Whether you are an early-career HR professional, a seasoned practitioner, or someone in a different industry thinking of a career switch, chances are you want or need to learn about HR Management. You may be wondering which course is best for Human Resource Management upskilling.
To help you answer this question, this article examines the key HR Management skills, nine different Human Resource Management courses, and how to determine which program is best for you. Let’s get started!
Contents
Skills you need to build for Human Resource Management
Best courses for Human Resource Management
1. HR Manager Certificate Program – AIHR
2. AI Strategy for HR Leaders – AIHR
3. HR KPIs and OKRs – AIHR
4. Fundamentals of Human Resources Management- AMA
5. Leading: Human Resource Management and Leadership Specialization – Coursera
6. Strategic HR Leadership (SHRL) Certification – HCI
7. Strategic HR Leadership Certificate Program – HR Training Classes
8. A Guide to HR Best Practices – Personio
9. Diploma Course in Human Resource Management – Udemy
Best HR Management courses compared
6 steps to choose the best HR Management course for you
FAQ
Skills you need to build for Human Resource Management
What future-ready HR skills do you need to build to succeed in an HR management role? The answer depends on multiple variables, such as your current skill set, experience, potential skill gaps, and growth ambitions, but examples include:
- HR management knowledge and expertise: Every aspiring HR professional needs to know the basics of Strategic Human Resource Management and the key HR functions.
- HR strategy creation and execution: As Dr. Dieter Veldsman, Chief HR Scientist at AIHR, beautifully puts it: “The HR strategy clarifies how HR will contribute to achieving the business objectives and helps to guide all HR activities.” Knowing how to develop an effective HR strategy and how to execute it is a skill HRM practitioners definitely need to master.
- Stakeholder management: Building and maintaining relationships with employees, senior leadership, managers, and other stakeholders is an essential part of everyday HR Management.
- AI fluency: AI fluency is becoming a baseline HR competency. This competency is about people’s ability to confidently and thoughtfully collaborate with AI. AI-fluent HR professionals apply AI confidently and responsibly, advocating for its adoption across HR and the broader business, and integrating AI into everyday work in ways that strengthen processes and outcomes.
- People management skills: HR Managers need effective people management skills, including giving and receiving feedback, problem-solving, empathy, and effective communication. These skills are essential for effectively leading HR teams, interacting with diverse stakeholders, and performing various HR functions.
- Project management: HR project management skills are indispensable for every HR Manager. Whether implementing a new HRIS, optimizing onboarding programs, or rolling out a salary review cycle, understanding how to apply project management techniques enables HR teams to execute their plans efficiently and effectively.
- Resilience: According to the recent HR Mental Wellbeing Report, 87% of HR professionals report not feeling supported at work, and 63% say they are ‘very likely’ to experience burnout. These numbers have been worryingly high for the past years and emphasize the importance of HR practitioners working on building resilience and prioritizing their overall wellbeing. In other words, HR needs to start practicing HR for HR, and managers should set the right example.
Best courses for Human Resource Management
In terms of Human Resource Management courses, the one that is most valuable for you depends on various factors:
- Your focus (e.g., building new skills, getting a recognized credential, etc.)
- Your current knowledge and expertise level
- Your financial situation
- The time you have available to dedicate to a course
- Whether or not you want access to an HR community for collaboration and support.
Below, we’ve listed 9 of the best courses to upskill in Human Resource Management. The collection includes a variety of mini-courses, programs that take a couple of months, certifications suitable for professionals at all levels, and courses more suited for experienced HR practitioners.
This article focuses on online, shorter-term courses and does not include undergraduate or postgraduate programs. Please note that this list is compiled based on publicly available information. We have not tried the courses ourselves, with the exception of AIHR’s certificate programs.
1. HR Manager Certificate Program – AIHR
AIHR’s HR Manager Certificate Program is suitable for professionals currently in an HR Generalist or similar role, or those with some prior HR management experience.
Over the course of five online, self-paced courses that make up this comprehensive certificate program, you will:
- Gain a deep understanding of business, different types of HR operating models, and organizational design
- Learn how to align HR strategies with business goals
- Learn how to get buy-in from stakeholders, build trust, and drive change
- Create and implement an agile, project-based approach to HR.
