An employee relations manager is a person who addresses issues that affect the health of the workforce at a company. These issues include areas such as pay and interpersonal conflict. A person who wants to become an employee relations manager needs to complete a minimum of four years of college-level training, although two additional years of graduate school makes him or her even more attractive to employers. Getting practical experience is important for working in employee relations as a leader as well. Managers in the field must have solid communication skills and understand company policies thoroughly.
An individual who desires to become an employee relations manager should complete a four-year bachelor’s degree with a focus on an area such as human resource management or labor relations management. Enrolling in this type of program requires proof of a high school diploma or the equivalent certification, as well as a high school transcript. During the admissions process, you also should be prepared to provide results from recently completed standardized tests and fill out the required application to receive admission to your desired school.
Employee relations training programs feature classes on a wide variety of areas that affect the workers at a company on a regular basis. For instance, you will take courses on employee benefits and conflict resolution as well as grievance processes, which are designed to help employees to voice workplace concerns to their managers. An employment law class also is an important part of a program for someone who wishes to become an employee relations manager, as this type of class covers regional or national laws on topics such as discrimination during hiring along with disabilities.
Although a bachelor’s degree helps someone to get into the labor relations field, many companies prefer you to hold a master’s degree in the industry. A master’s degree program in an area such as labor relations, human resource management, or even business administration lasts two years and teaches you how to lead various initiatives to help employees to remain satisfied and well-equipped for their roles. While in this type of program, you will take advanced courses in areas including compensation, strategic staffing, and training.
Field experience is extremely critical for someone who wants to lead worker relations at a company. Many companies will not hire someone to become an employee relations manager if he or she does not have several years of experience working on various human resources or employee relations projects. For this reason, completing an internship in the field and starting out in an entry-level employee relations role is valuable for building industry experience.