What is human resource development?

Human resource development is a strategy employed by organizations to improve productivity and profitability while also increasing employee satisfaction rates. Human resource development is accomplished via human resource development (HRD) programs. Many job seekers look for HRD programs when researching prospective companies.

Human resource development can take the form of talent development, and employee or professional development. These are training methods where an organization helps to enhance, build, and develop the critical skills and abilities of its professional employees.

Most human resource development involves formal training, but it can also be accomplished with informal support and other opportunities for professional development.

Companies that invest in their employees by offering them talent development opportunities truly care for their workers and the overall health of the company. Common employee development opportunities that companies offer include:

• Tuition assistance

• Time off to pursue a new degree or certification

• Free continuing education programs in the form of seminars, conferences, workshops, and classes

• Management training

• Skills training

Human resource development also applies to creating a safe and equal-opportunity workplace for employees. Many employers accomplish this via DEI training.

Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) training refers to a method organizations use to help their work environments become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive for all employees, especially for those that come from minority groups or marginalized communities.

Here is a closer look at each element of DEI training:

• Diversity

Diversity refers to the presence of differences in a specific workgroup or staff. These differences may include, but are not limited to:

• Race

• Gender

• Color

• Religion

• Physical or mental abilities

• Sexual orientation

• Gender identity

• Nationality

• Disability

Diversity can also apply to personal preferences, such as political affiliations, communication preferences, or learning preferences.

• Equity

Equity focuses on the promotion of social and legal justice for specific groups. Equity seeks to mend structural inequalities through the use of specific:

• Procedures

• Practices

• Processes

• Distribution of resources

• Inclusion

Inclusion refers to the process of making any employee feel welcome in a workplace, regardless of their race, gender, religion, disability, or other identifying feature.

There are many different types of DEI training that might be included in human resource development, such as:

• Unconscious bias training

This is meant to help employees understand their implicit and unconscious biases toward certain groups of people.

• Allyship training

Allyship training's focus is to enable those in positions of privilege or power to support or amplify the concerns or needs of an employee or group of employees that come from a minority group or historically marginalized community.

• Bystander communication training

This form of DEI training instructs employees on how to speak up when they witness another employee being discriminated against or if they see that the coworker is being harassed in any way.

• Specific training on hiring practices

This type of training involves human resource departments, hiring managers, recruiters, and any other employees that take part in an organization's hiring process.