Human Resource Management Certificate Program

An organization’s effectiveness is directly related to the caliber of its employees. Poor hiring decisions result in costly and time consuming problems related to performance management, employee relations, and productivity issues. Examine how to meet the challenge of hiring quality individuals with relevant background and experience, as well as how to source, recruit, and onboard employees for your organization.

This course will introduce you to strategies and practices for successful recruitment and selection as well as the legal requirements with which you must comply. Topics include job analysis, developing marketable job postings, recruitment and selection, onboarding, developing Talent Brand, behavioral interviewing, candidate assessment, background investigations, recruitment technologies, legislative compliance, equal employment opportunity and affirmative action requirements. You will gain hand-on experience using various recruiting tools and industry leading technologies.

• Identify the relationship of Talent Acquisition to the Human Resources function.
• Analyze a variety of job descriptions and create recruiting narratives.
• Create and conduct behavioral interviews.
• Compare and contrast the types of recruiting strategies.
• Develop a sourcing plan for specific jobs, including creative posting text.
• Demonstrate the ability to develop search criteria and locate candidates using a variety of tools and techniques.

Talent management is a set of skills to provide continuous talent development to improve morale, company outcomes and personal fulfillment. Designed for new and seasoned human resource professionals, this course provides participants with the insights, frameworks, and tools to effectively manage and develop talent in organizations. Participants will practice best approaches to align talent development with strategic workforce planning goals; review alternative approaches to performance management; conduct and deliver effective performance feedback; and integrate such as leadership development, mentoring and coaching to drive cultures of excellence and improve overall employee performance. By the end of this course, students will understand methods for assessing the effectiveness of talent development programs and the critical role effective communication plays in every process.

Learning Outcomes

• Recommend effective talent development strategies for workforce planning goals.
• Design processes for developing, engaging and retaining key talent.
• Apply best practices in coaching, mentoring and talent assessment.
• Select effective performance management and preferred feedback methods.
• Demonstrate effective communication methods to drive talent development efforts.

Skills You Will Gain

• Culture development
• Leadership development
• Performance coaching
• Performance assessment

Many professionals require an understanding of the many labor and employment laws that impact the workplace in California. Designed for human resource professionals and labor leaders, this course focuses on labor-management relations, including laws concerning collective bargaining in both the private and public sectors. Through interactive learning focused on student participation, learners are exposed to procedures and regulations governing the filing of unfair labor practice charges and the rights and duties of both labor and management in collective bargaining. By the end of this course, students will understand federal and state laws regarding wages, anti-discrimination, employee leave and other laws applicable to California’s workforce.

Learning Outcomes

• Examine the history of employment law in the United States and explain the difference between federal and state employment law.
• Understand various unfair labor practices and identify how to file and defend an unfair practice charge.
• Comprehend the fundamental aspects of state and federal anti-discrimination laws and their applicability to employer actions.
• Learn the human resources interface regarding the regulation of drugs and alcohol in the workplace, employee privacy, technology, e-mail and free speech.

Skills You Will Gain

• Case analysis and legal research
• Hiring and background checks
• Lawful termination
• Labor relations

Total Rewards is the overall compensation package an employer offers to employees in return for their contributions to the organization. It includes cash compensation of base pay and may have additional components such as company equity, incentive or variable pay such as bonuses and commissions; health and welfare benefits, retirement, perquisites, paid time off and fringe benefits.

In this class students will examine total rewards systems. Students will learn how to develop and evaluate employee compensation systems that meet the needs of the employees and align with the business strategy. Emphasis is given to understanding strategic compensation as a component of a human resource system, developing pay programs (i.e. base pay, incentive pay, merit pay vs. seniority), designing compensation structures (utilizing job analysis, building a compensation philosophy and leveraging survey benchmarking), understanding incentive plans, an overview of discretionary vs. legally required benefits, and contemporary compensation challenges.

This course covers the fundamentals and strategic management of employee benefits including core health and ancillary benefits such as life, dental, vision, employee assistance, disability and medical insurance plans. Primary topics include the changes to group healthcare necessitated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requirements, mandated benefits, and the regulatory and tax treatment of benefit programs.

The class also addresses wellness programs, methods for funding employee benefits, consumer-driven healthcare, contribution strategies, and the overall best practices for human resources to evaluate in managing benefits and the cost containment of benefit programs.

• Examine the history and evolution of employee benefits in a changing economy and evaluate the laws that govern employee benefits.
• Evaluate how effective benefit plans impact recruiting and retention of good employees, and analyze key factors that influence benefit choices.
• Examine and assess employee total rewards systems.
• Formulate a combination of specific components to make a comprehensive employee benefit program, including retirement plans, healthcare products, life and disability plans, family centered benefits, cost share modeling and explore best practices for benefit program administration.
• Develop, implement or enhance an employee compensation system to meet strategic business requirements and the needs of the unique workforce.
• Evaluate the costs of a compensation system, perform a competitive market analysis, develop a pay program (both base pay and incentive pay) that aligns with the organization's culture and ensure the pay program is legally compliant.