The 40th IFTDO World Conferecne & Exhibition 08-11 maja 2011,Warszawa - http://iftdo2011.com

The classification of the occupation of a human resource (HR) practitioner as being that of a ‘profession’ has already an extensive literature. It is argued that a number of the defining characteristics and traits that enable such a distinction to be made, lie within the distinctive competencies of such practitioners. These include a formalised period of training that lead to some form of certification. The successful achievement of such infers to peers a distinct and specialist set of skills and knowledge that affords such individuals a level of status that enables them to ‘practice’ the art of human resource management. This predominately western orientated perception of the professional HR manager has to a large extent been absent from the nomenclature of internal organisational descriptors of functional roles within the CEE. However there is now evidence of a change. This is apparent through the enthusiasm of a group of HR practitioners in Russia and the Czech Republic to attain professional qualifications. This paper analyses the motivations and aspirations of HR practitioners undertaking a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management (HRM) which leads to membership of the chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)-the U.K’s professional HR body.. Two cohorts of students are the focus of this study-one (The Russian group) has graduated from the programme whilst the second in the Czech Republic are currently half way through it! The Russian cohort of 30 represented a cross-section of middle ranking HR managers drawn from many of the most prominent multi-national corporations based in Russia along with local Russian companies and NGOs.The benefit of using this group is the opportunity to examine what has happened with them since graduation. Equally the current cohort in the Czech Republic is as aspirational as their predecessors were at this stage (half way through the programme). Further the current role of human resource management (HRM) is investigated within the context of the students own organisation. The results indicate that there is currently low status of the HR function in most organizations, a perceived lack of competent HR professionals, absence of clear HR strategies and lack of qualified management. There is an emergent consensus of the perceived requirement for increasing ‘professionalisation’ of the HR function as a precursor for greater strategic influence, a point articulated by a number of the students’ senior sponsors.

Many of the issues identified by the Russian HR Managers have been reiterated by their Czech counterparts. Issues of credibility/power/influence are very common concerns as well as difficulty in effectively managing the organisations talent pool and difficulties with establishing and maintaining effective performance management systems. The relationship with line managers continues to be an area of concern for the Czech students as it was for the Russian cohort.

These sorts of issues are very familiar in the Western world and form very much the basis of an argument for the value of expertise in the area of managing the organisations human resources.

So is there anything different about the context of Central and Eastern Europe? and is it relevant /appropriate to look to professionalise the HR function? If so how can this/should this be done?

Becoming a professional HR Manager?
What does this entail?
Is it worth the effort?
The main driver for the students is to gain a “label” of being a professional HR practitioner and it’s assumed that membership of the CIPD will ensure such recognition!

To what extent does the CIPD fulfil criteria typically associated with a professional body and do its members deserve the title “professional”? Friedson (1973) defines professionalisation as; “a process by which an organised occupation, usually but not always by making a claim to special esoteric competence and to concern for the quality of its work and its benefits to society, obtains the exclusive right to perform a particular kind of work, control training for and access to it, and control the right of determining and evaluating the way their work is performed.”

The CIPD meets several elements in Friedson’s definition (Marchington and Wilkinson 2008).There are a set of standards to be met by all aspiring members, and these have to be updated by Continuing Professional Development(CPD)on a regular basis. Standards for the majority of new entrants are maintained by a formal coursework and examination assessment scheme which is exactly the case for our Russian and Czech students. The induction programme for both cohorts has placed a lot of emphasis on respective expectations around the assessment issues. It is worth noting that student concern on assessment parallels very much that of their U.K. counterparts. This has been clearly illustrated that whilst many of the students have provided feedback on how much they’ve enjoyed the “learning experience” which tends to be much more interactive than typically they’ve been familiar with, the “bottom line” is passing their assessments in order to achieve their qualification.

The majority of the students are incredibly busy in their working lives – they are truly “driven” to achieve success in their careers and this drive has certainly dictated their views on the need to gain Professional accreditation and it is widely accepted that it is the CIPD programme which is likely to provide them with this status.

The first workshop places considerable significance in identifying respective expectations. In addition to creating an understanding of the assessment process we sought an articulation of what students wanted from the programme. The key areas identified amongst both groups were: New ideas (with application)
Qualifications
Sharing best practice-from UK.-and Russian and Czech colleagues
Conceptual understanding
Networking (with each other and NBS/CIPD)
Professional Knowledge
Link between business and HR Strategy
Experience
New Skills
Different Learning Approaches
Help to develop the future of HR in CEE
FUN

They were also asked to articulate what they could bring to the programme? and responded thus;
Sharing of diverse backgrounds
Understanding of the Russian and Czech context
Development of the CIPD in CEE
Commitment and motivation
Creativity
Open minds
Team working
Challenge tutors/colleagues
Inform tutors


It remains questionable as to the impact that the presence of the CIPD will have in CEE and the major employing organisations. One concern for the employers is the increased mobility of the HR community once they have gained an internationally recognised qualification. A problem with it’s influence is that the CIPD is not able to claim exclusivity in the performance of HR work because managers in the field are not required to gain professional qualifications before being able to practice-unlike such as law or medicine(Marchington and Wilkinson 2008).

So we come back to the point as to why such busy people as our Russian and Czech students should follow this programme to acquire their professional qualification?

It is to be hoped that many of the initially articulated expectations have been realised. It is true to report that 20 of the Russian students have had promotions since commencing the programme-not sure how much of this is attributable to their studies but all 20 students did suggest the programme had been a contributory factor. A major promotion was achieved by Zhanna Dobritskaya who has been made a partner at Ernst and Young in Moscow. One of the other Moscow students (Ludmyla) quoted as follows when asked about the programme “Nottingham Trent University have as part of its mission… to change the lives of its students and societies it operates in…your course has truly done this and I and my colleagues will forever be grateful to you and your teaching team…”-quite an accolade!

THE FUTURE?
What is so obvious with the programmes delivered so far is the immense talent of the participants. The intellectual capabilities and the levels of commitment make working with the students an “absolute joy”. It is also evident that there is a real desire within these groups to enhance their professionalism and make a real contribution to organisational and societal success. They are strongly aspirational and it’s a privilege to help in the development of individuals and to be part of the “creation of an HR community”.