(Organizational Development, HR Generalist/Specialist, Consulting)
Human and organizational performance generalists manage the entire spectrum of human and organizational performance processes for a department or an entire company, including compensation and benefits, labor relations, compliance, human and organizational performance technology applications, performance management, and staffing. Generalists can also specialize in any one of these areas. Companies like GE have rotational programs designed to provide general exposure before placing people in management positions in areas of specialization.
Organizational development and effectiveness mean different things to different organizations. Internal consulting, leadership development, process improvement, and selection planning can all fall under this heading. This tends to be the more strategic side of human and organizational performance.
Managers are responsible for conducting needs assessments, instructional design and delivery, and evaluation. You can be assigned to a specific functional area, a corporate-wide training department, or a corporate university.
Life in the compensation and benefits department of an organization is both interesting and challenging. Sometimes referred to as the “numbers people,” individuals in compensation establish and maintain the firm’s pay system, help managers to set base salaries for positions and specific employees, and design and administer incentive programs. In public companies, they also analyze and administer executive compensation programs, which focus primarily on stock-related programs. This area is both highly visible and highly confidential.
The benefits department generally handles the design and administration of the company’s employee benefit program, notably its health insurance and pension plans. Expertise in designing these programs continues to gain importance, because employer-provided benefits account for a growing proportion of overall compensation costs as benefit plans increase in number and complexity.
Typical Concentration(s)
Primary: Human and Organizational Performance
Companies that Recruit Vanderbilt MBAs
- Bank of America
- Ford Motor Corp
- Gaylord Entertainment
- General Electric
- Honeywell General Mills
- Humana
- Mercer Consulting
Owen Extras
Clubs, activities, events, and programs to help build your résumé:
- Human and Organizational Performance Association
- Management Consulting Association
- Strategy Analysis Projects
- Owen School Student Association
HOP Key Competencies
Do you have or can you build the following competencies as an MBA?
- Ability to influence others
- Leadership ability
- Ability to understand how business results relate to human performance
- Management skills
- Extremely strong interpersonal & communication skills
- Project management skills
- Negotiation skills
- Mentoring/coaching experience
- General business understanding
- Basic understanding of change management and organizational processes
- Analytical and quantitative skills
- Passion for analyzing organizational processes
- Strategic thinking skills
Does your résumé reflect these experiences or accomplishments?
- HR experience
- Progressive work experience
- Strong academic record (for leadership programs specifically)
- Management experience
- CPA/finance experience (compensation-specific)
- Six Sigma training
- Industrial and labor relations experience
- Project management experience
- Operations and process analysis experience
