EXAMEN DE CERTIFICACION DE COMPETENCIAS

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CERTIFICATION
SHRM is taking applications for its first HR
competency exams and will begin competing with
HRCI for credentialing cash. Will it result in better
analytics on the value of certification?
BY GARRY KRANZ
An Examination of

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M
any in the human resources community were
caught off-guard last summer by the Society for
Human Resource Management’s surprise an-
nouncement to offer its own certification program.
The messy public rift that followed with the HR Certifica-
tion Institute — the selfsame certification partner SHRM
founded in 1976 to create and
administer the exams — has
also reignited discussion over
the quantifiable business value
of certification programs.
ON THE WEB
SHRM’s current and former leaders
talk about their tenures as president
of the largest HR organization and
what the future holds for HR.
Workforce.com/SHRMpresidents

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The dust may be starting to settle as SHRM begins
accepting its first applications for the new certification
exams this month. But the debate over which certificate
holds more value is just heating up as the 275,000-member
trade association’s SHRM Certified Professional and
SHRM Senior Certified Professional knocks heads with
HRCI’s venerable Professional in Human Resources,
Senior Professional in Human Resources and Global
Professional in Human Resources certifications.
Not everyone in human resources is conflicted by the
SHRM-HRCI split, and some even see it as a healthy
competition that could generate more finely tuned best
practices,ultimately strengthening HR’s hand as a strategic
business partner.(See Guest Commentary,p.4.)
Tori Dickey,a client support manager in Portland,Oregon,
for HR outsourcing firm ADP, views the conflict through
the lens of a profession undergoing dynamic change fueled
by globalization, the rise of a multigenerational workforce
and flatter matrix organizations.
Dickey was one of 1,700 beta testers to take SHRM’s
pilot exam last year, though she’s no SHRM acolyte. A
10-year veteran at ADP, Dickey transitioned to human
resources two years ago, a move she capped off by earning
the PHR certification from HRCI in January 2014. In
addition, Dickey has a Human Resources Information
Professional certificate from the International Association
for Human Resource Information Management.
She said SHRM’s program lowers the barrier to
certification by eliminating eligibility requirements based
on years of experience or status.
“I’m very excited that SHRM is making additional
certification options available. I think it will make HR
more inclusive,” Dickey said. “We have a number of
professionals in nonexempt positions at ADP who now
have the same opportunity to win recognition for their
knowledge, skills and abilities as exempt professionals. It
also gives them another way to obtain knowledge pay as
part of ADP’s ongoing education.”
Dueling Certs: Does Anybody in HR Win?
Higher pay for HR professionals is one concrete way to
assess the impact of HR certifications, although precise
measurement of business impact remains elusive. A 2013
report by Payscale found that the likelihood of certification
increases the higher up the HR career ladder someone climbs.
It also concluded that nearly two-thirds of HR assistants got
promoted within five years of obtaining a certification,
compared with one-third who failed to move up without it.
Dickey’s support notwithstanding, SHRM seems to face
an uphill battle to persuade other HR practitioners its new
competency framework represents a meaningful step
forward for the profession. Indeed, 67 percent of the
699 people surveyed by the Human Capital MediaAdvisory
Group — the research arm of Workforce — said they have no
READER REACTION
Is there value in HR certification?
@PremierHRllc:
Yes. It encourages maintaining professional
knowledge provides the hiring employer
quantifiable reference.
Jenn Crenshaw:
Certifications in any profession tells others
that the professional who holds the
certification is invested in their own continued
education and professional growth. In my opinion,
passing a test is not a foolproof sign that someone
knows more, but the commitment and time invested
in the process tells me that the professional is “all in”
for their chosen profession. I’ve been SPHR (HRCI)
certified since 1999, and I am excited about SHRM’s
new competency model and certification. I do prefer
to hire HR professionals who have maintained their
certification. It tells me they are putting time into
staying current. I look forward to the new emphasis on
behavioral competencies as an HR business partner
vs. the former emphasis on knowledge that could be
crammed and/or memorized (to pass the first test).
Ken Lynch:
SPHR certified since 1998, as well as a
facilitator for the SHRM Learning System for
10 years. ... I must admit the six learning modules
from HRCI needed to be revised as many CEOs are
looking for HR leaders with more intrinsic competen-
cies (as proposed under the new SHRM certifications).
Doug Williams:
If I were an employer, not a member of the
HR community, I would wonder what was
going wrong. ... Does it fall short of what it should be?
Has it always been this way? Is the new certification a
power play between dueling entities? Should I have
increased trust in the new and improved certification
or should I think it might be an internal tiff with no
real meaning as to what an HR professional brings to
the organization? And for those currently certified you
can get the new one by merely watching something
and signing their code of ethics? Perhaps it is better,
but the rollout isn’t giving me any reason to think so.
What do you think? Join the discussion at
tinyurl.com/CollaborativeWorkplace or follow us
on Twitter @Workforcenews.

