The selection of employees through recruitment and hiring strategies is a key factor in the success or failure of a company. MBA students with a human resources emphasis will therefore spend a lot of time with projects focused on how to recruit and select potential employees. Some projects might compare and test different recruitment strategies; for example, the effectiveness of online job posts as compared with printed classified postings for a given company. Hiring projects might also include how to implement effective interview techniques for selecting the most qualified job candidates.
Once hired, employees will require initial and ongoing training at their new jobs. Human resources MBA students have a number of project ideas available that deal with how to train new employees. For instance, students can evaluate the use of various technologies such as software, audiovisual materials, online resources, etc. in helping train employees within a given company. Another project might involve a cost-benefit analysis of different strategies for continued employee training, e.g., professional conferences, online forums or seminars.
One of a human resource worker's most important functions is to help evaluate the productivity of company employees. MBA students with an HR focus can choose from a number of projects dealing with performance evaluation of company employees. For example, MBA students might compare the relative strengths of performance evaluation methods--such as critical incident strategies, 360-degree appraisal, weighted checklists, essays and rating scales--with the goal of designing performance evaluation standards to meet the needs of a specific company. Another project might involve implementing specific company criteria for identifying promotion or future training options for a given employee, based on his or her evaluation.
In addition to recruiting, training and hiring its own employees, a company's HR department also takes responsibility for customer relationship management. For an MBA student, this means undertaking projects that focus on nurturing and maintaining client relations. Possible projects include using technology to design and implement a sales and marketing strategy for companies in an emerging business sector, e.g., green businesses. Another project might be evaluating company call centers and implementing new strategies to increase call center efficiency.