivate diversity and ensure equal opportunities in the workplace can help your
business reach its strategic goals.

In fact, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (EEOC) offers strong training courses in this
field that you can benefit from.

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5 benefits of human resource development

Human resource development is a major contributor to the well-being of any organization. It can be key
to a stronger workforce, better relations, higher productivity, and profitability.

1. Attracting only the best

A company’s human resource development plan can be a major attraction to the best employees in the
market. Generally speaking, career-oriented employees are always in search of new opportunities to
develop and sharpen their skills.

In fact, a 2019 report found 86% of U.S. employeesOpens in a new tab said they would leave a position
for an organization with development opportunities. And that was before the pandemic changed
professional developmentOpens in a new tab approaches and the Great Resignation made learning and
development a priorityOpens in a new tab for many organizations.

2. Increasing loyalty and satisfaction

The goal isn’t only to attract but also to retain talents. Job markets are incredibly dynamic. Therefore,
you need to keep an edge to keep your ideal employees. This can be done by investing in them through
human resource development opportunities.

Encouraging and improving your employees can be crucial to increase their loyalty and job
satisfactionOpens in a new tab. As such, they’re more likely to remain with you.

SHRM found 86% of employeesOpens in a new tab believed career development was important to their
overall job satisfaction.

3. Prepare for the future

Human resource development helps prepare employees for future posts. It allows them to develop new
attitudes, skills, and knowledge to take on leadership positions.

On top of that, it helps you identify your employees’ strengths and weaknesses to create effective
company succession planning strategies.

4. Raising the bar

Constant training and development can boost the performance level for the entire organization. In other
words, a well-trained workforce excels and thus raises the business itself.

That’s mainly because human resource development fosters commitment and alters their attitude
towards change with their new enhanced capabilities.

5. Fostering healthy relations

Investing in your human resources can be a great way to foster healthy relationshipsOpens in a new tab
in the workplace. In short, creating an encouraging and ongoing learning environment increases a sense
of respect and trust between you and your employees.
Moreover, such development plans promote the employees’ participation. This, in turn, enhances team
spirit, allowing for a healthier workplace.

5 tips for effective HRD

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Here’s a comprehensive guide for effectively applying human resource development for the utmost
results.

1. Consistent check-ins

To foster an ongoing learning environment, we recommend that you arrange consistent sessions with a
facilitator or a consultant for internal training, coaching, or simple check-ins on progress and goals.

For informal development, weekly meetings can easily be coordinated between the mentor and
employee. When planning a formal or internal training cadence, aim for weekly meetings over a set
number of weeks with milestones employees can plan around.

Note that internal training entails a presenter who’s familiar with your workplace spirit, language, and
culture.

2. Baby steps

We recommend that you give your employees a reasonable amount of information to process. Don’t
overwhelm them with new ideas and skills or you’ll increase their overall workload, risking burnout and
limited retention or engagement with the training.

Pace your program and provide employees with different approaches to learning to accommodate
schedules, learning styles, and their individual development goals.

Besides, when you provide employees with a manageable amount of data, they can easily implement
them, showing you immediate development.

3. Constant feedback

Feedback is a two-way process, meaning, it should be constantly given and received.

Mentors and supervisors need to give employees consistent feedback to help them implement their
newly acquired knowledge. They should similarly ask for feedback from employees.

HR teams should also request employee feedback on their programs and procedures. Their honest
reflection can help you enhance your human development programs. Consider sending out pulse surveys
to regularly collect feedback organization-wide about existing policies and desired development
opportunities.

4. People are different

When performing a development plan, you should bear in mind that people learn differently. For
instance, some employees may be able to grasp concepts through spoken information or visual aids.
However, others need a more hands-on approach to fully understand ideas.

We said it before, but it’s worth repeating. You need to accommodate the different learning styles, which
may involve helping employees design their own path for development.

5. Show appreciation

Your employees need to feel appreciated. Thus, we recommend that you use simple gestures of
recognition and appreciation such as certificates, badges, or even verbal reaffirmation.

This way, you both encourage progressing employees and entice the rest to work harder. Doing so
creates a strong workforce of life-long learners.

When planning learning initiatives, be sure to think about how to incorporate acknowledgment into your
plan and communicate that need with key leaders.

Looking for an employee recognition program that not only moves the needle on your HRD metrics but
also lifts employees to their full potential?

Check out Social Recognition® today.

FAQ
What’s the difference between HRD and HRM?

There are differences between the two concepts include:

HRM focuses on administrative aspects while HRD focuses on learning and improving performance.

The goal of HRM aims at improving employees, while HRD aims at the benefit of the entire organization.

HRM is for the HR department, but HRD is for managers.

HRM relies on financial motivation, but HRD motivates by appreciation and development.

What are the 4 types of training?

The four types of training are:

Induction Training: the essential introduction given by the supervisor to ease the transition of new
employees.

Job Training: typically given by a senior employee about the specifics of a certain job.

Training for Promotion: targets existing employees to prepare them for higher roles.

Refresher Training: short seminars to help employees update their knowledge in their fields.

Conclusion

A healthy organization recognizes the importance of human resource development. Although HRD plans
aim at the enhancement of individual employees, they affect the overall development of the
organization.

For efficient human resource development, you should consider seven main elements. These include job
evaluation, compensations and benefits, succession planning, and employer branding.

In today’s competitive job market, you should incorporate HRD to hire and retain the best employees
that’ll help raise your company’s overall performance.

Hr leader

Human resources

About the author

Workhuman Editorial Team