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intention of getting the new SHRM certification.
The new SHRM Competency Model identifies nine
behaviors that supposedly indicate how successful an HR
professional will be with its SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP
designations. That’s in contrast to about a half-dozen
certificates provided by HRCI,including the PHR,SPHR
and GPHR certifications.
J. Robert Carr, SHRM’s senior vice president for
marketing and external affairs, said SHRM has developed
“the most rigorous competency model to date,”culled from
survey data of 30,000 HR executives and focus groups in
33 countries.SHRM’s exams present hypothetical situations
and a set of actions an HR professional could take;of course,
only one choice is ultimately correct. Carr said SHRM’s
exams are designed to separate highly effective HR practices
from basic competence.
“One thing we heard over and over is that the established
legacy exams — even ones SHRM has supported in the past
— don’t test what HR people do in actual fact.We see the
SHRM competency exams as a way to tease out the
behaviors that make an outstanding HR professional,”rather
than reward someone for passing a multiple-choice exam,
Carr said.
No one was more surprised by SHRM’s announcement
this summer than HRCI CEO Amy Schabacker Dufrane,
who scoffs at the idea that SHRM is breaking new ground.
Scenario-based questions have long been included on
HRCI certification exams, she said, and the exam content
is amended each year by more than 300 HRCI volunteers.
“Our certifications are built on a body of knowledge
that has almost four decades of rigor behind it. Building
certifications takes a lot of time and effort. It’s not
something you can launch overnight,”Dufrane said.
The high-profile spat between the two bodies may be
entertaining theater, but there are serious repercussions
to the HR profession, said John Sullivan, a professor of
management at San Francisco State University who is
also an HR consultant.
“It creates the perception that HR doesn’t have its act
together.I personally have had people in other fields call me
after reading about this and ask me,‘What the hell’s going on
in your profession?’It’s embarrassing,”Sullivan said.
Even more embarrassing, he said, is the lack of objective
metrics to prove the worth of HR certification, adding
that evaluating a certification based on promotion or
higher pay misses a more important question: Are
companies with certified HR professionals actually gaining
market share or higher revenue as a direct result?
“Having letters behind your name doesn’t mean you
learned the right things. The question has to be: ‘Does
getting a certification move the needle?’ And there’s no
evidence that’s the case. Certification should be a data-
driven area, but nobody — not SHRM and not HRCI
— has those numbers,”Sullivan said.
The Evidence Is In — Anecdotally
Certificate holders roundly disagree with such an
assessment, claiming that certification demonstrates
mastery of a universally accepted body of knowledge and
best practices.
“It’s benefited me in a lot of ways, especially now that I
do more business internationally,” said Angeles Cordova, a
senior vice president of global HR transformation at
financial services firm Citigroup Inc.,who is also an HRCI
board member.
Cordova already had an MBA when she pursued the
PHR certification through HRCI in 2008. She said the
additional credential served to round out her formal
academic training.
“Even though I haven’t been an HR generalist for a
while, I remember that I very frequently referred back to
the learning modules and the certification material. I can
think of lots of questions I was able to clarify in relation to
compensation and employee relations. I made it a practice
to have an open-door policy, so when people came by
with questions, we would pull out the material and go
CERTIFICATION continued on page 48
The Cost of Certification
Listed are the fees associated with the various HRCI and SHRM certification exams.
Sources: HRCI , SHRM
$500
$400
$300
$200
$100
HCRI PHR HCRI SPHR HCRI GPHR SHRM SHRM-CP SHRM SHRM-SCP
$400
$350
$525
$475
$525
$475
$400
$300
$150
$100
$400
$300
$150
$100
■ Cost ■ Member cost
■ Recertification, nonmembers
■ Recertification, members
Note: A $75 nonrefundable late fee
is applied to applications submitted
after the regular deadline.
Note: Includes $50 nonrefundable application fee.

