What I Learned from My Students

A common understanding in the learning field is that the best way to learn is to teach someone else. During the past year, I have had the privilege to learn a great deal from my HR students.

What my students taught me this year:

• HR is still misunderstood in many organizations.

Many of my students had a different answer to the question of what HR does. There were many surprised and overwhelmed faces as I talked about all the different domains and roles of HR in the workplace. HR is more than just hiring and firing. We are million things in between.

• Students choose to study HR for many different reasons.

I believe HR is the best profession in the world. However, with all the misconceptions of HR students have, the choice to study it is sometimes fueled by them. Sometimes students choose HR because there is no math and other times, they have been told that it is easiest way to get a degree. Then they are those students who know it is an integral part of business because they have seen the effects of bad HR and they want to do it better. Regardless of the reason for the choice, these students are our future of HR. Watching them come to an understanding of what HR really is about was a most enjoyable experience.

• Not everyone comes with the same experiences and views.

People’s experiences have a profound impact on their views and opinions. It is often easy to see it in personal relationships. It is also true in the classroom and the workplace. It is important to remember the same of ourselves.

• HR is still the best profession in business. I have always believed that HR is the best profession. That opinion was formed early in my career as a manager after a critical moment in the trenches. At the moment I realized management and leadership was not about me, it was about them. I already understood that it was about the customers, but in the moment I became clear that it was about the customers and my team, I really started to see impactful change. By improving my focus on developing top talent, I achieved the greatest financial results. HR is impactful, both good and bad.

Let’s keep doing good HR and moving he profession forward. And if you want to keep learning, teach.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz