Human resource management, personnel services

Personnel management, traditionally referred to as human resources management, deals with the factor ‘human labour’ from a business perspective. The aim of modern HR management is to achieve sustainable business success, also taking into account personal, social and ethical aspects. The term corporate governance has become established here, which not only focuses on monetary value creation, but also on the idealistic corporate values that have an internal and external image and value-enhancing effect. The task of sustainable HR management is therefore also to ensure a corporate culture that takes into account the needs of all those involved in an entrepreneurial process. Sub-aspects that play a role in this are, for example, personnel planning, meeting personnel requirements, personnel management, personnel development, remuneration organisation and personnel administration.

In addition to the basics of business administration, students in the field of personnel management acquire specific knowledge, for example in personnel management and development, personnel marketing and controlling, strategy and change organisation (‘change management’), creation and control of accompanying communication processes, conflict management, labour and social security law or personnel psychology and ethics. In some cases, the content and career opportunities overlap with courses in work and organisational psychology or business psychology (see also section 3.4.5 ‘Psychology’).

A good foundation for successful studies in this field is knowledge of the following school subjects, depending on the chosen degree programme: Maths, Economics/Law, English and Computer Science.

The programme is mainly offered at universities of applied sciences, but also at universities, mostly in Master's degree programmes, sometimes also as a dual model. In addition to specific degree programmes in the field of human resource management, this focus can also be chosen in general business administration degree programmes. There is also a choice of internationally oriented degree programmes (International Human Resource Management). Degree programme titles include ‘Human Resources Management’, ‘Human Resources Management’, ‘Human Resources & Work’ or ‘Management and Human Resources’.