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MILLENNIALS continued from page 39
CERTIFICATION continued from page 31
as possible for millennials to assume even more senior
roles. It will happen sooner than we can imagine, which
means preparing millennial leaders to set the agenda for
their organizations,establish direction and craft compelling
visions for their teams, and motivate and mobilize those
teams to achieve them.
Timing Is Everything
No new leaders acquire all the skills, knowledge and
attributes they need to run a department or organization
overnight.Much of the development of millennial leaders
will happen the old-fashioned way:learning by doing and
on-the-job experience.
Leadership potential shown in those first months after a
transition to a new role is the most critical in determining
whether a new leader succeeds.This will be as true for
millennial leaders as it has been for all previous generations.
New leaders, no matter the generation, need to learn
how to recognize common pitfalls that can derail them.
They also must learn how to acquire the information they
need fast and to use it to diagnose their situation so that
they can understand the specific challenges and
opportunities they’ll encounter.
They need to hone their ability to set priorities for
building the platform and momentum for success.They
need to learn how to develop a productive relationship
with their new manager,with their teams and with others.
They also need to gain the all-important understanding of
the organization’s strategy, and how they can align behind
it.While much of this applies to every leader, the reality is
that millennials will need to do it faster and better.
There’s no shortage of research on millennials’strengths,
weaknesses, abilities and preferences, or what it takes to
develop successful leaders in today’s organizations. It’s up
to executives and HR professionals to find a way to
combine the best qualities of this generation — the ability
to confidently take on leadership roles and make decisions,
utilize technology to solve problems and bring people
together,and a desire to understand what the organization
is trying to do and work to support that goal — and all
that we know about what it takes to be effective managers
and leaders. Providing opportunities for millennials to
lead, and equipping them to succeed in their new roles,
can yield tremendous benefits.
Whether we’re ready or not,millennial leaders are here.
We don’t want to just get used to them.We want to make
sure that we’re tapping their potential to help our
organizations,and themselves,succeed.
Michael Watkins is the co-founder of Genesis Advisers and author
of “The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed
Faster and Smarter.” PJ Neal is product director, leadership pro-
grams for Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. To
comment, email editors@workforce.com
through it as needed,”Cordova said.
And,she adds:“I never ruled out the fact that I may not
have gotten the full perspective of HR knowledge and
competencies with my formal university studies alone.”
O. David Jackson, a director of human resources at
Microsoft Corp. who is also on the board at HRCI,
likens an HR certification to the credentials obtained by
a doctor or lawyer. He said being certified is becoming a
baseline expectation for anyone with career aspirations
in human resources.
“It shows that you have a continuing dedication to the art
and science of the profession,” said Jackson, who achieved
HRCI’s PHR certificate in 2005 and has recertified twice.
“It also gives you a way to calibrate your skill set and
confidence you can execute,based on what you’ve learned.”
Jackson is part of a planning team that examines
Microsoft’s technical road map in the context of shifting
global markets and claims the designation enables him to
match theory with practical application.
“One of the points I’ve been making to the team is that
the technical shifts we envision as a company have to be
complemented by talent and cultural shifts as well.
Understanding talent and culture have strategic
importance in enabling the business to execute on its
future plans,”Jackson said.
Multiple-Choice Certs
SHRM’s Carr said more than 10,000 people signed up
for the pilot exams following its launch.The goal initially
was to limit the test to 1,000 people, but SHRM twice
expanded the test pool before finally capping participation
at 1,700.“That was almost twice as many as we wanted to
have, and even after we cut it off, we still had people
asking,‘How can I take a pilot?’”Carr said.
HRCI certificate holders aren’t sure what to make of
SHRM’s plan. Jackson at Microsoft said he had not fully
studied the details of SHRM’s proposed exams and wasn’t
prepared to comment. But he acknowledged the talk of
certification, even in the context of a dispute, could prove
to be a net positive for the HR field overall.
“Anytime a profession seeks to elevate itself through the
creation of standards, I think it clearly validates why this
type of credential is important,”Jackson said.
SHRM meanwhile has announced its first test
window for the new exams, which runs from May 1
through July 17.That has many certification proponents
like Dickey eager to participate. “I have great respect
for the PHR I earned through HRCI, but I’m a ‘more
is better’ type of individual. Having these different
certifications available helps me have more broad and
diverse exposure, which ultimately will allow me to be
more successful.”
Garry Kranz is a Workforce contributing editor. To comment,
email editors@workforce.com.

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