Employee relations professionals work within the context of human resource management to best manage the hiring, development, retention and compensation of staff. Considering the company’s needs, they work to develop and apply policies which adhere to current law and contract stipulations and also benefit the organization and its talent.

Requirements for the PhD program often involve the student having already obtained a Master’s degree. Additionally, a thesis or dissertation primarily consisting of original academic research must be submitted. In some countries, this work may even need to be defended in front of a panel.