2. AI Strategy for HR Leaders – AIHR
AIHR’s AI Strategy for HR Leaders course is a mini-course, a short program designed to help you gain new skills quickly. As such, it can be an excellent option for professionals with some HRM experience who want to equip themselves with the knowledge and tools necessary to guide their organization confidently through the time of AI adoption and transformation.
In just three hours, this mini course will teach you:
- The importance of a solid AI strategy framework and HR’s role in the AI transformation process
- How to identify AI opportunities and align them with strategic business goals
- How to create a realistic AI roadmap and governance framework for a responsible implementation
- How to apply proven frameworks to drive AI adoption across the organization, evaluate vendors, and manage risks.
This mini course is available as part of AIHR’s Full Academy Access.
Ready to lead in HR? Start with the right training
If you’re looking to step into a more senior role in HR or take your current position to the next level, you need the skills to align HR with business goals, lead teams, and drive real impact.
In AIHR’s HR Manager Certificate Program, you’ll learn to:
✅ Translate business strategy into effective HR plans
✅ Build and implement HR operating models that scale with your organization
✅ Apply agile principles to improve HR’s responsiveness and execution
✅ Build the confidence to step into a strategic HR role.
3. HR KPIs and OKRs – AIHR
The HR KPIs and OKRs mini course is another online, self-paced program included in AIHR’s Full Academy Access. It aims to teach HR professionals to measure what matters – with KPIs – and connect HR’s contributions to the company’s business priorities using OKRs.
In about three hours, you’ll learn:
- How to use the SMART framework to create high-quality metrics
- How to create precise KPIs that demonstrate impact
- How to translate a business strategy into clear OKRs
- How to avoid common implementation pitfalls.
This mini course is an ideal option for (early-career) HR professionals wanting to learn about the different aspects of HR Management. It provides them with a foundation to design KPIs and OKRs, demonstrate value, and effectively communicate results.
4. Fundamentals of Human Resources Management – AMA
This course, offered by AMA (the American Management Association), primarily benefits non-HR professionals with HR responsibilities, recently appointed HR Managers, and HR practitioners with less than three years of experience.
Participants of the Fundamentals of Human Resources Management course have the option to choose either an in-person or a live online format, teaching them about the core HR functions and touching on various topics such as:
- Recruitment
- Performance management
- Coaching and leadership development
- Legal responsibilities
- And more.
5. Leading: Human Resource Management and Leadership Specialization – Coursera
Coursera’s Human Resource Management and Leadership Specialization equips learners with the skills they need to become adaptable leaders in today’s ever-changing work environment.
Over a period of three months, spending about 10 hours a week on this intermediate-level, four-course series, students will learn how to:
- Motivate people with meaningful work
- Better enable their organization to reach its strategic goals
- Leverage their team members’ diversity and strengths to innovate and boost their company’s growth
- Strengthen their personal leadership skills.
6. Strategic HR Leadership (SHRL) Certification – HCI
Next on our list of HR management courses is the Strategic HR Leadership Certification from HCI.
During a virtual, 2-day course, participants will get practical, hands-on tools that help them become better people leaders. The training focuses on building and growing high-performing HR teams, which is reflected in the course content. Participants will learn:
- How to assess their team’s leadership skills
- How to connect their team’s work to the business strategy, and how to communicate this to their team
- How to intentionally design teams
- How to optimize team interaction
- And more.
7. Strategic HR Leadership Certificate Program – HR Training Classes
Another learning opportunity is the Strategic HR Leadership Certificate Program: Fostering Visionary HR Leaders and Winning a Seat at the Table, offered by HR Training Classes.
This on-demand, 2-day program is suitable for HR professionals of all levels seeking to enhance their strategic thinking, leadership skills, and advance their careers. It covers a breadth of topics, including:
- Financial acumen for HR professionals
- Aligning HR strategy with business goals
- Project management skills for HR leaders
- Organizational design
- HR’s role in driving change in the organization.
8. A Guide to HR Best Practices – Personio
HR software solution provider Personio offers its own Academy, providing users with various types of training.
Their Guide to HR Best Practices is a collection of mini-courses from Personio’s experts that guide HR practitioners through the basics of recruitment, performance management, L&D, rewards, and employee engagement.
Each course consists of a few short modules, followed by a brief feedback round, and takes between 20 and 40 minutes to complete.
