Do Companies Really Need HR Professionals with an MBA? Seeking Employers Open to Experience Over Degrees

Is it mandatory that a company has to hire an HR professional with an MBA? I have over 3 years of experience without an MBA, and none of my previous companies have asked for it. I am skilled and knowledgeable in HR management and compliance, having learned through hands-on experience.

Can anyone provide a list of companies that are open to hiring HR professionals without an MBA?

Being a person working in the HR fraternity, recognizing and rewarding professionalism, why don't you focus on obtaining an MBA instead of searching for organizations that prefer non-MBAs? For the time being, it's okay, but over time, you may face career growth-related issues where your juniors could attain higher positions or better compensations. The current trend leans towards recruiting and deploying MBAs from reputable institutions; hence, I suggest pursuing an MBA.

Regards,
Kameswararao

Dear colleague,

It is not mandatory but desirable because of parity with other functional heads who are professionally qualified. Given your hands-on experience of 3+ years, your career prospects and growth will be faster if you acquire a professional qualification in HR, which you should try instead of wasting time in finding out companies employing non-MBAs in HR.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant

In an establishment, having an MBA (HR) qualified employee can be both a mandatory and non-mandatory requirement. It depends on the size and function of the establishment. This is desirable because a general candidate with experience may not be aware of or exposed to the entire functional gamut. We prefer an MBA (HR) with a law background.

In my suggestion, adding an MBA degree would make you a front-runner. The present market trend and the availability of qualified MBAs are shrinking the requirements. Nowadays, there is a trend where students pursue an MBA after obtaining their BE and B Tech degrees. This is a highly technical field and a statutory function.

Regards,

Dear colleague,

Unlike the Factories Act, which specifies post-graduate qualifications from an approved institute for the appointment of a Welfare Officer if the factory has 500+ workers, I am not aware of any statute requiring an MBA in HR for the appointment of an HR manager.

Regards,

Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant

The Role of an MBA in Modern Business

In this era of modern business, which emphasizes value-adding skills, an MBA qualification is not mandatory. It is good that you have acquired the necessary skills. Probably, this will take you some distance in your career, but not to very senior positions. These skills may be of a routine nature, like completing joining formalities, handling attendance and punctuality, or filling out some legal forms, etc.

Higher Responsibilities in HR Management

However, managing higher responsibilities such as performance management, talent management, employee engagement, designing salary bands, compensation benefits, motivation levels, and the interplay of all these factors in managing talent and retention, attrition, employee relations, and increasing productivity, and then aligning all these to the business, requires both understanding of concepts and their application to practical situations. The MBA qualification provides this base for conceptual understanding. Apart from this, the industry tends to attach more authority to what is spoken by one with an MBA, similar to how a patient prefers a specialist to a general physician in case of a complicated illness.

Therefore, I suggest that you acquire an MBA in due course as there are executive programs available to suit working professionals.

Regards, B. Saikumar Navi Mumbai