The University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute offers a range of taught master’s programmes focusing on human resource management (MSc HRM), organisational change (MSc OCD), human resource management and development by distance learning (MSc HRM&D [DL]) and managing and delivering development projects (MSc MIDP).
The MSc Human Resource Management (International Development) programme aims to equip learners with a robust theoretical framework for careers in HRM and, at the same time to provide students with an opportunity to gain insights into practice-focused HRM across a wide range of management contexts and sectors. The MSc HRM Enhancement Programme has been developed over six years to offer closer student engagement with a wide range of organisational contexts in HR practice. This engagement is achieved through a two-semester Enhancement Programme of organisation-based experiential learning experiences, including residential and day field visits to public and private sector organisations, complemented by visits to the university by experienced, organisation-based HR practitioners.
This year in 2022-22, dual teaching methods have been applied for the enhancement programme through inviting guest lecturers from different organisations to engage on matters of HR Practice with HRM students.
Hannah Rebecca Findlay in the Morrinson Wealth Wellbeing has delivered a session on Thursday, 28th October 2021. This session focused on the best financial well-being practice: supporting employees’ financial resilience and providing outstanding inputs on employee well-being considering the challenging time during the Covid-19.
Hannah has highlighted the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the need for employees to have financial resilience. She suggests that organisations can really impact employees’ lives by promoting positive money conversations and assisting employees to take a more informed approach to financial decisions. Alongside this, by delivering a bespoke, relevant support structure underpinned with education, employers can also positively affect their bottom line and people statistics. Challenging the status quo and drawing on personal experience, this workshop will help students think differently about financial well-being strategies.
Student representatives of the MSc HRM (ID) Programme have reflected on their experience of the lecture session on behalf of the 100 students that attended:
Yanrong Zhang from MSc HRM (ID) reflected on the session:
I was pleased to hear about financial well-being because I only had a vague sense of its importance before the lecture. The lecture taught me that since this would bring many benefits such as motivation and maintaining of employees, we should not just leave employees to receive related guidance passively but create an environment where they feel free to ask questions and seek help. And this is a new way, so being uncomfortable about the changes, I raised my doubts about the feasibility and cost of launching this, but the responses of the guest speaker allayed my suspicions. I have to say that the lecture was very comprehensive and practical: it provides a comprehensive overview of the content, benefits and methodologies of this type of management approach. It is very inspiring for current managers and future students who want to become managers.
Rista Monica Giarno Putri from MSc HRM (ID) gave this feedback:
I found the lecturing session was unique. Speaking about financial well-being in the workplace is a new trend since finances are mainly a private area that people hesitate to talk about in my home country. Understanding Morrinson’s foundation, context, and various approaches gave me practical insights to initiate financial well-being education and even other benefits best practices in my future organisation. Thank you for sharing ideas and insight on the session.
Overall, I enjoyed this module, which is very informative and has multiple interactions between the teacher and the students. I hope there will be more guest speakers next semester.
Thanks again to our colleague, Hannah Rebecca Findlay, in the Morrinson Wealth Wellbeing, for making this lecture session possible by sharing her working experience in Human Resource Management with our students.