9. Diploma Course in Human Resource Management – Udemy
Udemy’s Diploma Course in Human Resource Management touches on a wide range of HR topics. It takes learners through all the different functions of human resource management using real-life examples, demos, on-demand video lectures, ready-to-use templates, and more.
Participants will learn about (among other things):
- Job analysis
- Labour laws
- Compensation management
- HRIS
- Business acumen.
The course is suitable for (HR) professionals of all levels (from beginner to advanced, as Udemy puts it on its page), but also students, business owners, and everyone with a keen interest in the HR domain.
Best HR Management courses compared
The table below provides an overview of the different courses and learning providers discussed in the previous section.
| Course | Best for | Focus | Experience required | Exam / program cost (approx.) |
| AIHR programs | Professionals at all levels who are seeking skills and career growth | Practical, hands-on HR learning across multiple specializations (e.g., HR management, AI strategy, KPIs and OKRs) | Open to all levels; no strict prerequisites | $1,125 for a single certificate program; $1,850 for Full Academy Access for 12 months |
| AMA | Early-career HR professionals and non HR professionals with an interest in HR | The core HR functions (e.g., recruitment, performance management, legal responsibilities, L&D, etc.) | Open to all levels, but a certain interest in HR is desirable | $2,745 for non-AMA members; $2,495 for AMA members |
| Coursera | HR and other professionals with somewhat related experience | Personal and team leadership, organizational design | Intermediate-level experience required | Depends on the type of membership |
| HCI | HR Managers/leaders | Building and growing high-performing HR teams | Some experience leading an HR team is desirable | $1,995, there’s a 20% discount for those with a Premium or Corporate membership |
| HR Training Classes | Professionals at all levels seeking to improve their strategic thinking and leadership skills | Strategic HR and leadership skills | Anyone with a vested interest in HR and leadership | $295 |
| Personio | Personio users | Best practices in some core HR functions (e.g., recruitment, reward, performance, L&D, and employee engagement) | Open to all levels, most interesting for early-career HR professionals | Free for Personio users |
| Udemy | Professionals of all levels, as well as students with a keen interest in HRM | The functions of Human Resource Management | No prerequisites | $94.99 at a full price |
6 steps to choose the best HR Management course for you
So, how do you decide which of the Human Resource Management courses is best for you? As mentioned above, multiple factors play a role here. Some steps to think about:
- Consider your goals: What is it you want to achieve? Do you want a basic level of HRM knowledge? Or would you like to learn more about being a people leader and building effective teams? Do you wish to obtain an HR certificate at the end of the course? Get clear on your goals first.
- Assess your skill gaps: To become a successful HR Manager, you’ll need to master specific skills. Some of those skills we’ve discussed earlier, others you can find using AIHR’s HR Career Map and HR Skills Analyzer tool. Identify your skills gap(s) to find an HR management course that best suits your needs.
- Take a close look at the course content: A logical next step is to closely examine the content of the course you want to take. For example, if you want to work on your leadership skills specifically and the course dedicates more than half of its curriculum to the basics of HRM, you may want to choose a different one.
- Speak with (former) students: If possible, contact people who have already taken the HR course you are interested in. Ask them about their experience, what they liked about it, and if they’d recommend it. On LinkedIn, people regularly share when they’ve completed a course, making it easy for others considering taking that same course to reach out.
- Consider practicalities (time, budget, format): Your personal circumstances are also an important factor. The amount of time you can spend on a course will affect your choice, as will your budget. This may be different if your employer covers the cost. Another element to consider is whether you want to follow a self-paced or live virtual program.
- Is there a community? Finally, ask yourself if you want to benefit from a community of peers and fellow learners. A place you can go to for support, to exchange ideas and experiences, and ask questions. Some HR course providers, like AIHR, also have a thriving community you automatically become a part of when you take one of their programs.
To sum up
The best Human Resource Management course depends on your individual situation and needs. The good news is that there is an option for everyone, and you can use the steps in this article to find a program that is right for you.
FAQ
Usually, organizations ask for a Bachelor’s degree in HRM or a related field. Sometimes they also require additional HR qualifications, so if you have taken, for example, an HR Management course, this can be advantageous for your chances of getting the job.
Well-known providers of HR courses, certificate programs, and certifications are AIHR, HCI, and SHRM.
